A federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction requiring certain public school districts in Texas to remove Ten Commandments displays by Dec. 1 and prohibiting them from posting new displays.

The order, a win for religious freedom and church-state separation, is in response to a new lawsuit filed Sept. 22 by a group of 15 multifaith and nonreligious families with children attending schools in the districts. In his order, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia wrote that “displaying the Ten Commandments on the wall of a public-school classroom as set forth in SB 10 violates the Establishment Clause.” He added, “It is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining defendants from enforcing SB 10 across their districts.”

The order came in the case Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, which was filed after the defendant school districts installed or were about to install Ten Commandments posters. The districts were proceeding with the displays despite Judge Fred Biery’s Aug. 20 order in a separate lawsuit, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, in which he called the Texas law requiring the displays “plainly unconstitutional.” After that order was issued, the organizations representing families in both lawsuits sent letters to all Texas school districts urging them not to implement the law.

While today’s preliminary injunction directly applies to the defendant school districts named in the Cribbs Ringer lawsuit, the organizations behind the lawsuit are urging all Texas school districts not to implement SB 10. All school districts, even those that are not parties in either ongoing lawsuit, have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ rights under the U.S. Constitution, which supersedes state law.

The plaintiffs in both cases are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.

“I am relieved that as a result of today’s ruling, my children, who are among a small number of Jewish children at their schools, will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,” says plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner (she/her). “The government has no business interfering with parental decisions about matters of faith.”

“We’re extremely happy to have secured this victory for the plaintiff families we represent,” says Sam Grover (he/him), senior counsel, Freedom From Religion Foundation. “But Texas never should have put parents and students in this position in the first place. The law is quite clear that pushing religion on students in public school is unconstitutional.”

“Today’s ruling is yet another affirmation of what Texans already know: The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities — not the government — the right to instill religious beliefs in our children,” says Chloe Kempf (she/her), staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas. “Our schools are for education, not evangelization. This ruling protects thousands of Texas students from ostracization, bullying, and state-mandated religious coercion. Every school district in Texas is now on notice that implementing S.B. 10 violates their students’ constitutional rights.”

“Once again, a federal court has recognized that the Constitution bars public schools from forcing religious scripture on students,” says Daniel Mach (he/him), director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “This decision is a victory for religious liberty and a reminder that government officials shouldn’t pay favorites with faith.”

“All Texas public school districts should heed the court’s clear warning: It’s plainly unconstitutional to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms,” says Rachel Laser (she/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Families throughout Texas and across the country get to decide how and when their children engage with religion — not politicians or public-school officials.”

“We are grateful to the court for its swift and decisive action,” says Jon Youngwood (he/him), global co-chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department. “This ruling reaffirms a foundational principle: families — not public schools — have the right to determine how and when their children engage with matters of faith. The Constitution protects that choice, and schools should not be impeding it.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post Judge orders Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays  appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.