FARGO (KVRR/KFGO) – The ACLU of North Dakota is weighing in on HB 1145. The bill would require a display of the Ten Commandments in public schools across the state.
They cited the case of Stone v. Graham, a U.S. Supreme Court case the ACLU won 45 years ago. Justices ruled in that case that the law was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
The ACLU also warned of costly litigation if the bill were to pass.
“America is not a theocracy and North Dakota’s public schools shouldn’t be used to religiously indoctrinate or convert students. This bill is unconstitutional and an affront to the American ideals of religious liberty,” said ACLU of North Dakota advocacy manager Cody Schuler. “House Bill 1145, if passed, will cause students who don’t follow the state’s approved religious dictates to feel ostracized from their school community, and it will undermine their ability to learn and the state’s legal obligation to provide an equal education to all students, regardless of their faith.”
Students already have the right to practice their religion voluntarily on school property.
If the bill were to pass, the Ten Commandments would be required to be displayed in all public school classrooms and buildings in the state.
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