Second lawsuit filed over Texas' Ten Commandments law

More than 20 Texas families and faith leaders on Wednesday sued 11 school districts — including three in Central Texas — over the state’s new law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

The Austin, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs districts were among the defendants named, along with four in the San Antonio-area, one Dallas-area and three Houston-area districts, including the Houston district.

The lawsuit follows a similar lawsuit filed last week by six Dallas-area parents and religious leaders against the Texas Education Agency and three North Texas school districts. A similar law has been blocked by a court in Louisiana.

The Texas law — Senate Bill 10 — was authored by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, and mandated that districts display donated copies of a specific version of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday argues the law violates the Establishment Clause, which states that Congress won’t establish a religion, and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment that protects individuals' right to practice their religion without government interference.

Advocates of SB 10 have argued that the Ten Commandments are a historical document that shaped American history and during legislative debates this year pointed to recent rulings that have expanded latitude for faith in public education, including a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing a football coach to conduct on-field, post-game prayers.

Austin-area Pastor Griff Martin, who is one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that government shouldn’t have any role in religion.

“My children’s faith should be shaped by family and our religious community, not by a Christian nationalist movement that confuses God with power,” Martin said.

The lawsuit also claims that the U.S. Supreme Court as recently as Friday argued that “under the Free Exercise Clause, public schools may not condition students’ access to a public education on families’ acceptance of instruction that ‘substantially interferes with religious development.’”

In an opinion Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that parents can opt their children out of reading books with LGBTQ+ themes and characters over religious objections.

The facts of the two cases are different but boil down to similar concepts, said Chloe Kempf, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which represents some of the plaintiffs.

The case outlines that it is “inappropriate for the state to substantially interfere in a child's religious development,” Kempf said.

A panel of judges of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana on June 20 affirmed the decision of a lower court to uphold an injunction related to that state’s Ten Commandments law. The appeals court also oversees appeals for cases originating from Texas-based federal courts.

Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to defend the Texas law in court in a June 25 post on X.

“Faith and freedom are the foundation of our nation,” Abbott said. “If anyone sues, we'll win that battle.”