A federal judge has ordered Arlington ISD, Fort Worth ISD and more than a dozen other Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments posters from classrooms, according to reporting from KERA News.
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia passed an order to temporarily block enforcement of Senate Bill 10, writing that it would be “impractical, if not impossible” to protect students from “unwelcome religious displays” without pausing the law.
The affected districts must remove the displays by Dec. 1 while the case moves forward. Although the injunction applies only to the districts named in the lawsuit, the groups involved are urging all Texas districts not to display the posters.
“Today’s ruling is yet another affirmation of what Texans already know: The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities — not the government — the right to instill religious beliefs in our children,” said Chloe Kempf, staff attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.
The lawsuit was filed in September after some districts began putting up the posters following an earlier federal ruling in August that called SB 10 “plainly unconstitutional.”
That earlier decision blocked the law in nearly a dozen districts across major metro areas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has appealed. Paxton has also championed SB 11, allowing time for voluntary prayer or religious readings in classrooms, and his office did not immediately comment on the most recent injunction.
Similar laws in Louisiana and Arkansas have also been blocked by federal courts, KERA reported.
Meanwhile, Ken Paxton’s office released a statement announcing he has sued Round Rock, Leander ISDs and the Board Members of Trustees, alleging noncompliance with SB 10.
Leander officials said they were “confounded,” noting the district had received donations and “actively implemented the law in accordance with state requirements.”
“Had the AG’s Office contacted Leander ISD, the District could have shared its spreadsheet tracking precisely the number of donated posters the District has received,” the Leander ISD officials said.
Round Rock officials said they declined to post the posters while awaiting more legal clarity, citing conflict between state and longstanding federal law. Paxton also recently sued Galveston ISD.
A federal appeals court is set to review SB 10 in January.
Districts currently blocked from posting the Ten Commandments include Alamo Heights, Arlington, Austin, Azle, Comal, Conroe, Cypress-Fairbanks, Dripping Springs, Flour Bluff, Fort Bend, Fort Worth, Frisco, Georgetown, Houston, Lake Travis, Lackland, Lovejoy, Mansfield, McAllen, McKinney, North East, Northwest, Northside, Plano and Rockwall ISDs, according to KERA News.
