{"id":217870,"date":"2025-11-18T16:06:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T21:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=217870"},"modified":"2025-11-18T16:06:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T21:06:52","slug":"judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families","title":{"rendered":"Judge Orders Texas School Districts to Remove Ten Commandments Displays in Response to New Lawsuit Filed by Families"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-217870","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2025-11-18 16:04:52","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"SAN ANTONIO, Texas <\/strong>\u2014 In a win for religious freedom and church-state separation, a federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction<\/a> requiring certain public school districts in Texas to remove Ten Commandments displays by Dec. 1, 2025, and prohibiting them from posting new displays. The order is in response to a new lawsuit<\/a> filed Sept. 22 by a group of 15 multifaith and nonreligious families with children attending schools in the districts.\r\n\r\nIn his order, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia wrote that \u201cdisplaying the Ten Commandments on the wall of a public-school classroom as set forth in S.B. 10 violates the Establishment Clause.\u201d He added, \u201cIt is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent Plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining Defendants from enforcing S.B. 10 across their districts.\"\r\n\r\nThe order came in the case Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>which was filed after the defendant school districts installed or were about to install Ten Commandments posters. The districts were proceeding with the displays despite Judge Fred Biery\u2019s Aug. 20 order<\/a> in a separate lawsuit, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, <\/em>in which he called the Texas law requiring the displays \u201cplainly unconstitutional.\u201d After that order was issued, the organizations representing families in both lawsuits sent letters<\/a> to all Texas school districts urging them not to implement the law.\r\n\r\nWhile today\u2019s preliminary injunction directly applies to the defendant school districts named in the Cribbs Ringer <\/em>lawsuit, the organizations behind the lawsuit are urging all Texas school districts not to implement S.B. 10. <\/strong>All school districts, even those that are not parties in either ongoing lawsuit, have an independent obligation to respect students\u2019 and families\u2019 rights under the U.S. Constitution, which supersedes state law.\r\n\r\nThe 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\u201cI am relieved that as a result of today's ruling, my children, who are among a small number of Jewish children at their schools, will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,\u201d said plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner (she\/her)<\/strong>. \u201cThe government has no business interfering with parental decisions about matters of faith.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s ruling is yet another affirmation of what Texans already know: The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities \u2013 not the government \u2013 the right to instill religious beliefs in our children,\u201d said Chloe Kempf (she\/her), staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas<\/strong>. \u201cOur schools are for education, not evangelization. This ruling protects thousands of Texas students from ostracization, bullying, and state-mandated religious coercion. Every school district in Texas is now on notice that implementing S.B. 10 violates their students\u2019 constitutional rights.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOnce again, a federal court has recognized that the Constitution bars public schools from forcing religious scripture on students,\u201d said Daniel Mach (he\/him), director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.<\/strong> \u201cThis decision is a victory for religious liberty and a reminder that government officials shouldn\u2019t pay favorites with faith.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAll Texas public school districts should heed the court\u2019s clear warning: It\u2019s plainly unconstitutional to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms,\u201d said Rachel Laser (she\/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.<\/strong> \u201cFamilies throughout Texas and across the country get to decide how and when their children engage with religion \u2013 not politicians or public-school officials.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe're extremely happy to have secured this victory for the plaintiff families we represent,\u201d said Sam Grover (he\/him), senior counsel, Freedom From Religion Foundation.<\/strong> \u201cBut Texas never should have put parents and students in this position in the first place. The law is quite clear that pushing religion on students in public school is unconstitutional.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are grateful to the court for its swift and decisive action,\u201d said Jon Youngwood (he\/him), global co-chair of Simpson Thacher\u2019s Litigation Department<\/strong>. \u201cThis ruling reaffirms a foundational principle: families\u2014not public schools\u2014have the right to determine how and when their children engage with matters of faith. The Constitution protects that choice, and schools should not be impeding it.\u201d"}}],"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":[46695,46683],"press_releases_related_to_cases":"","spokesperson":[592],"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=\"Judge Orders Texas School Districts to Remove Ten Commandments Displays in Response to New Lawsuit Filed by Families | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-18T21:06:52+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\/judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families\",\"name\":\"Judge Orders Texas School Districts to Remove Ten Commandments Displays in Response to New Lawsuit Filed by Families | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-18T21:06:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-18T21:06:52+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/judge-orders-texas-school-districts-to-remove-ten-commandments-displays-in-response-to-new-lawsuit-filed-by-families\"]}]},{\"@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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