A federal judge in August issued a temporary injunction blocking 11 school districts, including Austin ISD, from implementing Senate Bill 10, the new Texas law requiring public schools to display the commandments. Fourteen additional school districts have now been sued by the same coalition of civil rights groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, along with other civil rights groups, filed a second lawsuit in federal court Monday to stop more Texas public school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Last month, the groups — who are representing Texas families of varying religious and nonreligious backgrounds — successfully argued for a preliminary injunction against 11 school districts in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas. While, U.S. Judge Fred Biery wrote the new law"likely violates both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution. "This lawsuit is a continuation of our work to defend the First Amendment and ensure that government officials stay out of personal family decisions," said Chloe Kempf, a staff attorney at the ACLU Texas."All students — regardless of their race or religious background — should feel accepted and free to be themselves in Texas public schools.", names another 14 districts as defendants — including Georgetown ISD. They are located in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas as well as the Rio Grande Valley. Conroe ISD, a district north of Houston that is named as a defendant, had initially paused its rollout of Ten Commandments posters after Biery issued the temporary injunction that applied to 11 other school districts. Conroe ISD wrote in a statement at the time that it was waiting for"further guidance" from the courts.a week later after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement urging all districts not bound by the injunction to move forward and display the posters. At the time, Conroe ISD acknowledged that while further court action may require the posters to be removed, it planned to"continue to comply with the law as it stands." A Conroe ISD spokesperson said Monday the district had not yet been served with the lawsuit and that it"will continue to follow the law and will comply with any future judgments or legal proceedings." A news release from the organizations representing the plaintiffs said this new complaint is in response to districts that have displayed or indicated they plan to display the posters, despite the court's earlier ruling that SB 10 is likely unconstitutional."Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students' and families' constitutional rights," the letter reads."Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public-school officials may not comply with S.B. 10." Paxton's office, which represents the defendant school districts, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. After Biery issued the temporary injunction in the previous lawsuit, Paxton appealed the ruling and called it"flawed."the Next Generation Action Network Legal Advocacy Fund, seeking to block the Ten Commandments posters from several North Texas school districts. That suit is pending in federal court and names three Dallas-area districts, along with the Texas Education Agency and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, as defendants.Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III to step down after a week of turmoil over viral classroom video
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North Texas families sue to block Ten Commandments law, remove displaysIn the latest legal battle over the new law, a group of Texas families filed a federal lawsuit Monday to bar 14 districts from displaying the Ten Commandments...
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Texas Families Sue to Block Ten Commandments Displays in Public SchoolsTexas families are suing multiple school districts to prevent the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, citing First Amendment violations. This follows a federal court's temporary block of a state law mandating such displays. The lawsuit is supported by various religious and civil rights organizations.
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