A federal judge has ruled that several Texas school districts do not need to comply with a state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all classrooms.
The colorful 55-page opinion issued Wednesday by US District Judge Fred Biery is the latest court victory in a series of legal challenges to laws that have been enacted in three southern states over the last year that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
“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.
The judge – who was appointed by Bill Clinton – skewered the controversial law, known as S.B. 10, concluding that it’s likely unconstitutional and cannot be enforced in several Texas school districts, including ones in Houston, Austin and Fort Bend County.
“Teenage boys, being the curious hormonally driven creatures they are, might ask: ‘Mrs. Walker, I know about lying and I love my parents, but how do I do adultery?’” Biery added. “Truly an awkward moment for overworked and underpaid educators, who already have to deal with sex education issues, … and a classic example of the law of unintended consequences in legislative edicts.”
The judge ended his opinion by writing, “For those who disagree with the Court’s decision and who would do so with threats, vulgarities and violence, Grace and Peace unto you. May humankind of all faiths, beliefs and non-beliefs be reconciled one to another. Amen.”
More than a dozen Texas families of various faiths sued over the state’s law – which was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June and is set to take effect statewide starting next month – arguing it violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.
Biery agreed.
The law, he said, “impermissibly takes sides on theological questions and officially favors Christian denominations over others.”
The Texas law requires public schools to post in classrooms a 16-by-20-inch (41-by-51-centimeter) poster or framed copy of a specific English version of the commandments, even though translations and interpretations vary across denominations, faiths and languages and may differ in homes and houses of worship.
Similar laws were enacted this year and last year in Arkansas and Louisiana. Court challenges to those measures have also resulted in favorable rulings. Legal experts have said that it’s likely the cases will eventually be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
Attorneys for the families behind the Texas case cast Biery’s ruling as a strong rejection of state lawmakers’ push to impose their religious preferences on to public school students in the Lone Star State.
“Today’s ruling is a major win that protects the constitutional right to religious freedom for Texas families of all backgrounds,” said Tommy Buser-Clancy, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. “The court affirmed what we have long said: Public schools are for educating, not evangelizing.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is defending the law in the case, said he “will absolutely be appealing this flawed decision.”
“The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship,” Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement.
This story has been updated with Paxton’s response.
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