AUSTIN - Despite ongoing litigation, Attorney General Ken Paxton is directing all Texas independent school districts not enjoined by a court ruling to display copies of the Ten Commandments once Senate Bill 10 takes effect on Sept 1.
Last month, a group of 16 families filed suit asserting that S.B. 10 violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
S.B. 10 requires any public or secondary school to display the Ten Commandments in each classroom. While no school is compelled to purchase Ten Commandments displays, schools may choose to do so. However, schools must accept and display any privately donated posters or copies that meet the requirements of S.B. 10.
“From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage,” said Paxton. “Schools not enjoined by ongoing litigation must abide by S.B. 10 and display the Ten Commandments.
“The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country.”
Prior to the implementation of S.B. 10, activists sued several school districts to stop the new law.
On Aug. 20, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the school districts that are party to the litigation from displaying any copies of the Ten Commandments.
The court found that bill was unconstitutional, staying in step with similar outcomes in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Paxton appealed the ruling the following day.
The school districts affected by the injunction include Alamo Heights, North East, Cypress Fairbanks, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Dripping Springs, Plano and Northside.
On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, along with three other groups, sent a letter to public school superintendents across Texas warning them not to implement the bill.
“Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights,” the letter states. “Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public school officials may not comply with S.B. 10.”
