DALLAS — A group of multifaith and nonreligious Texas families filed a Wednesday to block a new state law requiring classroom displays of the Ten Commandments from taking effect in September.
The suit is the latest legal challenge to the law that is set to take effect Sept. 1 as opponents call the requirement unconstitutional.
The 16 families who are part of the new federal lawsuit allege that students will be “forcibly subjected†to state-sponsored scriptural principles such as “I AM the LORD thy God†and “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.â€
“This simply cannot be reconciled with the fundamental religious freedom principles that animated the founding of our nation,†they argue in court documents.
They want the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to declare a violation of the First AmendmentÃÛèÖÊÓƵ establishment and free exercise clauses — which protect the separation of church and state and religious freedom, respectively — and preliminarily bar it from taking effect.
The families — who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu or nonreligious — said such displays “will substantially interfere with and burden†parents’ right to direct their childrenÃÛèÖÊÓƵ religious education and upbringing.
Gov. Greg Abbott last month aware that it would be challenged in court.
“Bring it,†Abbott wrote in a social media post in May, when civil rights groups threatened to sue after lawmakers passed the measure.
If left in place, Texas public schools must conspicuously display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that is at least 16 inches by 20 inches. The law specifies the exact wording that must be used and requires the text size and typeface be readable for a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.
The lawsuit cites a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck KentuckyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Ten Commandments law for being unconstitutional, as well as more recent civil action. A federal court in Louisiana last year blocked that stateÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Ten Commandments law for violating the establishment and free exercise clauses, a ruling that was affirmed on appeal last month.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that under the free exercise clause, public schools can’t condition students’ access to education on families’ acceptance of instruction that “substantially interferes with the religious development of [a] child or pose[s] a very real threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices the parent wishes to instill in the child.â€
By that reading, the lawsuit argues, SB 10 is “plainly unconstitutional†as the displays will “pressure students … into religious observance†and “send the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to†that specific version of the Ten Commandments “do not belong in their own school community.â€
Republican state lawmakers have said young people need God and suggested only good could come from exposure to a document that encourages students to respect their parents and not kill, steal or cheat.
They’ve also said Christianity is an important part of the nationÃÛèÖÊÓƵ founding and history, noting that references to God are on U.S. currency as well as in the national and Texas pledges.
“Very few documents in the history of Western civilization and even more so in American history have had a larger impact on our moral code and our legal code and just our culture than the Ten Commandments,†Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, .
The families are represented by the civil liberties organizations Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the national ACLU, the ACLU of Texas and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The in May they would file suit if he signed the bill.
“Families — not politicians — get to decide when and how public-school children engage with religion,†said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The law requires Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to represent the state in any Ten Commandments litigation. A spokesperson for PaxtonÃÛèÖÊÓƵ office did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the lawsuit.
A Dallas activist group and faith leaders last month.
Supporters of the Ten Commandments law have said the 1980 case in Kentucky was wrongly decided and should be overturned. They also said a 2022 Supreme Court decision acknowledged a new history and tradition standard to assess potential violations of the establishment clause.
Opponents said the law is a clear violation of the Constitution.
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