North Texas faith leaders sue TEA, school districts over Ten Commandments law
AUSTIN, TX - JUNE 27: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott attends a press conference celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows a Ten Commandments monument to stand outside the Texas State Capitol June 27, 2005 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by
DALLAS - A group of Dallas-Fort Worth faith leaders are challenging the Texas Education Agency and area school districts over a new law that requires a copy of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom in the state.
What we know:
The group filed the challenge on behalf of themselves and their children in federal court Tuesday.
The students in the lawsuit attend schools in the Dallas, DeSoto and Lancaster independent school districts.
The lawsuit argues that requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every classroom violates long-standing precedents and the First Amendment.
What they're saying:
"Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Texas public-school classroom unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, reverence, and adoption of the state’s mandated religious scripture," court documents state.
They also claim that the law would interfere with the rights of parents to shape the religious education and upbringing of their children.
"The government should govern; the Church should minister," Bishop Gerald Weatherall said in the filing. "Anything else is a threat to the soul of both our democracy and our faith."
Another plaintiff in the case, Minster Al-Shaheed Muhammad, is raising his children in the Nation of Islam. Court documents state Muhammed's children attend public school in order to separate their "secular education from their religious education."
They argue that displaying the Ten Commandments will "undermine and interfere" with educating their children and lead to their children being "pressured to suppress" their involvement in the Nation of Islam.
Louisiana Ten Commandments law
The challenge comes just days after a federal appeals court called a similar law in Louisiana "plainly unconstitutional."
Dig deeper:
The law, passed by the Louisiana legislature in 2024, requires a poster or framed document with the Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools.
The law was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, but a group of public school parents sued, saying the law violated the First Amendment.
In November, a U.S. District Court called the law unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing the law.
On Friday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.
The ruling from the three-judge panel focused much of its argument on a past Supreme Court decision.
In 1980, the Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky statute requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in schools.
The ruling is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Senate Bill 10
Texas passed Senate Bill 10 this legislative session. The bill would set up a law that is very similar to Louisiana's.
Senate Bill 10 requires every public school classroom to display the Christian Ten Commandments. The bill headed to Abbott’s desk on May 28 with a final Senate vote of 28-3.
The law requires a "durable poster or framed copy" of the Ten Commandments be posted in each classroom. The copies would need to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and "in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom."
The bill faced some opposition before passage. Amendments allowing school boards to vote on their involvement or allowing other codes of ethics from other religions were shot down in the House.
Abbott signed the bill Saturday.
Other challenges to Senate Bill 10
Big picture view:
Following the passage of Senate Bill 10, other groups announced they would also file a lawsuit challenging the law if it was signed.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom From Religion Foundation issued a joint statement last month that they would challenge the law.
What they're saying:
"S.B. 10 is blatantly unconstitutional. We will be working with Texas public school families to prepare a lawsuit to stop this violation of students’ and parents’ First Amendment rights," the groups said in a joint statement. "S.B. 10 will co-opt the faith of millions of Texans and marginalize students and families who do not subscribe to the state’s favored scripture. We will not allow Texas lawmakers to divide communities along religious lines and attempt to turn public schools into Sunday schools. If Governor Abbott signs this measure into law, we will file suit to defend the fundamental religious freedom rights of all Texas students and parents."
The Source: Information on the lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 10 comes from documents filed in the Northern District of Texas. Information on Senate Bill 10 comes from the Texas Legislature and previous FOX 4 coverage. Information on additional challenges to the law comes from previous FOX 4 reporting.