Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee SB303: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to the display of historical documents.
Status: Chaptered, May 14, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary ON MARCH 19, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 47 FOR SENATE BILL 303, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 47, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 adds a preamble and rewrites the substantive provisions of this bill to require each local board of education and governing body of a public charter school to require all schools under their administration to display the Ten Commandments, the first sentence of the second paragraph of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, and the preamble to the United States Constitution in a prominent location in each school building in order to educate students on the significance of the Ten Commandments to the principles and ideals of the United States of America, as established in its founding documents. The full text of this amendment specifies the text of the Tenn Commandments that must be displayed. This amendment encourages fraternal and other organizations or individuals to donate the funds or materials necessary for the display required by this amendment. This amendment requires each local board of education and governing body of a public charter school to determine the size and placement of the display required by this amendment; provided, that the items must be displayed together, prominently, with text displayed in a font size no smaller than least 26 point and in a style and manner that is easy for students to see and read. ON APRIL 2, 2026, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1. ON APRIL 9, 2026, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS ADOPTION OF SENATE AMENDMENT #1. ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS NONCONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1 AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. ON APRIL 16, 2026, THE SENATE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE HOUSE
What the bill says
From the amended text:
Senate Education 1 Amendment No. 1 to SB0303 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 303 House Bill No. 47* by deleting all language after the caption and substituting: WHEREAS, the United States regularly has acknowledged the role that fundamental religious documents and principles have in American heritage law; and WHEREAS, one of the most recognized sets of foundational principles were the Ten Commandments, which were displayed in public buildings across the United States, including in schools, government buildings, and courthouses; and WHEREAS, for the last several decades, expression of that heritage has been restricted; and WHEREAS, the Lemon test was the culmination of separationists' fight to eradicate all references to religion from the public sphere; and WHEREAS, litigants like the American Humanist Association, American Atheists, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and The Satanic Temple used the Lemon test to block as many displays of America's religious heritage as they could, including the Ten Commandments displays and veterans' memorials; and WHEREAS, one of the largest upheavals was in Stone v. Graham in 1980, where the Supreme Court used the Lemon test to strike down Kentucky's law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools; and WHEREAS, prior to Stone v. Graham, many public schools displayed the Ten Commandments, and after Stone v. Graham, public …