Overview
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a 9–8 en banc decision Tuesday, reversed lower-court injunctions and cleared Texas to enforce Senate Bill 10 in public school classrooms.
- Sixteen multifaith and nonreligious families represented by the ACLU and allied groups said they will ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.
- The law requires each classroom to display a donated Ten Commandments poster at least 16 by 20 inches in a conspicuous spot, and the majority said the display is a passive practice that does not coerce students.
- Dissenting judges argued the mandate violates core First Amendment principles and pointed to the Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision that struck down a similar Kentucky law.
- Several districts, including Alamo Heights, Northside, Houston, and Fort Bend, said they will comply, and the ruling reinforces a broader legal shift toward a “history and tradition” test that could bolster similar laws in states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama.