Court Cases

Starting in July 2025, dozens of Texas families of different religious and nonreligious backgrounds have filed three separate lawsuits to block Senate Bill 10, a new state law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. These plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. The organizations filed their first lawsuit, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, challenging S.B. 10 in July 2025 on behalf of 16 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction in August preventing the 11 defendant school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments. The defendants in the  Nathan case have appealed that decision and the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has agreed to hear the case (along with a case challenging a similar law in Louisiana) en banc on Jan. 20, 2026. The court injunctions blocking the schools from displaying the Ten Commandments remain in place while the appeal is pending. Despite the Nathan court ruling that the displays would be “plainly unconstitutional,” some Texas school districts that weren’t defendants in the Nathan case began to display or announced their intention to display Ten Commandments posters. In response, the organizations filed a second lawsuit, Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, on behalf of a new group of 15 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families who attend 14 of these districts. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia on Nov. 18, 2025, issued a preliminary injunction requiring those districts to remove the displays by Dec. 1, 2025, and prohibiting them from posting new displays. Throughout this ongoing litigation, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued statements instructing school districts to follow S.B. 10 unless a court has ordered them not to do so, and Paxton has sued three school districts to enforce the law. Even after two federal judges in Texas had ruled S.B. 10 unconstitutional, school districts across the state continued to display the Ten Commandments.  Consequently, on Dec. 2, 2025, the organizations, on behalf of a group of 18 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families, filed a class action lawsuit — Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal ISD — to stop all Texas public school districts that are not already involved in active litigation or subject to an injunction from displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom. With more than 1,000 school districts in Texas, a class action lawsuit is the most effective way to protect the religious freedom of all Texas public school children and their families. As of Jan. 7, 2026, the case is pending, and there is no court order yet.

Two LGBTQIA+ nonprofit organizations, two drag production and entertainment companies, and a drag artist are suing the State of Texas to stop state officials from implementing an unconstitutional and far-reaching drag ban.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Jackson & Walker LLP have filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, on behalf of a Texas family, asserting that the agency’s rules violate the family’s constitutional rights to due process.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Transgender Law Center, and Baker McKenzie have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality and lawfulness of four key provisions of Senate Bill 12, or Texas' Student Identity Censorship Law. The case was brought on behalf of the Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), the Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT), a teacher, and two students and their parents against Mike Morath, in an official capacity as the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Houston ISD, Katy ISD, and Plano ISD. S.B. 12 bans diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in Texas public and charter schools and prohibits teachers and student groups from discussing or supporting topics related to race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The law eliminates programs such as cultural history events, training on inclusion, and student clubs like GSAs that provide safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQIA+ students. The law also bars school employees from “assisting” a student’s social transition, including by providing “any information” about this topic, which is unconstitutionally vague and has already resulted in transgender students being discriminated against and harmed across Texas. As this lawsuit remains pending, we urged every school district in Texas to continue following other federal and state laws that require preventing bullying and harassment of transgender students when implementing this vague and unconstitutional provision. S.B. 12 is one of the most extreme education censorship laws in the country. The law censors the speech of students, parents, educators, and others not only in classrooms, but also after-school programs, field trips, private events on school property, and informal conversations. By silencing discussions of race, gender, and sexual orientation, S.B. 12 threatens students’ safety and privacy, punishes educators for fostering inclusion, and erases the histories and identities of marginalized communities from Texas schools. The plaintiffs are nonprofit organizations, a teacher’s union, two students, and an educator directly affected by the law’s sweeping prohibitions. Together, they challenge the elimination of safe spaces and inclusive programs that make students feel like they belong in Texas schools. The lawsuit argues that S.B. 12 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Equal Access Act. Plaintiffs have filed a motion for preliminary injunction to block enforcement while the case proceeds, and a preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for December 1, 2025. Our clients are asking the court to block four unconstitutional provisions of S.B. 12 and affirm that Texas schools should empower every student — no matter their race, gender, or background — to learn, grow, and thrive, not silence their identities or erase their histories. The lawsuit was filed in the Houston Division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on August 28, 2025.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP have filed a lawsuit, on behalf of people jailed without lawyers in Travis County, to affirm the constitutional right to counsel at first appearance.

The ACLU of Texas and partners are suing over the unlawful, prolonged detention of four immigrants by two counties on the Texas border in 2021 and 2022.

Families and health professionals are suing the State of Texas to stop state officials from banning life-saving medical care for trans youth.