A district judge has temporarily blocked Texas’ new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms from being enforced in certain districts.
The law, signed in June by Governor Greg Abbott, mandates that public elementary and secondary schools display “in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.”
On Wednesday, District Judge Fred Biery issued an injunction preventing 11 school districts named in a lawsuit from being required to follow the mandate. Other districts in Texas not part of the lawsuit are still obligated to comply with the law once it takes effect on September 1.
“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,” Biery wrote. “There is also insufficient evidence of a broader tradition of using the Ten Commandments in public education, and there is no tradition of permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms. … There are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the ruling, calling it “flawed,” and pledged to appeal.
“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. Texas will always defend our right to uphold the foundational principles that have built this nation, and I will absolutely be appealing this flawed decision,” Paxton said in a statement.
A similar law in Louisiana has already faced setbacks. Earlier this year, Louisiana became the first state to mandate the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms, but a federal appeals court ruled the law unconstitutional in June.
