NATION
TEXAS
*********** TEN COMMANDMENT DISPLAY IN THE CLASSROOMS (SB10) ************
Families File Lawsuit over The Decalogue Display in the Classroom
15 multifaith families filed lawsuit against 14 school districts, including many in North Texas, over the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, The Dallas Morning News reported in its September 23, 2025, edition.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a similar suit that had led to a federal judge issuing verdict in August 2025 that the display of the Ten Commandments, required by the Senate Bill 10 passed in this year's legislative session, did expressly show favoritism in favor of Christianity and did have all the appearance of "coercion" to the non-Christian students.
The Decalogue Setback to Lone Star State, Paxton Sues a Pair of ISDs for not Following SB10
A federal judge on November 18, 2025 temporarily blocked the public display of Ten Commandments in the Texas classrooms as mandated by the Senate Bill 10. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas in San Antonio has ruled that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the ground of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the state from establishing a religion and ensures separation between the state and the church.
In a separate, but related, ruling in August 2025, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas in San Antonio temporarily prohibited 11 school districts, including Plano Independent School District, from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The plaintiffs in the November 18, 2025, case include 14 school districts, among them many are North Texas school districts such as Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Azle, Northwest, Rockwall, Lovejoy and Mansfield.
On the same day as U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia issued TRO [temporary restraint order] relief against display of the Ten Commandments in the classrooms of 14 ISDs, Attorney-General Ken Paxton chose to sue Leander ISD and Round Rock ISD for flouting the Senate Bill 10, days after he took the Galveston ISD to the court early this month for the same reason.
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of State's Ten Commandment Display Law
Nation's most conservative appeals court, Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals, on April 21, 2026 in a split opinion overturned the lower court ruling on Texas law requiring Ten Commandment display in each public-school classroom. Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan upheld the state law, adding that the law "does not transform the poster into a summon to prayer".
Paxton Asks Proof of Classroom Display of Ten Commandment from 29 ISDs
Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton wrote a letter on May 7, 2026, asking proof from 29 school districts, including three from North Texas, that they were complying with the Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 11. Governor Gregg Abbott signed the bills passed in 2025 in the preceding legislative session.
Senate Bill 10 calls for displaying copies of donated Ten Commandment in classrooms, while the Senate Bill 11 requires school boards to hold votes on, not necessarily to approve for, accommodating time for students for prayer or reading religious texts. Three North Texas school districts are Dallas, Fort Worth and Plano. Paxton threatened to bring lawsuits if satisfactory responses were not sent by the ISDs in due time. Paxton's flurry of lawsuits and investigations increases in the run-up to the May 26, 2026, Senate primary runoff against seating Senator John Cornyn.
*********** TEN COMMANDMENT DISPLAY IN THE CLASSROOMS (SB10) ************
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