Boerne Independent School District is one of a small group of school systems in the entire state – out of more than 1,200 districts and charter networks – looking to set up a voluntary daily period of prayer. One advocate tracking the prayer policy estimates fewer than 20 districts have adopted the religious period.
Boerne ISD is a departure from most school systems in San Antonio, as well, which elected to not establish the prayer period or an official time for reading of religious texts. Most districts decided not to create the designated religious time out of concern for administrative responsibilities and worries that some children may feel left out.
The Boerne school board voted 6-1 last week to pursue the prayer period under Senate Bill 11, a new law that passed in 2025. The prayer period could go into effect next school year, starting in the fall.
SB 11, along with another law now being challenged in federal court that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in every Texas classroom, is part of a larger movement in recent years to bring religion into public schools.
Lawmakers have also mandated that public schools display donated “In God We Trust” signs in classrooms and gave districts the option to use chaplains to augment mental health services. Opponents like the American Civil Liberties Union, nonprofit advocacy group Texas Freedom Network and some Democrats, say Senate Bill 11 could violate a First Amendment provision prohibiting government establishment of a religion and may open a door to lawsuits.
John O’Hare, the district’s chief administrative officer, outlined for trustees last week what the district should consider related to the prayer period. He said students and staff already exercise rights to free religious expression, as long as it’s not disruptive.
They participate in moments of reflective silence over intercom systems; student-led prayer at events; student-organized religious clubs with faculty sponsors; and individual reading of religious texts during lunch, between classes and before or after school. The district even makes accommodations for religious fasting in alternate lunch locations, O’Hare said.
NEW: Boerne Champion’s Austin Garritano named Player of the Week
Students arrive for classes at Boerne Middle School in Boerne, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. (Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News)
“Already in BISD we support these rights daily in multiple ways,” O’Hare said, presenting the board with two separate resolutions: one to create the prayer time and the other to opt out of the scheduled period. The district did not making a specific recommendation.
The board’s decision means district staff members, who currently open meeting rooms and monitor activities of faith-based groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or Champion High School’s Jesus Club, could actively participate in the new prayer periods. Chaplains or other adults approved by the district could also attend. Under Senate Bill 11, consent from a parent or guardian is required for student participation, and activities should not be overheard by students or staff who don’t participate.
All school districts in Texas had a March 1 deadline to decide whether to begin drafting a prayer time policy.
Trustee Dallas Pipes asked how Boerne ISD would handle consent forms, manage space and avoid hurting the feelings of Jewish students, atheists and other “people finding that they don’t have a home.
“That really concerns me on this bill,” said Pipes, who cast the lone vote against a prayer time initiative.
Pipes’ fellow trustees were confident district staff, with guidance from the state and Texas Association of School Boards, could find ways to accommodate students and families of all faiths. The Texas Association of School Boards frequently advises districts on how to implement new state laws.
Trustees liked knowing they will hear updates on the policy as it is developed and can abolish it at any point if it becomes a burden to manage.
“A lot people assume this is like a Christian thing. When really the law says ‘religious text.’ So it could be the Torah. It could be anything,” trustee Rich Sena said.
RELATED: Boerne ISD voters approve property tax increase
During the meeting, trustee Garrett Wilson quoted Proverbs 1:7, saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” He said the district should try, within constitutional parameters, to “remove those barriers to exercising religious freedom.
“We’re not picking one religion over another and saying only one’s going to be able to do this. Everybody would be able to,” Wilson said.
Boerne joins a smattering of ISDs statewide, including Calallen near Corpus Christi, Magnolia near Houston and Keller and Aledo in North Texas, that are pursuing a prayer time policy that doesn’t coincide with instructional time during the school day. Boerne Superintendent Kristin Craft said her staff will “learn together” with the other districts on how the policy should be written and implemented.
“When you have a new initiative, we want to be very thoughtful and planful, and just take the time we need to build in all operational aspects for a policy,” Craft said.
Jake Wilson, a Fort Worth accountant and brother of trustee Garrett Wilson, testified in favor of the bill in Austin last year. In a post on LinkedIn, he said Boerne is one of 19 school districts he’s tracking that are pursuing a prayer time policy under the new law.
He’s hopeful some districts that declined to develop prayer time guidelines “may choose to adopt an SB 11 policy later.”
This article originally published at Boerne ISD is outlier in San Antonio in seeking designated ‘prayer time’ at school.