Displays of the Ten Commandments in Texas schools were ordered by a federal judge on Tuesday to be removed. The schools will have until December to comply with the order.
Judge Orlando L. Garcia, of U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, issued the ruling after a lawsuit filed by families claiming that the displays of the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools were an infringement on their constitutional right of freedom of religion, reported the New York Times. Garcia’s order applies to public schools in 14 districts throughout the state.
Religious displays in schools have been regularly contested in courts under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Tuesday’s order was in response to a bill, S.B. 10, which was signed into law in June by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R ) for public school classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments. A federal judge also blocked S.B. 1O in an August ruling, stating that it was unconstitutional for Texas to mandate that public schools display the Ten Commandments. However, that judicial decision applied only to 11 school districts.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Garcia said that “displaying the Ten Commandments on the wall of a public-school classroom as set forth in S.B. 10 violates the Establishment Clause.”
“It is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent Plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining Defendants from enforcing S.B. 10 across their districts,” Garcia added.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has advocated for displaying the Ten Commandments, arguing the U.S. was a nation founded on Christian principles and ideals. He criticized schools that refused to follow S.B. 10 before courts struck it down.
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“America is a Christian nation, and it is imperative that we display the very values and timeless truths that have historically guided the success of our country,” said Paxton. “By refusing to follow the law, Galveston ISD chose to both blatantly ignore the legislature and also ignore the legal and moral heritage of our nation.”
“There is no valid legal basis to prevent Texas schools from honoring a foundational framework of our laws, especially under the misconception that a ‘separation of church and state’ phrase appears in the Constitution,” noted Paxton. “It does not.”
