THRALL — School board members gave a thumbs down to a new state law allowing campuses to set a policy for students to pray and study religious texts on class days.
Senate Bill 11 mandates an open, recorded vote by March 1 among Texas public school board members on whether they support the measure.
Area educators have argued SB 11 is not needed because students are already allowed time for prayer and religious contemplation on campus.
In other business Jan. 21, the Thrall Independent School District board welcomed Dean Legendre to the Tiger fold as the district’s new technology director and received an update on a new track.
Meanwhile, after a discussion centered on SB 11, the trustees unanimously declined to adopt
the policy. Superintendent Tommy Hooker asked school board President Bryan Holubec to explain the legislation, adding it seemed unclear.
Holubec agreed, saying the measure was baffling because “current (state) law already allows student-led prayers…it allows students to read the Bible or other religious texts in their free time,” Holubec said.
According to educators, confusion across Texas regarding SB 11 has many assuming the state is requiring schools to provide time for students to pray and study religious texts.
Legal experts said the law only requires school boards to decide on a policy for their district on the issue.
Detractors said SB 11 — along with a state decree to post donated Ten Commandments posters in classrooms, now under scrutiny by a federal court — blurs the line between church and state.
If school districts adopt the SB 11 policy, educators are then required to track consent forms, designate non-instructional time for prayer and identify private prayer spaces.
The measure does not outline policies for pupils who choose not to pray or have religious study time.
Hooker noted Thrall ISD already allowed students to do these things in their free time and recommended the elected representatives decline the policy.
“This takes a little bit more paperwork off our administration,” he added.
Thrall ISD is not alone. The Granger Independent School District is also grappling with the issue and plans to vote next month.
In other district business, trustees went into executive session to discuss hiring Legendre, who replaces outgoing technology director Susan Burkhart. She is retiring after 40 years in education.
Legendre starts in February, learning from Burkhart until she steps down in May.
Meanwhile, a new track for the high school has been poured, set and is curing, trustees heard.
Though the discussion occurred before Winter Storm Fern plunged the area into a near-record deep freeze, business manager Blake Schneider said adverse weather should not be a problem.
The track is among improvements board members authorized in November, as well as the purchase of two new buses, new stadium lighting and new bleachers for the football stadium.
Money for the upgrades came from interest earned on the $3 million remaining from a 2022 voter-approved bond.
The next school board session is 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at 601 S. Bounds St.
