A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, ruling it likely violates the First Amendment.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction in “Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District,” halting enforcement of Senate Bill 10 (SB 10), which was set to take effect September 1. The ruling, from the Western District of Texas, bars schools from posting the religious text as mandated.
Biery wrote the law would likely result in unconstitutional religious coercion of students and infringe on parents’ rights to guide their children’s religious upbringing.
“The displays are likely to pressure the child-plaintiffs into religious observance, meditation