Overview

• U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, temporarily halting enforcement of SB10 against 11 Texas school districts.
• The ruling finds the mandate likely violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses and risks unconstitutional coercion of students, noting teachers would feel compelled to address questions from a captive audience.
• The order bars the named districts and their affiliates from displaying the Ten Commandments under SB10, covering systems including Houston, Austin, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend, Northside, North East, Alamo Heights, Plano, Dripping Springs, Lackland and Lake Travis.
• SB10 required 16-by-20-inch posters of a specific English version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting Sept. 1 and contemplated donated displays, prompting widespread poster donation efforts and compliance planning.
• State attorneys argued the displays are passive and noncompulsory, and the dispute is expected to proceed on appeal as courts elsewhere have already blocked similar laws in Louisiana and Arkansas.