Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — After listening to multiple comments and going into executive session, the Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees approved a resolution against Senate Bill (SB) 11 during the Feb. 23 meeting.
The bill was adopted during the 89th Texas Legislature, amending Section 25.901 of the Texas Education Code, “Exercise of Constitutional Right to Pray” by allowing prayer or meditation to be encouraged in school, as previously reported by the News-Dispatch. However, requiring or coercing someone to pray or meditate is still prohibited under law.
According to the bill, school boards statewide were given the option to require campuses to provide students and employees the opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text on each school day.
While they are not required to adopt the bill, there was a deadline to make a decision by March 1, 2026, bringing forth the item to the DSISD Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting.
Before the item was introduced, several members of the community stepped up to speak during public comments.
One of those was Cathy Thomas, whose daughter graduated from DSISD in 2019. She urged the board to vote against the school prayer and religious text reading policy. She has felt firsthand — growing up in a small town among people of different denominations — the pressure that she needed to have a different faith.
“It was from my science teacher, who was also our principal. It got so bad that my mother had to go to the school board about it. We don’t want kids to feel that kind of pressure and this bill, I am afraid, will make it have that. There is already a time of reflection and student-led prayer, if it’s open to all students of any and all faiths, schools are welcome to do it,” Thomas said. “I really draw the line at teacher-involved prayer and Bible study during school hours.”
She then pleaded for the board to protect students’ education by not taking away more time from the instructional time, their right to belong by not being made to feel different because of their beliefs and their right to be who they are without governmental coercion.
“Reject state-organized prayer in our schools. Let the parents and faith communities they choose continue to be the primary teachers of their children when it comes to faith and respect to those who don’t subscribe to a particular faith, but teach that ethical behavior at home,” she said.
Victoria Holtom, a parent of Sycamore Springs Elementary School students, agreed that the board should vote against the bill, maintaining a “clear separation of church and state.”
“My 7-year-old should absolutely not receive religious instruction from his teachers at public school,” Holtom said, fighting back tears. “He has been alienated already among his peers. Many biblical teachings vary widely across denominations, as we’ve heard, and our educators can not be aligned on how to deliver these messages. For many of them, the suggestion that they try would be a huge violation of their rights and ethical obligations as teachers and mentors.”
Another community member, Natalie Kemp, pointed out that students and staff already have the right to pray or read religious texts during non-instructional time. Creating an official district-sanctioned prayer period “does not expand religious freedom, it simply creates new administrative responsibility and legal risk for our district.”
She added that, as stated in SB 11, school districts will be responsible for their own attorney fees and legal costs if disputes arise. This would expose DSISD to potentially significant liability, Kemp said.
“Every dollar spent on attorney fees is a dollar taken away from classrooms, teachers and students,” Kemp said.
Following discussion in closed session, what was brought before the board is a resolution in favor of declining every campus of the district to provide a period of prayer and reading of religious text for students and employees.
According to trustee Rob McClelland, the board acknowledges and respects the rights of students and employees to engage in religious expression, prayer and reading of religious texts in school, as allowed under the Constitution.
“A public school student has the absolute right to individually, voluntarily and silently pray or meditate in school in a manner that does not interrupt instructional or other activities of the school,” McClelland said. “Lastly, the board directs the superintendent to continue to take efforts to protect the ability for our students and our employees to exercise these rights without discrimination or retaliation.”
The board unanimously approved the resolution, ultimately declining the adoption of SB 11.
The DSISD Board of Trustees will meet next at 6 p.m. March 30.
