{"id":215654,"date":"2025-09-22T11:39:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T15:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=215654"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T15:42:11","slug":"texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments","title":{"rendered":"Texas Families File New Lawsuit to Stop Public School Districts From Displaying Ten Commandments"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-215654","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2025-09-22 11:39:37","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"SAN ANTONIO, Texas <\/strong>\u2014 A group of 15 multi-faith and nonreligious Texas families filed a new lawsuit<\/a> in federal court today to stop their public school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms pursuant to Texas law Senate Bill 10. The new complaint comes in response to school districts that have or are about to display Ten Commandments posters, despite a federal court\u2019s recent ruling that S.B. 10 is a clear violation of students\u2019 and families\u2019 religious freedom and the separation of church and state.\r\n\r\nThe plaintiffs in Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District <\/em>also plan to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, asking the court to require the defendant school districts to remove any Ten Commandments displays currently posted and to refrain from hanging new displays pending the resolution of the litigation. The school districts named as defendants in today\u2019s lawsuit include: Comal ISD, Georgetown ISD, Conroe ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, McKinney ISD, Frisco ISD, Northwest ISD, Azle ISD, Rockwall ISD, Lovejoy ISD, Mansfield ISD, and McAllen ISD.\r\n\r\nThe complaint, filed in a San Antonio federal court, points to the court\u2019s recent decision<\/a> in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District<\/em>, which held that S.B. 10\u2019s provisions requiring the display of a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom are \u201cplainly unconstitutional\u201d under the First Amendment. The plaintiffs in both cases are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs a devout Christian and a Lutheran pastor, the spiritual formation of my children is a privilege I take more seriously than anything else in my life,\u201d said plaintiff Rev. Kristin Klade (she\/her). \u201c<\/strong>The mandated Ten Commandments displays in my children's public school impede my ability to \u2018train up my child in the way he should go\u2019 (Proverbs 22:6). I address questions about God and faith with great care, and I emphatically reject the notion that the state would do this for me.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cForcing religion, any religion, on others violates my Jewish faith,\u201d said plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner (she\/her).<\/strong> \u201cIt troubles me greatly to have Christian displays imposed on my children. Not only is the text not aligned with Judaism, but the commandments should be taught in the context of a person's faith tradition. State-sponsored religion, however, does not belong in the public classroom.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cS.B. 10 is a calculated step to erode the separation of church and state and the right for my family to exercise our nonreligious beliefs,\u201d said plaintiff Nichole Manning (she\/her).<\/strong> \u201cI am compelled to advocate for my children, for these basic freedoms upon which this country was founded.\u201d\r\n\r\nFollowing the Nathan <\/em>ruling, counsel in the case sent a letter <\/a>to all Texas school districts warning them not to implement S.B. 10 because it would violate the First Amendment.\r\n\r\n\u201cA federal court has already made clear that school districts violate the First Amendment when they post the Ten Commandments in classrooms under S.B. 10,\u201d said Heather L. Weaver (she\/her), senior counsel for the ACLU\u2019s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. <\/strong>\u201cSchool districts must respect students\u2019 and parents\u2019 constitutional rights, and we will continue to hold school districts accountable when they flout this obligation.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cTexas families from religious and nonreligious backgrounds are once again coming together to challenge this blatantly unconstitutional law,\u201d said Chloe Kempf (she\/her), staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. <\/strong>\u201cThis lawsuit is a continuation of our work to defend the First Amendment and ensure that government officials stay out of personal family decisions. All students \u2013 regardless of their race or religious background \u2013 should feel accepted and free to be themselves in Texas public schools.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOur Constitution\u2019s guarantee of church-state separation means that families \u2013 not politicians \u2013 get to decide when and how public-school children engage with religion,\u201d said Rachel Laser (she\/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.<\/strong> \u201cMultiple federal courts, including in Texas, have been clear: Ten Commandments displays in public schools violate students\u2019 and families\u2019 religious freedom. These displays must be removed.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are determined to keep on fighting for the rights of Texas students and their families,\u201d said Annie Laurie Gaylor (she\/her<\/strong>), Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation <\/strong>. \u201cThe secular foundation of our country\u2019s public school system is nonnegotiable.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThis lawsuit, brought on behalf of a new group of Texas families, underscores a critical principle: public schools across the state must uphold\u2014not undermine\u2014the constitutional protections afforded to every student. As multiple courts have reaffirmed, the First Amendment safeguards the rights of individuals to choose whether and how they engage with religion, and that protection extends to every classroom,\u201d said Jon Youngwood (he\/him), global co-chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nA copy of the lawsuit can be found online here: https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-22-COMPLAINT-FOR-DECLARATORY-AND-INJUNCTIVE-RELIEF-F-Cribbs-Ringer-et-al-v.-Comal-Independent-School-District-et-al-txwd-5-2025-cv-01181-00001.pdf"}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46683,46493,46695],"press_releases_related_to_cases":"","spokesperson":[1069],"related_affiliates":[350],"related_content_documents":"","related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas Families File New Lawsuit to Stop Public School Districts From Displaying Ten Commandments | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-22T15:42:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments\",\"name\":\"Texas Families File New Lawsuit to Stop Public School Districts From Displaying Ten Commandments | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-22T15:39:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T15:42:11+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/texas-families-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-public-school-districts-from-displaying-ten-commandments\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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