AUSTIN (KXAN) — This week Louisiana became the first state in the country to require schools to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms, which struck a nerve with one prominent Republican in Texas.

On his personal X account, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted a screenshot Thursday of a headline noting this milestone for Texas’ neighbor, and he expressed his disappointment in a similar proposal failing to become law here in the state.

“Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools,” Patrick wrote on X.

The Texas Senate approved Senate Bill 1515 along a party-line vote on April 20 last year during the regular legislative session. The legislation, which was introduced by Texas Sen. Phil King of Weatherford, would have made public K-12 schools put up “a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments” in a “conspicuous place in each classroom.” The bill required the display to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, and the text would have to be “in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.”

Members of the public education committee in the Texas House of Representatives advanced the legislation at a May 16, 2023, hearing. However, the full House never took up SB 1515 last year, so the proposal did not advance any further.

In his X posts Thursday, Patrick used that to once again excoriate Speaker Dade Phelan, who won a primary runoff last month against a challenger backed by the lieutenant governor and former President Donald Trump.

“Every Texas Republican House member would have voted for it. But, SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill by letting it languish in committee for a month assuring it would never have time for a vote on the floor,” Patrick wrote. “This was inexcusable and unacceptable. Putting the Ten Commandments back into our schools was obviously not a priority for Dade Phelan.”

Patrick also said this legislation is needed to “remind students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law: the Ten Commandments.” He ended his X post with this promise: “I will pass the 10 Commandments Bill again out of the Senate next session.”

Texas does have a red granite monument listing the Ten Commandments displayed on the Capitol grounds in Austin. According to the Texas State Preservation Board, this was erected in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Texas.

Louisiana’s law, which Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed earlier this week, differs slightly from the proposal debated last year in Texas. For one the size of the displays in Louisiana must be 11 inches by 14 inches. It also applies to more than just K-12 classrooms in public schools. State-funded universities and colleges in the Pelican State must also display a poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” next year.

Civil liberties groups are already planning to file lawsuits to block the law from taking effect in Louisiana, arguing it’s unconstitutional. However, Gov. Landry along with the state’s Republican attorney general said they would look forward to defending the law in court.

The ACLU of Texas has sent a letter to University of Texas President Jay Hartzell expressing its fear that the university “may be squelching the First Amendment rights of its students” and chilling protected expression by investigating the conduct of some students who were arrested at pro-Palestinian protests April 24 and 29 on campus.

UT first initiated disciplinary proceedings June 7 for alleged rule violations by some student protesters, the American-Statesman previously reported. The letters included copies of arrest affidavits, pictures from the protests and Instagram posts about the demonstrations.

As part of the university’s letter, students were asked to prepare a written statement in response to 12 questions about their conduct that the American Civil Liberties Union said “presupposes that students receiving these notices violated University policy and ignores that the First Amendment protects peaceful protest.”

The ACLU also pointed to its concern about UT citing the probable cause affidavits as evidence, alleging that it violates students’ due process, as charges against all the protesters who were arrested April 24 were dismissed, and individuals “cannot be held responsible for the actions of a group simply because they participated in free speech activity.” It alleges that students are being punished indiscriminately for their involvement in the protests instead of any individual violations.

UT spokesperson Mike Rosen said in a June 14 email in regard to a second round of disciplinary notices the university issued that students were not being disciplined for protesting, but for violating university rules.

“UT Austin supports the rights of all members of our community to demonstrate and express their views while on our campus as long as they comply with our Institutional Rules,” he wrote.

Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said the organization sent UT the letter out of fear that the university’s investigations would violate the protesters’ rights and chill free speech.

“When participating in protest is placed under such scrutiny and when students are put through these investigations, it suffocates the breathing room for our constitutional rights and can also erode the core tenets of the university too,” Kumar said. “That’s why we were concerned about what we’re seeing.”

Students reject accusations of rule violations

Police arrested a total of 136 people at the two protests, including 60 students. Many have criticized the police response as excessive and escalatory, but Hartzell, Gov. Greg Abbott and UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife praised the significant police action as necessary and effective in keeping the campus safe.

The UT protests were held in solidarity with other demonstrations across the nation that called on universities to divest from weapons manufacturers contributing to Israel’s war against Hamas, which has reportedly resulted in more than 34,000 deaths in Gaza. Israel began bombarding Gaza after Hamas, the region’s militant governing body, attacked the Jewish state on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people.

The ACLU’s letter follows a collective letter that UT students sent to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in response to the disciplinary notices, which alleged that students failed to comply with university rules and engaged in disruptive conduct. The students in their nine-page letter deny the university’s accusations and express fear that the process will be biased against them.

