1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
3 HOUSE BILL 2962 By: Olsen
4
5
6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to schools; requiring display of Ten
Commandments in public school classrooms; prescribing
8 method for display; providing text of Ten
Commandments; providing for acceptance of donated
9 displays; permitting replacement of certain displays;
directing school to donate unused displays; providing
10 for codification; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
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12
13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
14 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
15 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24-106.2 of Title 70, unless
16 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
17 A. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public
18 school shall display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the
19 school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that
20 meets the requirements of subsection B of this section.
21 B. A poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments required by
22 subsection A of this section shall:
23 1. Include the text of the Ten Commandments as provided by
24 subsection C of this section in a size and typeface that is legible
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1 to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom in
2 which the poster or framed copy is displayed; and
3 2. Be at least sixteen (16) inches wide and twenty (20) inches
4 tall.
5 C. The text of the poster or framed copy of the Ten
6 Commandments shall read as follows:
7 "The Ten Commandments
8 I AM the LORD thy God.
9 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
10 Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
11 Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
12 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
13 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the
14 land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
15 Thou shalt not kill.
16 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
17 Thou shalt not steal.
18 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
19 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
20 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor
21 his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy
22 neighbor's."
23 D. A public school in which each classroom does not include a
24 poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments shall:
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1 1. Accept any offer of a privately donated poster or framed
2 copy of the Ten Commandments provided that the poster or copy:
3 a. meets the requirements of subsection B of this
4 section, and
5 b. does not contain any additional content; and
6 2. Display the poster or framed copy as required by subsection
7 A of this section.
8 E. If a public school has a poster or framed copy of the Ten
9 Commandments in each classroom that does not meet the requirements
10 of subsection B of this section, the school may replace them with
11 privately donated posters or copies that meet the requirements for
12 display.
13 F. A public school shall offer a poster or framed copy of the
14 Ten Commandments required by subsection A of this section in the
15 school's possession that is not needed for display in a classroom as
16 a donation to another public school.
17 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2024.
18 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
19 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
20 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
21 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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23 59-2-8416 EK 07/10/23
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