Conservative Groups Fund Drive to Place Ten Commandments in Texas Schools

Starting September 1, every Texas public school classroom will be required to display a poster of the Ten Commandments under a new state law, unless federal courts intervene.

Senate Bill 10, passed by Republican lawmakers earlier this year, mandates the displays but does not provide state funding. Instead, schools must accept donated posters and hang them once received.

As reported by Houston Public Media, conservative and Christian organizations are spearheading the poster drive, often directing donors to Restore American Schools, a website where a $1 contribution funds the printing of a poster. According to the site, more than 160,230 classrooms across 4,578 schools in Texas have already been covered.

The initiative involves media personality Glenn Beck and his nonprofit Mercury One, along with nearly two dozen partners such as Patriot Mobile, Wall Builders, and Texas-based Love Heals Youth.

Rebecca Smith, CEO of Love Heals Youth, told Houston Public Media the low donation cost made participation easy: “We had to jump all over that, because that meant we were going to be able to reach our goal much faster.”

Local districts in the Houston area, including Montgomery and Magnolia ISDs, have already received posters. Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles confirmed the district will comply with the law on September 1 despite being named in an ongoing lawsuit: “We will have the Ten Commandments posted in every classroom.”

The law has sparked legal challenges from civil liberties groups who argue it violates the First Amendment by promoting religion in public schools. A coalition of four national organizations filed suit on behalf of 16 Texas families from diverse religious backgrounds.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the case Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District challenges the constitutionality of the law, arguing it violates the First Amendment’s protections of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

“Posting the Ten Commandments in public schools is un-American and un-Baptist. S.B. 10 undermines the separation of church and state as a bedrock principle of my family’s Baptist heritage. Baptists have long held that the government has no role in religion—so that our faith may remain free and authentic. My children’s faith should be shaped by family and our religious community, not by a Christian nationalist movement that confuses God with power,” Pastor Griff Martin stated.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery is weighing whether to temporarily block the requirement in the 11 districts named in the lawsuit, which include Houston ISD, Cy-Fair ISD, and Fort Bend ISD. Another lawsuit filed in North Texas seeks to prevent enforcement in additional districts.