“We object to the accusation that our engagement in protected free speech activity is ‘disruptive’ to the university’s function,” the students’ letter said. “Indeed, we resolutely affirm the opposite: by exercising our basic rights to speech and peaceable assembly, we were, in fact, directly carrying out a daily function of the University.”

The collective letter cites past statements from the university and Hartzell supporting free speech, and it asks for all students to receive a no findings letter instead of an administrative disposition.

“We ask that you consider this and treat us with the compassion and understanding we deserve as students, Longhorns, and members of a democratic society,” the students’ letter said.

Sam Law, a UT graduate student who was arrested April 29 and received a disciplinary letter, said 23 students are planning to submit the letter to the university. He said people are also submitting character references and letters of support.

“The university hasn’t told us what the possible disciplinary consequences are, but a lot of us are deeply afraid that it could be suspensions or expulsions,” Law said, adding that that’s why many people decided to respond despite legal concerns with addressing allegations. “That is a much more severe consequence than a legal consequence.”

The students also mention concern over the process bypassing a typically scheduled in-person meeting in favor of written statements, which they worry will further reduce their right to due process. Rosen said previously in his June 14 email that the process ensures all students have due process.

Two teaching assistants who were removed from their position last fall for sending a pro-Palestinian message to their class did not have the opportunity for an in-person hearing because of a last-minute policy change by Hartzell to make the process more efficient. Their grievances for their job reassignments were eventually denied.

‘We enforce our institutional rules’

Rosen said the university cannot comment on individual cases, but on June 14 an undisclosed number of disciplinary notices were sent out to student protesters for alleged rules violations.

“The University has made clear that we enforce our institutional rules, and the conduct notices sent to students who violated our rules during protests on April 24 and 29 reflect that commitment,” the university’s statement said.

Kumar, however, said the university’s rules still need to leave “breathing space for the Constitution.”

“The university can’t just be invoking these rules and saying that if students broke these rules that’s enough to punish them if that application of those rules is squelching the right to engage in free speech activities, which is not something that students leave behind just because they decide to enroll,” Kumar said.

Rosen did not respond to the Statesman’s specific questions about UT’s response to the ACLU’s and students’ letters.

Law said protesters believe they are not guilty of the university’s accusations and are grateful for the ACLU’s support.

“I hope that the university takes it seriously and lives up to the principles that it purports to defend,” Law said.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Texas Longhorns quarterback commit KJ Lacey just wrapped up an impressive showing at the 2024 Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles and was in the thick of the race for the coveted MVP Award all week.

However, with the event now over, Lacey turns his attention toward a trip to Austin for this official visit to the 40 Acres, where he is set to be hosted by none other than Texas backup QB Arch Manning.

On Thursday in a one-on-one interview with Longhorns Country, Lacey opened up about his plans of his upcoming visit, as well as his growing relationship with Manning.

“Just have fun while I’m out there and get to know the coaches even better,” Lacey said. “I think Arch (Manning) will be the host for my (official visit), so I want to get to know Arch a little bit more, and why he chose Texas… We have a pretty good relationship. We talk here and there. Every time I go up there I ask him a lot of questions.”

Lacey won’t be the only big-time recruit visiting Austin this weekend either, with the Saraland (AL) four-star QB set to be joined by a star-studded group of prospects, headlined by the five-star receiver duo of Jaime Ffrench and Kaliq Lockett.

And for Lacey, one of the main priorities on his official visit will be to show Ffrench and Lockett exactly why Texas is home.

“It’ll be Jaime Ffrench’s I think second time back to Austin, so just let him have the best time of his life while he’s out there, let him know what’s home, and get him locked in,” Lacey said on Thursday. “Also with Kaliq, I’m not sure how many times he’s been there but he’s from Texas, so I’m pretty sure he’s been a few times. I think those are the main two targets for me just on the receiver side right there that I want to get at.”

In fact, Lacey already got to spend some time with Ffrench this week, as the Mandarin (Jacksonville, FL) five-star took part in Day 1 of the Elite 11 Finals on Tuesday, and spending some time with the other prospects on the sidelines on Wednesday.

Lacey, of course, did his best to take advantage of that chance, sharing a significant amount of reps with Ffrench on Day 1 in particular.

Now, heading into the O.V., Lacey wants to improve that connection even more.

“The connection has been there for a while,” Lacey said. “I met him at Future 50 last year, and the one-on-one’s he did pretty good out there. He was on the opposite team from me on the 7-on-7… All the way around I feel like our connection is really strong and it’s going to be there for a long time. He’s really fast and his hands are just different. His IQ is also up there, He’s also outgoing. He’s a really nice guy.”