Written by Associated Press’s Andrew DeMillo
In a temporary judgment against the state’s new requirement, a judge ruled Wednesday that Texas could not mandate that public schools in Houston, Austin, and other select districts display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
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A court has banned a Ten Commandments ordinance in Texas, making it the third state to do so.
A preliminary injunction was requested by a group of district families against the law, which takes effect on September 1. They claim that the requirement infringes upon the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state guaranteed by the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s decision from San Antonio is the most recent in a growing legal battle that is anticipated to ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, and Texas is the largest state to seek such a mandate.
The captive audience of pupils would probably have questions, and professors would feel obliged to respond, even if the Ten Commandments would not be taught in an affirmative manner. In the 55-page decision, which started with a First Amendment quotation and concluded with the words “Amen,” Biery stated that it is what they do.
The 11 districts and their affiliates are not allowed to post the displays mandated by the state law as a result of the verdict. A group of families with children attending public schools who are Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious, including clergy, are contesting the statute.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Civil Liberties Union represented the families.
Tommy Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement that today’s decision is a significant victory that safeguards Texas families of all backgrounds’ fundamental right to religious freedom. The court upheld our long-held belief that the purpose of public schools is education, not evangelization.
A larger complaint is still pending in federal court, naming the state education agency, commissioner, and three districts in the Dallas region.
A judge in Arkansas ordered four districts not to display the posters, while other schools in the state stated they would not be doing so too. A federal appeals court has banned a similar statute in Louisiana.
The court struggle is probably far from done, even if Friday’s decision represented a significant victory for civil liberties organizations who claim the bill violates the separation of church and state.
The Ten Commandments, according to conservatives and religious organizations, should be displayed since they form the cornerstone of the American legal and educational systems. Texas won a 2005 Supreme Court decision that upheld the monument to the Ten Commandments, which is located on the Capitol grounds.
In June, a panel of three appellate judges declared that the Ten Commandments display in classrooms was unconstitutional in Louisiana, the first state to do so.
