Overview

• U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction barring 11 districts, including Houston and Austin, from posting the required Ten Commandments displays.
• Biery wrote that the mandate likely violates the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses and noted that a captive audience of students would prompt teachers to address religious questions.
• Senate Bill 10, signed by Governor Greg Abbott and set to take effect September 1, requires every public classroom to display a specific 16-by-20-inch poster reproducing the state-prescribed text verbatim.
• Families of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious backgrounds brought the suit, represented by the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Foundation for Religious Freedom.
• A broader case naming additional districts and state education officials remains pending, similar laws have been blocked in Louisiana and limited in Arkansas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will appeal.