A coalition of 15 multifaith and nonreligious families in Texas filed a federal lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop public schools from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The lawsuit challenges actions taken in some school districts following the passage of Senate Bill 10, which mandates such displays.
Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 10 in May, requiring all public schools to display a framed 16 by 20-inch poster listing the Ten Commandments.
Enforcement of the law was temporarily halted in August after a federal court granted a preliminary injunction requested through families and faith leaders in the Dallas area. Plaintiffs argued that the law violates the First Amendment’s clauses on separation of church and state and free exercise of religion.
The lawsuit names several school districts, including Comal ISD, Georgetown ISD, Conroe ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, McKinney ISD, Frisco ISD, Northwest ISD, Azle ISD, Rockwall ISD, Lovejoy ISD, Mansfield ISD, and McAllen ISD.
The complaint was filed in federal court in San Antonio and cites a recent ruling in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District. That ruling found Senate Bill 10’s requirement to display a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in classrooms unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
The plaintiffs receive representation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Legal support comes from the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, which offers pro bono assistance.
Rev. Kristin Klade, a Lutheran pastor and plaintiff, said the displays interfere with her role in guiding her children’s spiritual education. Supporters of the law, including religious groups and conservatives, argue that the Ten Commandments form a foundation for the U.S. judicial and educational systems and support their display in schools.
Texas already maintains a Ten Commandments monument on its Capitol grounds, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld as constitutional in 2005.
However, in June, a Louisiana appellate panel ruled a similar law requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms unconstitutional.