Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, reading a sample poster of the Ten Commandments that would be mandated in common areas of fifth through 12th grade public schools in Alabama. The Senate passed a bill requiring the display of such poster after debate was limited and Democrats were not recognized. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a bill requiring school districts to post the Ten Commandments in different locations.
SB 99, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, would require schools to display a poster of the religious document in fifth through 12th-grade classes and within common areas, such as cafeterias and school libraries, in every school within the district.
“The bill ensures that students see the full contents of American development, including the moral and philosophical influences that shape our legal system. Constitutional foundations are bound by this,” Kelley said.
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The bill passed 27-6 after Senate Republicans limited debate with a cloture petition. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, the presiding officer of the chamber and a Republican, refused to recognize Democrats who wanted to speak on the bill.
“Point of order … You looked at me, and I had my hand raised before you even started. You just went right back to him,” Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, told Ainsworth. “I understand the game plan here, but be fair.”
“I’m going to be fair,” Ainsworth said. “It is my decision who I decide, if he wants to speak as well, so I went to him. I answered your point of order.”
Kelley spoke on the bill for the full 20 minutes allocated before a vote on a cloture petition.
Public schools will not be required to spend public funds to display the poster, but school boards could accept donations to purchase posters to display.
“This bill would condition the requirements on the availability of donated funds to purchase the display, so it wouldn’t be at any taxpayer expense,” Kelley said.
Alabama voters in 2018 approved a constitutional amendment allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed on public property but not mandating such displays. Federal courts have allowed the displays of the Ten Commandments in historical contexts in schools but not as religious or moral displays.
Louisiana in 2024 passed a law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. A federal court last June blocked the law, ruling it violated the separation of church and state, but the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in February reversed the lower court’s decision while stopping short of ruling on the constitutionality of the law.
“The bill promotes historical literacy, civic understanding and continual education,” Kelley said.
Kelley read an entire sample poster that includes the Ten Commandments, quotes from John Quincy Adams and the Mayflower Compact. Kelley also said the text inspired other historical documents, like the Code of Hammurabi.
“The influence that the Ten Commandments have had on other legal codes has predated many modern legal systems, which their principles were clearly influential on later codes including the Code of Hammurabi,” Kelley said. The set of laws originated in ancient Babylon and preceded the Ten Commandments by hundreds of years.
A federal court recently blocked six school districts in Arkansas from enforcing the state’s law that required them to display the Ten Commandments.
The bill goes to the House. There are five legislative days left in the 2026 legislative session.
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Author: Anna Barrett