More than two dozen Texas families are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether politicians can require a specific version of the Ten Commandments to hang in every public school classroom.
The families filed a petition challenging Texas Senate Bill 10, which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grade. The law specifies the text that must appear on the displays, and schools must accept qualifying privately donated copies.
The challengers come from 22 school districts and include Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Baha'i, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious families. They argue the law crosses the line between religious freedom and government endorsement of religion by placing a state-selected religious text in classrooms where children spend much of their day.
The legal battle took a major turn in April, when the full U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld SB 10 in a narrow 9-8 decision. That ruling allowed the law to take effect statewide after lower courts had blocked its implementation in districts involved in the lawsuits.
Now the families are asking the Supreme Court to step in, citing a 1980 Supreme Court decision, Stone v. Graham, which struck down a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.
For the families involved, the dispute is not about whether students can learn about religion. It is about who gets to decide how religion enters a child's life.
"Families – not politicians or public school officials – get to decide how, if, and when children engage with religion," said Rachael Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Texas officials have taken the opposite position, arguing the law is unconstitutional and reflects the historical and legal significance of the Ten Commandments.
The Supreme Court has not yet announced whether it will hear the case.
