Local school districts vote against state bill that would require time for prayer, religious reading
Stock image of Texas Capitol building in Austin
The Marble Falls, Burnet Consolidated, and Llano independent school districts recently voted against adopting Texas Senate Bill 11, which would have required schools to set aside daily opportunities for prayer and religious text reading. The three districts’ decisions came during their respective board meetings on Monday evening, Feb. 23.
Senate Bill 11 of Texas’ 89th legislative session, which was signed into law on June 21, 2025, required Texas school boards to take a vote on whether to adopt a policy that would require the school district to provide students and employees with the opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and religious text reading each school day. Per the language of SB 11, school boards were mandated to make a decision on the matter by March 1, 2026.
The bill was unanimously declined by the boards of BCISD and LISD, and was declined by the MFISD Board of Trustees with a vote of 6-1. Trustee Gary Boshears was the only board member to vote for adopting the bill.
BCISD Human Resources Director Michele Gilmore told the board at their Monday meeting that the administration believed students already had ample opportunity to practice their religion outside of school hours.
“Our students are already able to (pray and read religious text) during non-instructional time,” Gilmore said.
MFISD Board President Alex Payson provided DailyTrib with a statement on behalf of the MFISD Board of Trustees concerning the board’s vote against the bill.
“We believe the board vote on Senate Bill 11 shows our confidence in the measures already in place within the district that protects students’ rights to practice their faith on campuses during the school day,” Payson said. “Students currently have protected rights to engage in voluntary religious participation consistent with constitutional standards, established state law, and district policy. These robust rights are unchanged after the vote on SB 11. As always, the Board of Trustees remain committed to our district vision to love every child and inspire them to achieve their fullest potential.”
LISD did not provide comment on the matter by the time of this article’s publication.
Currently, the Texas Constitution protects the religious rights of students in the state through Education Code Chapter 25, Section 25.901.
“A public school student has an absolute right to individually, voluntarily, and silently pray or meditate in school in a manner that does not disrupt the instructional or other activities of the school,” reads the statute. “A person may not require or coerce a student to engage in or refrain from such prayer or meditation during any school activity.”