Lawsuit Targets New Mandate
A fresh lawsuit now challenges Texas’s law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. In addition, Texas school districts face growing legal battles, with the Flour Bluff Independent School District (ISD) recently added to the list of defendants. Moreover, interfaith parents claim the mandate violates children’s religious freedom and weakens parental rights in guiding spiritual or secular upbringing. As a result, as more Texas school districts face these lawsuits, the conflict over religion in education continues to intensify.
The Law in Question
Senate Bill 10, signed by Gov. Abbott, requires public schools to display a Protestant Ten Commandments version. Lawmakers approved the bill despite its similarity to other laws that federal courts have struck down.
For example, in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law that required the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. More recently, in 2024, a federal court struck down Louisiana’s attempt at a similar mandate.
Federal Court Response
Shortly after Texas enacted the law, parents in more than a dozen school districts sued, with support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas. On August 20, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery temporarily blocked the law’s implementation in the school districts involved in the lawsuit.
Judge Biery stressed schools may teach Ten Commandments history but warned against legally endorsing one religious version. Biery wrote that students could study Ten Commandments history without the state imposing an official scripture version.
Conflicting Directives
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered non-included districts to post Ten Commandments despite temporary injunction. The ACLU of Texas warned all public school superintendents of constitutional issues and possible litigation risks.
Since the first lawsuit did not include any Coastal Bend districts, many schools in the region accepted donated posters. State Sen. Adam Hinojosa helped coordinate donations for schools in Bee, San Patricio, Nueces, Kleberg, and Kenedy counties. He praised local partners, including MEG Engineers and community groups such as Citizens Defending Freedom and Moms for Liberty, for providing the posters.
“This is about ensuring that our classrooms reflect the values and history that helped shape our nation,” Hinojosa said in a September 18 news release.
Widening Legal Battle
On Sept. 22, 15 parents filed another lawsuit naming several districts, including Flour Bluff ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, and McAllen ISD, among others. The legal team includes the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, along with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, which represent the plaintiffs.
The complaint asserts that requiring the displays pressures students into observing a state-favored religious scripture. It also alleges that the displays marginalize students who follow different faith traditions—or none at all—by signaling that they “do not belong in their own school community.”
Diverse Religious Concerns
The plaintiffs represent Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Baha’i, Humanist, and nonreligious families. Many point out that the Protestant version mandated in Texas differs significantly from Catholic, Jewish, and even some Protestant traditions.
Jewish parents argue that the language is inaccurate and taken out of context. Christian parents raise concerns that the law conflicts with both their religious and civic values. Nonreligious parents say it undermines their decision to raise children without imposed beliefs.
One Hindu parent objected to the exclusivity of commandments declaring only one God and mandating Sabbath observance, which conflicts with Hindu teachings.
Flour Bluff Parent Speaks Out
One of the plaintiffs, a Flour Bluff parent and member of the Baha’i faith, filed suit on behalf of herself and her child, a student of Flour Bluff ISD. She stated that she is raising her child in a nonreligious tradition to allow independence in forming personal beliefs.
According to the complaint, the parent believes the mandated posters impose religious teachings on her child during nearly every classroom hour, sending a message that her child is an outsider.
School District’s Position
Flour Bluff ISD stated in the Caller-Times on September 22, clarifying that it had not yet received legal notice regarding the lawsuit. The District added:
“Regardless, it is the District’s long-standing position that it does not comment on any current or pending litigation affecting the FBISD. As always, the District adheres to applicable state and federal law in the implementation of its educational mission.”
What Comes Next
Expanding lawsuits show a clash between state officials defending Ten Commandments and families citing constitutional violations. With federal courts already striking down similar laws in other states, the outcome in Texas could set another national precedent.