HB313: HB313 Education; authorize and require all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in multiple locations

Current Georgia law lets public schools display historically significant documents, such as the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights, but does not require it. This bill would keep that permissive list but add a new mandatory requirement specifically for the Ten Commandments. Each public elementary and secondary school would have to post a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments, at least 16 by 20 inches, at the main entrances of the main building, the school library or media center, and the cafeteria, by July 1, 2025. The display must include a specific version of the text and a required historical context statement about the Ten Commandments in American education. Schools would not be forced to spend public money on the posters, but must accept donated funds or donated copies that meet the size and content rules. The State Board of Education would write implementing rules, and the Department of Education would post free-resource information online. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or lets it become law without signing.

• Requires every Georgia public elementary and secondary school to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in three specific locations by July 1, 2025.
• Sets minimum size (16 by 20 inches) and exact wording requirements for the Ten Commandments display, including a mandatory historical context statement.
• Adds the Ten Commandments and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to the existing list of historical documents schools may voluntarily display.
• Bars schools from being required to spend public funds on the displays but requires them to accept donated money or donated posters that meet the bill's requirements.
• Directs the State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement the display requirement and the Department of Education to publish free compliance resources online.

Public elementary and secondary schools, local school systems, and local boards of education across Georgia, which must display the required posters; the State Board of Education and Department of Education, which must issue rules and resources; and students, teachers, and parents who will encounter the displays.

Students and staff in every Georgia public school building would see the Ten Commandments posted at main entrances, libraries, and cafeterias starting in 2025. Schools face a new compliance duty, though the bill limits it by not forcing districts to pay for the posters themselves.

• Section 1 lays out legislative findings citing U.S. Supreme Court cases (Van Orden v. Perry, American Legion v. American Humanist Association) and historical documents as justification for the requirement.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1021(a) to add the Ten Commandments and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to the list of documents schools may display.
• Section 3 adds a new subsection requiring, by July 1, 2025, display of a Ten Commandments poster meeting size and text specifications in three named locations per school.
• Section 3 also requires a specific historical context statement to accompany each display and directs the State Board of Education to adopt implementing rules.
• Section 3 states schools need not spend public funds on the posters but must accept donated funds or donated posters meeting the requirements.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1022 to update cross-references for the Department of Education's online history resources.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's approval or the bill becoming law without signature.

1. 2025-02-11House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-10House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-06House Hopper (House)

• Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-031)Primary sponsor
• Charlice Byrd (R, HD-020)
• Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-081)
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• Mike Cameron (R, HD-001)
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)

• Ten Commandments in schools
• public school displays
• religion and education
• Georgia education law
• school policy