Dallas ISD trustees are scheduled to take a recorded vote on February 26 on whether to adopt an optional daily period of prayer and religious reading authorized under Senate Bill 11.
CBS News Texas reported that the district has signaled it will not adopt the policy, though trustees have not yet taken formal action.
State law requires every Texas public school board and open-enrollment charter school governing body to take a recorded vote within six months of the law’s effective date.
The Legislature approved Senate Bill 11 during the 2025 session, and the measure applies beginning with the 2025–2026 school year.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 11 in 2025 as part of a broader education reform package that included school choice expansion and additional protections for religious expression in public schools.
What Senate Bill 11 Provides
Under Senate Bill 11, districts may adopt a policy that provides a daily period of prayer and the reading of the Bible or other religious texts. The law does not require districts to implement the period.
If adopted:
Participation must be voluntary
A parent or guardian must submit a signed consent form before a student may participate
The consent form must acknowledge that participation is optional and include a waiver of certain legal claims
Parents or employees may revoke consent at any time
Prayer may not be broadcast over a public address system
The period may not replace instructional time
Districts must ensure prayer does not occur in the physical presence or hearing of individuals who have not submitted consent
The Texas attorney general must defend districts that adopt the policy, and if representing the district, the state assumes liability for related legal costs
The statute also affirms that students retain the right to individually and voluntarily pray outside the designated period under Texas Education Code Section 25.901, which provides that a public school student has an “absolute right to individually, voluntarily, and silently pray or meditate in school.”
Other North Texas Districts Decide
Grand Prairie ISD, Irving ISD, and Cleburne ISD voted against adopting the optional policy this week, according to CBS News Texas.
In Tarrant County, Lake Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Mansfield, Castleberry, Northwest, and Everman ISDs also voted against establishing the additional period, according to reporting by the Fort Worth Report.
Keller ISD and Aledo ISD voted to adopt the policy in late 2025.
“It’s not forcing anyone to participate — it’s giving them a place to participate if they so choose,” Keller ISD trustee Chris Coker said during the meeting ahead of the vote.