Overview
- Senate Bill 10 requires every public-school classroom in Texas to display a Protestant translation of the Ten Commandments in a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy, legible from anywhere in the room, starting September 1, 2025.
- On July 2, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of 16 families from Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu and nonreligious backgrounds.
- The lawsuit argues SB 10 breaches the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment by mandating one faith’s scripture in taxpayer-funded classrooms.
- Plaintiffs have requested a preliminary injunction to pause SB 10’s implementation pending litigation, with a federal judge in San Antonio reviewing their motion ahead of the school year.
- The Fifth Circuit’s recent injunction against a Louisiana Ten Commandments law and a parallel Arkansas challenge underscore the legal hurdles SB 10 faces before its effective date.