Federal Judge Stops Texas From Requiring Ten Commandments in School Classrooms

A federal judge Wednesday temporarily blocked a Texas law that would require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery, a Clinton appointee, put the law—originally set to take effect Sep. 1—on hold, ruling it likely violated the First Amendment by crossing “the line from exposure to coercion.”

Texas’ SB 10, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, orders public schools to display “in a conspicuous place in each classroom” a copy of the Ten Commandments that is at least “16 inches wide and 20 inches tall” and that conforms to what Biery describes as the “allegedly Protestant” version set out in the law.

But a group of Texas families sued their school districts, saying the law violated the First Amendment. 

The families, who belong to Jewish, atheist, Presbyterian, and other religious backgrounds, argued the requirement would “send a marginalizing message” that their children didn’t belong, and that it would “religiously coerce” and “substantially interfere with the religious development” of the children.

But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office defended the school districts, summarized the families’ arguments as “simply that they disagree with the Ten Commandments or may be offended by some future display.” He added, “‘Offense does not equate to coercion.’” 

In his Aug. 20 opinion in Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, Biery sided with the families, temporarily blocking the law so their challenge could continue. 

Biery’s order only extends to the 11 school districts challenged in the suit—a list that includes Houston and Austin.

However, the Texas law is now the third such statute—of three passed by states so far—blocked by courts, with district courts halting similar laws in portions of Arkansas and Louisiana. In June, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s pause on the Louisiana law.

Biery’s opinion heavily cites the 5th Circuit’s opinion, which said Louisiana’s Ten Commandment requirement was “plainly unconstitutional” because it was primarily intended to “‘advance [a] religious viewpoint.’”

The ACLU, one of the groups representing the families, released a statement calling the order “a victory for religious freedom and church-state separation.”

“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Today’s decision ensures that our clients’ schools will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed and can learn without worrying that they do not live up to the state’s preferred religious beliefs.”

Paxton said his office plans to appeal the decision.

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