Overview

• A coalition including the ACLU, Americans United, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a new federal suit on Sept. 22 seeking to block 14 additional districts that have posted or plan to post 16-by-20-inch Ten Commandments displays.
• The case, filed in San Antonio, follows U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s Aug. 20 preliminary injunction that barred 11 other districts and found Texas’ SB10 likely violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton directed districts not covered by the injunction to comply with SB10, and some systems such as Conroe ISD and Comal ISD indicated they would proceed with donated posters.
• The multifaith and nonreligious families say SB10 imposes a specific Protestant rendition of the Ten Commandments, coerces religious observance in public schools, and burdens parents’ rights to direct their children’s religious education.
• The state has appealed Biery’s ruling and asked the appellate court to consider Texas’ case alongside Louisiana’s, where a similar law was blocked, as district-by-district litigation and requests for broader injunctive relief continue.