Lawsuit challenges Texas law requiring 10 Commandments in classrooms
On Wednesday, 16 Texas families filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms, alleging a violation of the separation of church and state.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, also argued the law violated the First Amendment and right to free religious exercise.
The law requires posters to be hung in a 'conspicuous place' in the classroom and that the commandments are 'in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the room.' It also requires the commandments followed by Protestant Christians to be displayed.
'As a rabbi and public-school parent, I am deeply concerned that S.B. 10 will impose another faith's scripture on students for nearly every hour of the school day,' said plaintiff Rabbi Mara Nathan. 'While our Jewish faith treats the Ten Commandments as sacred, the version mandated under this law does not match the text followed by our family, and the school displays will conflict with the religious beliefs and values we seek to instill in our child.'
The lawsuit is made up of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and nonreligious families represented by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
The Hill has reached out to the governor's office for comment.
This is the second lawsuit filed against the law, following another in June filed by a group of faith leaders that also alleged First Amendment violations.
The legal battles will likely follow a similar issue in Arkansas, after a law was passed requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.
A federal appeals court recently upheld a lower court ruling to block the Arkansas law, setting up a potential battle at the Supreme Court.
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Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. I'm also not one to believe that public support will sway the justices from hearing a case. After all, abortion rights were also widely popular, but that didn't stop the court from sending legality back to the states. Gay marriage is not going to disappear tomorrow. This does mean, however, that gay people are once again being reminded that their rights are dependent on a handful of people and the opinions of politicians and can easily be stripped away. We've already witnessed how the trans community has lost rights in a matter of months. The more we talk about gay marriage as if it's something that could be questioned legally, the more the public will begin to question whether Obergefell was a mistake. Even if it seems unlikely that the Supreme Court will take up this review, the fact that an appeal was even introduced is bringing anxiety to the LGBTQ+ community – and it should be taken seriously. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
