Texas Attorney General Orders Public Schools to Display 10 Commandments Starting September 1
The debate over religion in public education has intensified in the United States after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton directed all public school districts in the state to comply with a new law requiring the display of the 10 Commandments in classrooms beginning September 1, 2025.
The law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June, mandates that every public elementary and secondary classroom must feature a framed copy of the 10 Commandments, at least 16 by 20 inches in size, with no additional material included.
While schools are not obliged to purchase the displays, they are required to accept them if provided by private donors.
Supporters of the law argue that the Ten Commandments represent the moral foundation of American values and history, while critics see it as an unconstitutional attempt to impose religion on students.
The rollout of the measure, however, has already encountered legal hurdles. Just days before its scheduled implementation, a federal judge, Fred Biery, issued a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the law in 11 school districts, including major ones in Houston and Austin.
In his ruling, Judge Biery said the requirement could violate the First Amendment by endorsing a specific religious doctrine and placing undue pressure on students to conform to religious practices. He warned that compelling schools to display the scripture could amount to coercion.
Despite the injunction, Attorney General Paxton has ordered districts not covered by the court ruling to go ahead with the displays, insisting the law remains binding across most of Texas.
He also announced that his office has filed an appeal against the federal court’s decision, vowing that Texas would not retreat in its efforts to recognize what he called the state’s “moral and legal heritage.”
The dispute has split communities. Conservative and Christian groups have begun distributing 10 Commandments posters to schools to ensure readiness by September 1. On the other hand, interfaith families and civil liberties organizations argue that the law marginalizes non-Christian students. Some Jewish leaders, for example, have noted that the mandated version is taken from the King James Bible, a Christian translation, which they say does not reflect Jewish tradition.
The controversy in Texas is part of a broader national debate. Similar laws mandating Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana and Arkansas have already been blocked in court, suggesting that the legal challenges in Texas could follow the same trajectory. The outcomes of these cases are likely to set important precedents for the intersection of religion and public education in America.
