Texas can't require Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, judge saysTexas cannot require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge said Wednesday in a temporary ruling against the state’s new requirement, making it the third such state law to be blocked by a court.
A group of Dallas-area families and faith leaders sought a preliminary injunction against the law, which goes into effect on Sept. 1. They say the requirement violates the First Amendment’s protections for the separation of church and state and the right to free religious exercise.
Texas is the largest state to attempt such a requirement, and U.S. District Judge Fred Biery's ruling from San Antonio is the latest in a widening legal fight that's expected to eventually go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer. That is what they do," Biery wrote in the 55-page ruling that began with quoting the First Amendment and ended with "Amen."
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.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/texas-require-ten-commandments-public-school-classroom-judge-124813022
