ACLU of ​​​​​​​Texas, Families Urge Federal Court To Block State Law Mandating Ten Commandments Displays In Public School Classrooms

SAN ANTONIO — Representatives for 16 multi-faith and nonreligious Texas families urged the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to block Senate Bill 10, a new state law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The families, who all have children in Texas public schools, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District.

The lawsuit was filed on July 2, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 10 into law. On August 15 and 18, the families asked the court to issue an order that blocks the defendants from posting the Ten Commandments in public schools or taking any other action to carry out the law while the lawsuit is pending.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu, or nonreligious, including clergy, assert that S.B. 10 violates the First Amendment’s protections for the separation of church and state and the right to free religious exercise.

The organizations representing the families — the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel – issued the following statement:

“Our lawsuit is necessary to protect the religious freedom of all Texas public schoolchildren and their families. This law is a transparent attempt to pressure public school students to convert to the state’s preferred brand of Christianity. We urged the court to block S.B. 10 from being implemented because it violates the Constitution’s promise of religious freedom and church-state separation. Public schools are not Sunday schools. Parents and children – not politicians or school officials — should get to decide if, when and how to engage with religion.”