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Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Texas can’t put Ten Commandments in certain school districts’ classrooms, judge says
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Texas cannot require public schools in Houston, Austin and other select districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge says 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. They say the requirement violates the First Amendment’s protections for the separation of church and state and the right to free religious exercise.
The ruling prohibits the 11 districts and their affiliates from posting the displays required under 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.
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 appointed by President Bill Clinton, writes in the ruling that begins by quoting the First Amendment and ends with “Amen.”
Biery’s ruling includes extensive historical references, quotes that range from the Founding Fathers to evangelist Billy Graham, and even a Rembrandt painting of Moses holding the stone tablets alongside an image of actor Charlton Heston in the film “The Ten Commandments.”
A broader lawsuit that names three Dallas-area districts as well as the state education agency and commissioner is pending in federal court. And although Friday’s ruling marks a major win for civil liberties groups, the legal battle is likely far from over.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he plans 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 says in a statement, echoing sentiments from religious groups and conservatives who support the law.
Texas has a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds and won a 2005 Supreme Court case that upheld the monument.
The Times of Israel Community.