Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reportedly ordered all public schools in the Lone Star State not affected by an ongoing lawsuit to display the Ten Commandments, in compliance with state Senate Bill 10.
According to Catholic News Agency, the enforcement of SB 10 was temporarily blocked in 11 Texas independent school districts last week by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery after 16 families sued, arguing the law violates the separation of church and state rooted in the First Amendment.
"Schools not enjoined by ongoing litigation must abide by [SB 10] and display the Ten Commandments," Paxton reportedly said in his directive.
Biery's preliminary injunction, issued Aug. 20, prevents the law from taking effect on Sept. 1 in the Alamo Heights, North East, Austin, Cypress Fairbanks, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Houston, Dripping Springs, Plano, and Northside independent schools.
In an appeal filed Aug. 21, Paxton's office argued that the law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms in the state is reflective of the historic and moral foundation Texas was built upon.
"From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America's legal, moral, and historical heritage," Paxton said in a press release on Monday. "The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation's history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values, that built this country."
SB 10 mandates that all public elementary and secondary school classrooms display either a framed copy or durable poster of the Ten Commandments, measuring at least 16 by 20 inches.
Paxton said that "no school is compelled to purchase Ten Commandments displays" but said that "schools may choose to do so."
"However, schools must accept and display any privately donated posters or copies that meet the requirements of SB 10," he said.
In comments earlier this year, Republican state Sen. Phil King, who introduced the legislation, said the Ten Commandments "are part of our Texas and American story."
"They are ingrained into who we are as a people and as a nation," King said. "Today, our students cry out for the moral clarity, for the statement of right and wrong that they represent. If our students don't know the Ten Commandments, they will never understand the foundation for much of American history and law."
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, an attorney and director of The Conscience Project, told CNA that laws which require "a passive display of the Ten Commandments do not violate either the establishment clause or the free exercise clause."
But the American Civil Liberties Union contends that SB 10 illegally favors Christianity in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
ACLU lawyer Heather Weaver, who represented the lawsuit's plaintiffs, said that "as a technical matter," Biery's injunction only "covers the school district defendants."
However, "every school district should heed it," she said, "even if they are not a defendant in the case."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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