OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
12:29 PM – Wednesday, August 20, 2025
A federal Judge temporarily blocked a new Texas law requiring public schools to display the Bible’s Ten Commandments in every classroom.
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery ruled that the Texas Senate Bill 10 likely violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government from establishing or endorsing a state religion.
Biery also argued that the law, which was set to take effect on September 1st, also likely violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, which protects the right to practice religion freely without government interference.
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“Even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer. That is what they do,” Biery wrote in the ruling.
“[T]he displays are likely to pressure the child-Plaintiffs into religious observance, meditation on, veneration, and adoption of the State’s favored religious scripture, and into suppressing expression of their own religious or nonreligious background and beliefs while at school,” he continued.
“There is also insufficient evidence of a broader tradition of using the Ten Commandments in public education, and there is no tradition of permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms. There are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis.”
The ruling comes in the wake of a June lawsuit filed by multiple Texas families, representing diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds, challenging Senate Bill 10, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas).
Governor Abbott had also issued a social media post last Monday in relation to the new law, writing: “As kids head back to school, Texas parents can have confidence that their values are protected. By allowing prayer and incorporating the 10 Commandments into classrooms, religious freedom is secure in Texas public schools,” he said before the ruling.
The families were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and a pro bono counsel from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, a white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City.
The suit named the Texas Education Agency, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, and three Dallas school districts as the defendants.
Plaintiff Rabbi Mara Nathan described the court’s decision as a major win for parental rights, stating: “Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”
Supporters’ Feedback
Conservative and Christian groups argue that the Ten Commandments are an integral part of the United States’ judicial and educational foundation and should be displayed in schools, especially since they have historically influenced Western legal systems, including early American law. Supporters of the law also claim that the Ten Commandments promote universal moral values, like prohibitions against stealing or killing, that are broadly applicable, not strictly religious, reinforcing ethical behavior in schools. They maintain that exposure to the Ten Commandments can be framed as part of teaching students about the cultural and historical context of law, government, and literature — not necessarily “religious indoctrination.”
Critics’ Feedback
However, public schools are still government institutions, and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment prohibits government endorsement of religion. Displaying a religious text can be interpreted as violating this principle. Other detractors also argue that since the Ten Commandments are specifically Judeo-Christian, displaying them in public schools could marginalize students from other faiths or non-religious backgrounds, creating a sense of exclusion or coercion. Supreme Court cases, such as Stone v. Graham, have ruled that posting the Ten Commandments in public schools primarily for religious purposes is unconstitutional.
Following the court’s verdict, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to appeal the ruling.
“The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship. Texas will always defend our right to uphold the foundational principles that have built this nation, and I will absolutely be appealing this flawed decision,” Paxton stated.
The ruling aligns with a federal appeals court’s decision against a similar Louisiana law, as well as another ruling in four Arkansas school districts.
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