Three Houston mothers are suing to stop displaying the Ten Commandments in Texas public school classrooms, arguing it violates the state’s religious freedom law and a voter-approved parental rights amendment.
Their lawsuit is the latest challenge to Senate Bill 10 — this time under Texas law. Other attempts to prohibit the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools under federal law — primarily the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation of church and state — have been unsuccessful so far.
Lawsuit details
The mothers’ suit, filed in Harris County on Thursday (July 30), demands that the displays be taken down and that the court act before mid-August, when the school year begins. The bill was signed by the governor last year.
Emily Roth, one of the plaintiffs, said in a July 31 press release that the state’s Ten Commandments poster purposefully ignores religious differences in the classroom and will make students feel like they do not belong. The parents are suing under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which the legislature passed in 1999, and declares that “a government agency may not substantially burden a person’s free exercise of religion.”
They are also suing under the recently approved Texas Proposition 15 — also known as the Parental Rights amendment — which ensures parents have the right “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.”
Senate Bill 10 requires Texas classrooms to display donated posters of the King James Version of the Ten Commandments. The posters must be visible in the classroom and cannot be smaller than 16 by 20 inches.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ellie Ashby and originally published by Religion News Service.
