SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) A federal district court judge delivered a preliminary injunction against Texas Senate Bill 10, which was planned to be enacted on September 1, mandating that all public school classrooms in the state display the Ten Commandments prominently.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery made the ruling on Wednesday, in favor of the families and faith leaders who filed the lawsuit against various school districts. In his decision, Biery stated that SB 10 crosses the border from exposure to coercion.
“Ultimately, in matters of conscience, faith, beliefs and the soul, most people are Garbo-esque,” Biery wrote. “They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government run schools.”
State Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) authored the bill during the 89th regular legislative session. He contended that the Ten Commandments would assist students in understanding the religious document’s influence on American history and culture.
“Few documents have had a bigger impact on Western civilization than the Ten Commandments,” said King in a text on July 2. “That’s why for 200 years the Ten Commandments was seen in classrooms.”
King stated in his intent description that the law could withstand a legal challenge based on the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
Plaintiffs in the suit released a statement following the ruling. One of the plaintiffs, Rabbi Mara Nathan, said in the release, “Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he planned to appeal the ruling, calling it “flawed.”
“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,” the Republican said in a statement, echoing sentiments from religious groups and conservatives who support the law.
Texas has a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds and won a 2005 Supreme Court case that upheld the monument.
A federal appeals court has blocked a similar law in Louisiana, and a judge in Arkansas told four districts they cannot put up the posters, although other districts in the state said they’re not putting them up either.
In Louisiana the first state that mandated the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms a panel of three appellate judges in June ruled that the law was unconstitutional.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
