Senate Bill 11, passed during the 2025 legislative session, requires Texas school boards to weigh a decision on creating a prayer policy by March 1.
Jessica Kourkounis
Special to the Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Independent School District is joining at least seven other Tarrant County districts in rejecting the adoption of a new prayer policy.
The school board voted 7-1 on Tuesday night against the policy after a new state law, Senate Bill 11, required all Texas school boards to vote by March 1 to decide if they wanted to adopt such a policy.
Fort Worth ISD staff advised against creating a new policy because one already exists that allows students to engage in prayer and religious observance at school. Board member Kevin Lynch was the lone dissenter, and there was no board discussion on the topic besides clarifying questions on the motion.
Several people spoke during public comment on the agenda item, all urging the school board to reject Senate Bill 11. Clergy members, parents and grandparents were among the public speakers.
Sheri Allen, cantor and co-founder of Makom Shelanu synagogue in Fort Worth, called the law another attempt to dismantle the wall between church and state. She voiced concerns about the policy creating social pressure and exclusion for students who don’t want to participate.
“When my children were young, they were pressured by other students to convert to Christianity, and felt ostracized and othered,” Allen said. “It was traumatic and had no place in the school environment. Mandatory prayer time will only exacerbate this tension and force children to either comply to fit in with the dominant Christian culture or to remain excluded from many of their peers.”
Allen is also the committee chair of the Justice Network of Tarrant County.
Janet Mattern, president of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County, said it’s the responsibility of parents rather than schools to determine religious teachings for children.
“We oppose any mandated period for religion in our schools,” she said. “Our schools are entrusted to care for every student, regardless of immigration status, religious or non-religious belief or background.”
Fort Worth ISD’s existing policy allows students to silently pray or meditate in school as long as it doesn’t disrupt instruction or other school activities. Students can’t be “required or coerced to engage in or refrain” from religious practices during school activities, and students can’t be discriminated against based on their religious views.
Students are able to organize prayer groups and religious clubs or gatherings before, during and after the school day in Fort Worth ISD.
Districts implementing a prayer policy under Senate Bill 11, the new law with the March 1 deadline, require parents to sign consent forms waiving their right to sue districts on the basis of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prevents governments from establishing a religion. Policies under this law also require that students’ religious observance be done outside the presence of other students without signed consent forms.
The Grapevine-Colleyville school board on Monday rejected the creation of a policy in alignment with Senate Bill 11, also stating the district already had a policy allowing students to engage in prayer and religious observance during the school day. The school boards of Arlington, Everman, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Kennedale, Lake Worth, Mansfield and Northwest ISDs have also voted against the new prayer policy. Keller and Aledo ISD officials have approved the prayer policy.
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Lina Ruiz covers early childhood education in Tarrant County and North Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A University of Florida graduate, she previously wrote about local government in South Florida for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.