House Bill 670 follows a successful move last session to restore a Ten Commandments monument to the Capitol grounds. The new bill goes further, placing copies of the commandments in classrooms alongside a short explanation of what Rep. Josh Calloway, an Irvington Republican, characterizes as the role of the biblical document in American history.
"The second thing that it does (is) allow the Ten Commandments to be discussed from a historical standpoint," he said in an interview with the Family Foundation.
Similar bills have faced legal challenges in Louisiana and Texas, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District heard oral arguments last month. The plaintiffs in both states are multifaith and nonreligious families who argue the laws impose one particular faith on students and violate church/state separation under the First Amendment.
Family Foundation Executive Director David Walls is optimistic that the courts will eventually side with lawmakers in those states who approved the bills.
"We continue to be thankful that the legal dynamic is changing," he said. "We're seeing a restoration of religious liberty, a restoration of a proper understanding of the Constitution."
While religious freedom bills have been well-received in the GOP-led General Assembly, similar bills putting the Ten Commandments in classrooms filed last year did not receive committee hearings.