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. A group of families from the school districts sought a preliminary injunction against the law, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, the AP reports. They say the requirement violates the First Amendment's protections for the separation of church and state and the right to free religious exercise.
Texas is the largest state to attempt such a requirement, and US District Judge Fred Biery's ruling from San Antonio is the latest in a widening legal fight that's expected to eventually go before the US Supreme Court.
- "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 named to the bench by President Bill Clinton, wrote in the 55-page ruling that began with quoting the First Amendment and ended with "Amen."
- The ruling prohibits the 11 districts and their affiliates from posting the displays required under the state law. The law is being challenged by a group of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious families, including clergy, who have children in the public schools.
- "Ultimately, in matters of conscience, faith, beliefs, and the soul, most people are Garbo-esque," Biery wrote, per KXAN. "They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government-run schools."
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he planned to appeal the ruling, calling it "flawed." "The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship," the Republican said in a statement, echoing sentiments from religious groups and conservatives who support the law.
- Texas is the third state where recent laws about putting the Ten Commandments in schools have been blocked by a court. A federal appeals court has blocked a similar law in Louisiana, and a judge in Arkansas told four districts they cannot put up the posters, although other districts in the state said they're not putting them up either.