House defeats bill to display Ten Commandments in North Dakota public schools, colleges

The North Dakota House of Representatives voted down a bill Wednesday that would have mandated the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school cafeteria and state-funded college.

The bill was defeated on a 53-38 vote.

Supporters of House Bill 1145 said displaying the Ten Commandments in schools would strengthen moral values. 

“If putting the Ten Commandments in the schools would save one life, would it be worth it?” said Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, the bill’s chief sponsor. “If it saved one marriage, would it be worth it?”

Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, said many children would benefit from being exposed to Christianity in school, counting himself as one who “needed to be exposed to God.”

Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck, said the bill is unconstitutional based on a 1980 North Dakota Supreme Court opinion and would not survive a court challenge. 

Klemin pointed out that lawmakers approved a bill in 2021 that authorized school boards to post the Ten Commandments and other historical documents in public schools if they choose. 

Bill requiring posting, teaching of Ten Commandments fails in SD House

Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, said lawmakers would need to answer to taxpayers if they approve a bill that’s likely to lead to costly lawsuits. A fiscal note on the bill said litigation could be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more than $1 million if appeals are involved.

Hoverson said an attorney who supports the bill has offered to defend the law in court if North Dakota or other states with similar bills get sued. South Dakota and Montana are among states with Ten Commandments bills this session as well. South Dakota’s measure failed in the House this week.

Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, said the bill sends a message that people of Jewish, Muslim or other faiths are secondary in the eyes of public schools and state government.

She fought back tears on the House floor as she described the experience of Indigenous people required to attend boarding schools that forced them to abandon their spiritual beliefs.

“Many were subject to the very same doctrine this bill seeks to impose on public institutions,” Davis said.

This story was updated to correct the vote total.