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A federal judge has ruled that a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms in the state is unconstitutional.
United States District Judge Orlando L. Garcia determined that Senate Bill 10 violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, which prevents the government from establishing or favoring a religion.
“I am relieved that, as a result of today’s ruling, my children, who are among a small number of Jewish children in their schools, will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,” plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner said in a statement. “The government has no business interfering with parents’ decisions on matters of faith.”
Garcia’s order directs school officials at the school district included in the lawsuit to remove the displays by Dec. 1.
FEDERAL JUDGE PREVENTS TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM DISPLAYING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN CLASSROOMS
A federal judge has ruled that a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms in the state is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
The judge’s order only applies to certain districts, but the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation are asking all districts to ignore the state law.
The independent school districts of Comal, Georgetown, Conroe, Flour Bluff, Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Northwest, Azle, Rockwall, Lovejoy, Mansfield and McAllen are affected by the ruling.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on Sept. 22 on behalf of 15 multifaith families who are part of 14 school districts in the Lone Star State. The ACLU also filed a similar lawsuit over the summer on behalf of other Texas families.
TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON ENCOURAGES SCHOOLS TO BRING BACK PRAYER, ‘WE WANT GOD’S WORD TO BE OPENED’
The judge concluded that Senate Bill 10 violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. (Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“Today’s ruling is yet another affirmation of what Texans already know: the First Amendment guarantees families and religious communities – not the government – the right to instill religious beliefs in our children,” Chloe Kempf, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.
“Our schools are for education, not evangelism. This ruling protects thousands of Texas students from ostracism, harassment and religious coercion imposed by the state. All Texas school districts are now informed that the implementation of SB 10 violates the constitutional rights of their students,” he continued.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, sued two school districts (Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD) for allegedly refusing to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued two school districts for allegedly refusing to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“These dishonest ISD officials and board members blatantly ignored the will of Texas voters who expect our state’s legal and moral heritage to be upheld by the law,” Paxton said in the news release.
“Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD chose to defy a clear legal mandate, and this lawsuit makes clear that no district can ignore Texas law without consequences,” he added.