A bill that would allow local school boards and governing bodies of charter schools to showcase foundational U.S documents and the Ten Commandments officially passed both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly on the last day of the 2026 legislative session.
HB0047 by Rep. Michael Hale is permissive, meaning no school would be required to display the documents, but encourages the display of the Ten Commandments, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Constitution of Tennessee, a resolution honoring the history of the school, “or any other historically significant documents in a prominent location of each school building.”
Democrats consistently attacked the legislation as violation of the often misunderstood and misapplied “separation of church and state” principle, but bill sponsors in both chambers contended that the display of the Ten Commandments is not forcing religion on anyone but is highlighting their historical significance in helping to shape the other founding documents of this nation.
“We are saying in the foundation of this nation, the Ten Commandments was one of the founding documents, one of the founding guidance that our forefathers put into this nation,” Senate sponsor Mark Pody previously said of the bill.
