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Hutto ISD will not create a period of prayer in the school day, following a legislatively required vote on the matter taken in February.
What you need to know
Trustees voted not to create a daily period of prayer in its schools, at the recommendation of staff, at a Feb. 26 board meeting.
The vote is required by statute in Senate Bill 11, passed in the 89th Texas Legislature, with a deadline of March 1.
The details
Board President Amy English and trustee Billie Logiudice said students in the district already have the right to pray in school during moments of silence, read scripture during silent reading time and engage with their faith in a variety of ways under existing policy. The proposed policy change from the state, they said, was unnecessary, with Logiudice describing it as potentially placing boundaries around a right that students already have.
"Students in Hutto already have the right to pray in our schools, and nothing about this vote either way is going to change that," English said. "This resolution really is, as Miss Logiudice said, it's divisive, and I feel like it puts local boards in political battles that we should not be in, instead of where we need to be, which is focusing on student outcomes."
The context
SB 11 required school districts to take a record vote on whether to create a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or any other religious text. The bill states that such a policy would be inclusive of all faiths and would require that all students participating in a period of prayer during the school day are only able to do so with parental consent.
