AN ACT relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in schools.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1565
Page 1 of 5
XXXX 2/16/2026 3:02 PM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in schools. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. KRS 158.178 IS REPEALED AND REENACTED TO READ 3
AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) The General Assembly finds that: 5
(a) In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States recognized that it is 6
permissible to display the Ten Commandments on government propert y in 7
Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005); 8
(b) In 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States further recognized that the 9
Ten Commandments "have historical significance as one of the foundations 10
of our legal system...." in American Legion v. American H umanist 11
Association, 588 U.S. 29 (2019), and also ruled that the display of the Ten 12
Commandments on public property may have "multiple purposes" such as 13
"historical significance" and to represent a "common cultural heritage"; 14
(c) Recognizing the historical role of the Ten Commandments accords with our 15
nation's history and faithfully reflects the understanding of the founders of 16
our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self -17
government; 18
(d) Including the Ten Commandments in the education of our children is part 19
of our state and national history, culture, and tradition; 20
(e) The text of the Ten Commandments set forth in this section is identical to 21
the text of the Ten Commandments monument that was uphe ld by the 22
Supreme Court of the United States in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 23
(2005); 24
(f) The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was America's first written constitution 25
and made a Covenant with Almighty God to "form a civil body politic." 26
This was the first pur ely American document of self -governance and 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1565
Page 2 of 5
XXXX 2/16/2026 3:02 PM Jacketed
affirmed the link between civil society and God; 1
(g) The decision set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States in Van 2
Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005) ensures that the students in our public 3
schools may understand and appreciate the foundational documents of our 4
state and national government; 5
(h) The Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged that the Ten 6
Commandments may be displayed on local government property when a 7
private donation is made for the purchase of the historical monument in 8
Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum, 555 U.S. 460 (2009); and 9
(i) It is the intent of the General Assembly that this section shall not create an 10
unfunded mandate, and local boards of education are encouraged to u se 11
documents that are printed and made available to the schools free of 12
charge. 13
(2) No later than January 1, 2027, a public school or public charter school shall 14
conspicuously display the Ten Commandments in each classroom. The nature of 15
the display shall be determined by each school with a minimum requirement that 16
the text of the Ten Commandments: 17
(a) Be displayed on a poster or framed document that is at least sixteen (16) 18
inches by twenty (20) inches; 19
(b) Be the central focus of the poster or framed docu ment and shall be printed 20
in a large, easily readable font; 21
(c) Read as follows: 22
"The Ten Commandments 23
I AM the LORD thy God. 24
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 25
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images. 26
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1565
Page 3 of 5
XXXX 2/16/2026 3:02 PM Jacketed
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 1
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the 2
Lord thy God giveth thee. 3
Thou shalt not kill. 4
Thou shalt not commit adultery. 5
Thou shalt not steal. 6
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 7
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. 8
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor 9
his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."; and 10
(d) Contain a context statement, as follows: 11
"The History of the Ten Commandments in American Public Education 12
The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public education for 13
almost three centuries. Around the year 1688, The New England Primer became the 14
first published American textbook and was the equivalent of a first grade reader. The 15
New England Primer was used in public schools throughout the United States for more 16
than one hundred fifty years to teach Americans to read and contained more than forty 17
questions about the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were also included 18
in public school textbooks published by educator William McGuffey, a noted university 19
president and professor. A version of his famous McGuffey Readers was written in the 20
early 1800s and becam e one of the most popular textbooks in the history of American 21
education, selling more than one hundred million copies. Copies of the McGuffey 22
Readers are still available today. The Ten Commandments also appeared in textbooks 23
published by Noah Webster whic h were widely used in American public schools along 24
with America's first comprehensive dictionary that Webster also published. His 25
textbook, The American Spelling Book, contained the Ten Commandments and sold 26
more than one hundred million copies for use by public school children all across the 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1565
Page 4 of 5
XXXX 2/16/2026 3:02 PM Jacketed
nation and was still available for use in American public schools in the year 1975." 1
(3) A public school or public charter school shall not use public funds to purchase 2
the displays required by this section. A public school or public charter school 3
shall only accept donated displays that meet the requirements of this section. 4
(4) The Kentucky Department of Education shall: 5
(a) Adopt administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to 6
ensure the proper enforcement of this section; and 7
(b) Identify appropriate resources to comply with this section that are free of 8
charge. Once identi fied, the department shall list the free resources on the 9
department's website. 10
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 164 IS CREATED TO 11
READ AS FOLLOWS: 12
(1) No later than January 1, 2027, a public postsecondary educati on institution shall 13
conspicuously display the Ten Commandments in each classroom of the 14
institution. 15
(2) The text of the Ten Commandments shall follow the same minimum requirements 16
as public schools and public charter schools as established in subsection (2) of 17
Section 1 of this Act. 18
(3) A public postsecondary education institution shall not use public funds to 19
purchase the displays required by this section and shall only accept donated 20
displays that meet the requirements of this section. 21
(4) The Council on Postsecondary Education shall: 22
(a) Adopt administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to 23
ensure the proper enforcement of this section; and 24
(b) Identify appropriate resources to comply with this section that are free of 25
charge. Once iden tified, the department shall list the free resources on the 26
council's website. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1565
Page 5 of 5
XXXX 2/16/2026 3:02 PM Jacketed
Section 3. KRS 158.195 is amended to read as follows: 1
(1) (a) Local boards shall require each public elementary and secondary school to 2
display the national motto of the United States, "In God We Trust," in a 3
prominent location in the school. 4
(b) The display required in paragraph (a) of this subsection may take the form of 5
but is not limited to a mounted plaque or student artwork. 6
(2) As used in this section, "prominent location" means a school entryway, cafeteria, or 7
common area where students are likely to see an item on display. 8
(3) Local boards may allow any teacher or administrator in a public school district of 9
the Commonwealth to read or post in a public school building, classroom, or event 10
any excerpts or portions of any or all of the following historically significant 11
documents: the national motto; the national anthem; the pledge of allegiance; the 12
preamble to the Kentucky Constitution; the Declaration of Independence; the 13
Mayflower Compact; the Ten Commandments, in addition to the display required 14
by Section 1 of this Act; the writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of 15
the founding fathers and presidents of the United States; Un ited States Supreme 16
Court decisions; and acts of the United States Congress including the published text 17
of the Congressional Record. There shall be no content -based censorship of 18
American history or heritage in the Commonwealth based on religious referenc es in 19
these writings, documents, and records. 20
(4) Beginning in the 2025 -2026 school year, local boards shall require each public 21
school building that contains instructional space for students in grades six (6) 22
through twelve (12) to conspicuously display i n a prominent location, in both 23
English and Spanish, a printed abstract of KRS 339.210 to 339.450, a list of the 24
limited or prohibited occupations for minors, and a notice stating the working hours 25
per day for each day of the week permissible for minors to work. The same 26
information or display shall also be posted on a district's or school's website. 27