Michael Minasi/KUT News
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked 11 public school districts in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms as required by a new state law set to take effect Sept. 1.
Two days after the conclusion of a court hearing in San Antonio, U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled that Senate Bill 10 "likely violates both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution. He added that "even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer."
Biery ruled in favor of 16 Texas families of various religious and non-religious backgrounds, who sued school districts in