A federal district court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction on Aug. 20, temporarily blocking a new state law that would have required public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio ruled that Texas Senate Bill 10, set to take effect on Sept. 1, likely violates the “First Amendment respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting free exercise.”
Texas has more than 1,200 public school districts. The ruling prevents 11 school districts, including Austin and Houston, from displaying the Ten Commandments under state law.
Biery stated that “S.B. 10 crosses the line from exposure to coercion” and that such permanent religious postings lack historical tradition….