This blog is part of our 89th Legislative Session Recap series. Click here to learn more about how the bills passed this session will affect you & your community.
Official Bill Caption
Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
What it Does
SB 10 directs all public elementary, middle, and high schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, with typeface that is legible from anywhere in the classroom. It must contain the specific wording of the Ten Commandments set out in the bill, and only that wording, on durable posters or framed copies at least 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall.
A school lacking such displays in every classroom can use taxpayer funds to purchase them, or they are obligated to accept and display privately donated posters or framed copies that meet the bill’s criteria. The Attorney General must defend any school that is sued for complying with SB 10, and the state will be liable for related expenses of such lawsuits. The bill takes effect September 1, 2025.
Why it Matters
Placing the Ten Commandments in classrooms favors one religious tradition over all others and sends a message to individuals of different faiths or no faith that they are less valued. Texans who learn or work in public schools will be most directly affected, but all Texans suffer when state governments—not parents—are in charge of guiding a child’s religious instruction. Similarly, all Texans will pay the price if the state is sued for the violation of religious freedom inherent in this mandate.
What’s Next
Two separate groups of Texas parents with varied religious backgrounds have filed suits against their local school districts and the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency. In one case, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, a federal judge blocked the law’s implementation in the eleven school districts involved in the suit, writing that forcing displays of the Ten Commandments in classrooms “crosses the line from exposure to coercion.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton has appealed the ruling, asking the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to hear the case. A three-judge panel from that court has already ruled a similar Louisiana law unconstitutional.
