The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and other civil rights organizations filed a second lawsuit in federal court Monday to prevent more Texas public school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Earlier this summer, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, which requires a poster of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state.
Last month, the groups, which represent Texas families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds, successfully argued for a preliminary injunction against 11 school districts in Texas’ most populous metropolitan areas.
While issuing the injunction, U.S. Judge Fred Biery stated that the new statute “likely violates both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment” to the US Constitution.
“This (new) lawsuit is a continuation of our work to defend the First Amendment and ensure that government officials stay out of personal family decisions,” said Chloe Kempf, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas.
“All students – regardless of their race or religious background – should feel accepted and free to be themselves in Texas public schools.”
The latest case, filed in the same San Antonio district court as the previous one, names 14 additional districts as defendants. They have locations in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Conroe ISD, a district north of Houston that is identified as a defendant, initially halted the release of Ten Commandments posters when Biery imposed the temporary injunction, which also affected 11 other school districts. Conroe ISD said in a statement at the time that it was awaiting “further guidance” from the courts.
However, the district reversed course a week later, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement pushing school districts not bound by the order to proceed and show the posters.
At the time, Conroe ISD stated that, while additional legal action may cause the posters to be removed, it intended to “continue to comply with the law as it stands.”
A Conroe ISD representative stated on Monday that the district had not yet been served with the complaint and that it “will continue to follow the law and comply with any future judgments or legal proceedings.”
According to a news release from the plaintiffs’ organizations, the current complaint is in response to districts that have displayed or have indicated that they intend to display the posters, notwithstanding the court’s previous judgment that SB 10 is likely unconstitutional.
The day after the injunction was obtained, the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State addressed letters to all Texas public school districts encouraging them not to hang the posters and to remove any present displays.
“Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights,” according to the letter. “Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public-school officials may not comply with S.B. 10.”
Paxton’s office, which represents the defendant school districts, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday. After Biery imposed the temporary injunction in the earlier action, Paxton appealed the decision, calling it “flawed.”
Another lawsuit has been filed by the Next Generation Action Network Legal Advocacy Fund, a Dallas activist group, to prevent the Ten Commandments posters from being shown in various North Texas public schools.
The claim is pending in federal court and names three Dallas-area districts, the Texas Education Agency, and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as defendants.
