BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Board of Education decided Tuesday night to abandon its effort to place the Ten Commandments at public school sites, ending a year-long consideration of the controversial proposal.
The board had been openly endorsing the plan to display the Ten Commandments at school facilities for the past year. However, the decision comes after a federal judge ordered a Texas school district last month to remove its Ten Commandments display from public classrooms following a lawsuit.
Board President Mary Little said the recent legal ruling influenced the board's decision to drop the matter.
"You know, even if we tried to do this, it would just be a battle that we could not win. And I don't see that we would go down this road right now," Little said.
Despite Kern County's decision, the issue remains active across the country. School districts in other parts of the nation continue proposing Ten Commandments displays in public classrooms, even as they face ongoing legal challenges.
The debate over religious displays in public schools has intensified nationwide, with various districts testing the boundaries of church-state separation in educational settings.
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