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A federal judge ruled that a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in the state is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia found that Senate Bill 10 violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution that prevents the government from establishing or favoring a religion.
“I am relieved that as a result of today’s ruling, my children, who are among a small number of Jewish children at their schools, will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,” plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner said in a statement. “The government has no business interfering with parental decisions about matters of faith.”
Garcia’s order directs school officials in the school districts included in the lawsuit to remove the displays by Dec. 1.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM DISPLAYING TEN COMMANDMENTS IN CLASSROOMS
The judge’s order only applies to certain districts, but the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation are calling on all districts to ignore the state law.
The independent school districts of Comal, Georgetown, Conroe, Flour Bluff, Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Northwest, Azle, Rockwall, Lovejoy, Mansfield and McAllen are affected by the ruling.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on Sept. 22 on behalf of 15 multifaith families who are a part of 14 school districts in the Lone Star State. The ACLU also filed a similar lawsuit over the summer on behalf of other Texas families.
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“Today’s ruling is yet another affirmation of what Texans already know: The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities – not the government – the right to instill religious beliefs in our children,” Chloe Kempf, staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.
“Our schools are for education, not evangelization. This ruling protects thousands of Texas students from ostracization, bullying, and state-mandated religious coercion. Every school district in Texas is now on notice that implementing S.B. 10 violates their students’ constitutional rights,” she continued.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, sued two school districts — Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD — for allegedly refusing to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
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“These rogue ISD officials and board members blatantly disregarded the will of Texas voters who expect the legal and moral heritage of our state to be displayed in accordance with the law,” Paxton said in the news release.
“Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD chose to defy a clear statutory mandate, and this lawsuit makes clear that no district may ignore Texas law without consequence,” he added.