Alabama § 16-43A-2 - Display of Ten Commandments and America’s Founding Documents; Funding of Displays.

§ 16-43A-2. Display of Ten Commandments and America’s Founding Documents; Funding of Displays.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2027, and subject to the availability of donated funds or donated displays pursuant to subsection (c) as determined by the State Superintendent of Education, each local board of education shall display a poster or framed document that meets the requirements of subsection (b) in each of the following locations:

(1) Every fifth through twelfth grade classroom where United States history is routinely taught according to the Alabama Course of Study.

(2) An entry way or other common area, such as the cafeteria or school library, in every school within the jurisdiction of the local board of education, except that this subdivision shall not apply to any school that serves students in kindergarten through fourth grade.

(b) The poster or framed document required by subsection (a) shall meet each of the following requirements:

(1) The poster or framed document shall be at least 11 inches by 14 inches in size.

(2) The layout and design of the poster or framed document shall be approved by the State Superintendent of Education.

(3) The poster or framed document shall contain the following content:

Historical Truths: The Ten Commandments and America’s Founding Documents

The Ten Commandments are a key part of the Judeo-Christian religious and moral tradition that shaped Western Civilization and ultimately the founding of the United States. There are many versions of the Ten Commandments. The one that follows is a common translation but not the only translation.

You shall not have other gods before me

You shall not make idols

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

Honor your father and your mother

You shall not murder

You shall not commit adultery

You shall not steal

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

You shall not covet

In 1813, future U.S. President John Quincy Adams wrote in a letter to his son that, “The Law given from Sinai” – in other words, the Ten Commandments – “was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious Code.” He noted that many of its provisions “were of universal applications – Laws essential to the existence of men in Society, and most of which have been enacted by every Nation which ever possessed any Code of Law.”

The Alabama Constitution provides that “no religion shall be established by law,” and the State of Alabama specifically respects the rights of its public school students to be free from state-established religion. Recognizing that personal choice about matters of faith are left to students and their families, the purpose of this poster is simply to acknowledge the historical role of the Ten Commandments, and the broader Judeo-Christian tradition, in shaping American civil society.

The Mayflower Compact of 1620, America’s first written constitution, contained a “covenant with ‘Almighty God’” by pilgrims to America to “form a civil body politic.”

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 “extended the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty” to the western territories becoming states and provided that ”[r]eligion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

The Declaration of Independence (1776) described all men as being “created equal” and acknowledged that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

The United States Constitution (1787) in its preamble stated one of its purposes to be securing “the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

From this tradition emerged the one nation under God that we have inherited today.

(c) This section may not be construed to require a local board of education to spend its funds to purchase the displays required by this section. To fund the displays free of charge, a local board of education may accept donated funds to purchase the displays or may accept donated displays.

(d) The State Department of Education shall identify appropriate resources for local boards of education to comply with this section free of charge. Once identified, the department shall list the free resources on the department’s website.

(e) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to implement this section.