A federal judge in San Antonio issued a temporary injunction preventing Texas from requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms of 11 districts and their affiliates. Plaintiffs include Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious families, including clergy, with children in public schools. Plaintiffs argue the law, scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, violates First Amendment protections for separation of church and state and free religious exercise. Judge Fred Biery wrote that even without affirmative teaching, students’ questions would likely compel teachers to respond. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will appeal. A broader federal lawsuit involving Dallas-area districts and state education officials remains pending, and the dispute could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Texas cannot require public schools in Houston, Austin and other select districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge said Wednesday in a temporary ruling against the state's new requirement. Texas is the third state where courts have blocked recent laws about putting the Ten Commandments in schools. A group of families from the school districts sought a preliminary injunction against the law, which goes into effect on Sept. 1.
"Even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer. That is what they do," Biery, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote in the ruling that begins by quoting the First Amendment and ends with "Amen." FILE - A granite Ten Commandments monument stands on the ground of the Texas Capitol, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
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