A bill which seeks to mandate the Ten Commandments be displayed in every South Dakota classroom advances from the Senate Education committee.
Opponents say it could open the state up to costly legal battles.
Senate Bill 51 passed Thursday on the narrowest possible margin to the Senate floor, advancing on a 4-3 vote.
Piedmont Republican Sen. John Carley is the prime sponsor. He has advocated for the inclusion of the document down to the 8x14 dimensions and the supplemental information required if this bill becomes law.
“It talks about other documents like the Mayflower Compact, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and other documents that were also foundational to governmental systems of the United States," Carley said. "This is an opportunity for South Dakota to be the third or fourth state to bring this to our people. “
Despite Carley stressing the importance of these other documents, they are not included in the mandated classroom display - only the Ten Commandments.
For Rob Monson, executive director of School Directors of South Dakota, it’s a poor use of lawmakers limited time.
“What problem are we trying to solve with this bill," Monson asks. "You folks come here for two and a half months a year to solve problems occurring in our state that can help the average South Dakotan. My main question is what are we trying to solve by passing this bill?”
Beyond that, Diana Miller with the state Large School Group said the state education lobby is both unified in opposition and wary of potential consequences to the state.
“I want to start out with the broad statement that there is a clear separation of church and state in the Constitution," Miller said. "I’m not a lawyer, and lawyers can argue that, but I don’t think we purposefully do anything in South Dakota to tempt or test a lawsuit. Its expensive, and it’s not something we do.”
Other concerns include the appropriateness, potential changes of curriculum and lack of funding surrounding the proposal.