Texas school boards have until March 1 to decide whether to adopt a district-wide daily prayer period or scripture reading, and thus far, Houston-area districts have overwhelmingly rejected the measure, citing logistical challenges and noting that students already have the right to pray privately during non-instructional time.
Magnolia ISD approved the prayer period earlier this month, although little information was provided on how it would be implemented. A district spokesperson said after the February 9 meeting that the decision reflects Magnolia ISD’s core values and traditions in the community.
Houston, Conroe, Katy, Cypress-Fairbanks, Tomball, Galveston and Alief ISDs have voted against it. Senate Bill 11, adopted last year, doesn’t mandate the prayer period but requires that all districts take an official recorded vote on the matter.
Boards that adopt a prayer period will have to figure out a policy, schedule and consent forms ahead of the 2026-27 school year. Parents can opt their kids out by not signing the consent form. Because the bill specifies that the prayer or scripture reading take place during non-instructional time, it’s unclear when the designated period would occur, but some have speculated that it would need to be before or after classes to avoid a disruption.
ACLU of Texas press strategist Kristi Gross said implementation will be a logistical nightmare.
“Schools would likely struggle to find the space and the supervisors to successfully separate the students who are participating in prayer periods from the students who are not,” she said. “Our schools should dedicate their limited time and resources to instruction and leave the religious instruction to families and houses of worship. Public schools should prioritize student performance and achievement, not religious indoctrination.”
Alief ISD board president Darlene Breaux, who is running in the Democratic primary for Texas House District 149, said students in her district already have a moment of silence in the mornings after they say the Pledge of Allegiance and the pledge to the Texas flag. There’s no need for an additional prayer time, she said.
“We just chose to remain with our current policy,” she said. “We definitely want to support our students and our families but the logistical process that we would have to go through to make sure kids are separated isn’t feasible. We also have to consider that we have kids who represent many different faiths. We want to be able to honor that everyone can pray or worship however they choose to. Since we already have the opportunity for people to pray or read scripture, we feel like that is more inclusive.”
Breaux is running against incumbent Democrat Hubert Vo, Houston City College professor Mink Jawandor and One Creek West nonprofit president Dave Romero. The winner of the March 3 primary will face Republican Dave Bennett in November.
Breaux, who worked in public schools for 25 years, said she’s running for office because she saw major statewide decisions about education move forward while hearing from families and educators who were opposed to the measures. One such concern that’s been raised repeatedly is the effort of some Republican politicians to implement Christian ideology in public schools.
“Educators are so frustrated that people who are making these policies and these laws don’t understand the boots on the ground,” Breaux said.
The ACLU of Texas is urging school districts that haven’t already voted on school prayer to reject it.
“Texas students already have the right to voluntarily pray and read religious literature, ” Gross said in a statement. “However, these prayer periods would be organized by the school, could involve or be led by school staff, and could take place during the school day. Under this bill, teachers will be allowed to encourage students to pray (or not to pray) and parents who would like their child to participate will have to sign away their First Amendment rights.”
Magnolia ISD, a Montgomery County district that has about 15,000 students, unanimously approved the measure. At press time, it appeared that only one other Texas district, Keller ISD near Dallas, has approved prayer periods. Decisions are pending at Needville and Columbia-Brazoria ISDs, among others, but they’ll have to take the vote this week to comply with state law.
Caro Achar, engagement coordinator for free speech at the ACLU of Texas, said inviting state-organized prayer into public schools will only cause division, pressure students to conform, and distract schools from their core educational mission.
“This law risks violating students’ and families’ constitutional rights and blurring the critical separation between church and state,” she said. “Texas students already have robust rights to pray or read religious texts during their own time during the school day. Texas public schools should be places where all students — regardless of faith or background — can learn, grow, and thrive.”
More than two dozen districts, including several in the Houston area, have been sued by a group of faith leaders and parents for displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom as mandated by a separate state law passed last year. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the matter in January, and the plaintiffs are awaiting a ruling on whether a temporary injunction blocking the districts named in the lawsuit from having to comply will be upheld.