A Mississippi legislator, Credell Calhoun, has proposed a bill that would force teachers to recite the Ten Commandments at the beginning of every school day.
The school board of each school district shall require the teachers in that school district to have the Ten Commandments recited aloud at the beginning of the first hour of class each day that school is in session. Any student or teacher who objects to reciting the Ten Commandments must be excused from participating without penalty.
This isn’t just a horrible idea; it’s illegal. Giving students and teachers the option of opting out doesn’t change that. Shoving the Ten Commandments down the throats of every public school student in the state is an obvious endorsement of religion in the classroom, and there’s no doubt this would be challenged in the courts if it passed.
