Why a Texas Judge Says Ten Commandments Don’t Belong in Public Schools

A federal judge on Wednesday declared the placement of the Ten Commandments in every public Texas classroom unconstitutional.

Ten Commandments In Texas Classrooms

This is an ongoing legal debate that has gained massive popularity in Texas. Should the Ten Commandments be placed in every public classroom for all to read, or is that an overreach protected by a separation of church and state?

Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 10 earlier this year, which is set to go into effect on Sep. 1, 2025. This new law would require every public school in Texas to display a poster at least 16 by 20 inches in size of the Ten Commandments from the Bible, and no other similar posters may be displayed nearby.

Are Ten Commandments Legal in Public Classrooms?

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery from San Antonio, in his decision, ruled that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms could result in "unconstitutional religious coercion," CBS News reports, which could pressure some students to observe one religion over another in public schools.

The displays are likely to pressure the child-Plaintiffs into religious observance, meditation on, veneration, and adoption of the State's favored religious scripture, and into suppressing expression of their own religious or nonreligious background and beliefs while at school.

Judge Biery temporarily blocked the law, stating that it would likely violate the First Amendment and free exercise of religion.

Many religious groups supported the decision to block the law, claiming that religious beliefs should be instilled by parents at home rather than by politicians and public schools.

One supporter of blocking SB 10, Senior Counsel for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief Heather L. Weaver, emphasized that "public schools are not Sunday schools."

The legal battle wages on, however. This was just one obstacle for SB 10 that many civil liberty groups consider a small victory.