Faith leaders and families sue to block Texas' new Ten Commandments in
schools law
[June 26, 2025]
By JIM VERTUNO
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of Dallas-area families and faith leaders
have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new Texas law that requires
copies of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school
classroom.
The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims the measure is an
unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.
Texas is the latest and largest state to attempt a mandate that has run
into legal challenges elsewhere. A federal appeals court on Friday
blocked a similar law in Louisiana. Some families have sued over
Arkansas' law.
The plaintiffs in the Texas lawsuit are a group of Christian and Nation
of Islam faith leaders and families. It names the Texas Education
Agency, state education Commissioner Mike Morath and three Dallas-area
school districts as defendants.
“The government should govern; the Church should minister," the lawsuit
said. "Anything else is a threat to the soul of both our democracy and
our faith.”
Ten Commandments laws are among efforts, mainly in conservative-led
states, to insert religion into public schools. Supporters say the Ten
Commandments are part of the foundation of the United States’ judicial
and educational systems and should be displayed.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Ten Commandments measure
into law on June 21. He also has enacted a measure requiring school
districts to provide students and staff a daily voluntary period of
prayer or time to read a religious text during school hours.
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The Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to an emailed
request for comment.
Abbott, who was Texas attorney general in 2005 when he successfully
argued before the U.S. Supreme Court to keep a Ten Commandments
monument on the state Capitol grounds, defended the state classrooms
law in a social media post on Wednesday.
“Faith and freedom are the foundation of our nation,” Abbott posted
on X. “If anyone sues, we’ll win that battle.”
Opponents say the Ten Commandments and prayer measures infringe on
others’ religious freedom, and more lawsuits are expected. The
American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of
Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have said
they will file lawsuits opposing the Ten Commandments measure.
Under the new law, public schools must post in classrooms a
16-by-20-inch (41-by-51-centimeter) or larger poster or framed copy
of a specific English version of the commandments, even though
translations and interpretations vary across denominations, faiths
and languages and may differ in homes and houses of worship.
The lawsuit notes that Texas has nearly 6 million students in about
9,100 public schools, including thousands of students of faiths that
have little or no connection to the Ten Commandments, or may have no
faith at all.
The Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to an emailed
request for comment. The law takes effect Sept. 1, but most public
school districts start the upcoming school year in August.
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