Texas wants the Ten Commandments on the wall of every classroom, in every grade, and every public school in the state. This is not an opinion—they passed a law. If someone donates privately a copy or framed poster of the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments to a public school in Texas, that school must put it on a classroom wall.
So now you have religious groups running around the state with framed copies of the Ten Commandments, the Protestant version, and giving them to schools to get them on the wall. Of course, Texas got sued immediately, but in April an appeals court allowed the law to stand, even though it flies directly in the face of a Supreme Court precedent from 1980 on the exact same topic and subject, just involving a Kentucky state law.
Now, the ACLU is appealing that appeals court’s decision to the Supreme Court, and it’s very likely that they’ll take up the case in this coming term. And just to be clear, the Supreme Court in 1947 said that the First Amendment also applies to state governments. They cannot ban or establish a religion.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s also running for Senate, is the one responsible for enforcing this law. He says that school districts must let him know whether they are or aren’t complying with it, and also that they are setting at least some time aside every day for prayer.
Now, the law doesn’t say how schools that don’t comply with it would be punished, but the Texas Education Agency could apply penalties and the attorney general could also sue school districts. So we shall see if the Supreme Court does take the case up.
Ben Sheehan is a political commentator and digital creator. He specializes in civics education, which is showcased in his latest book, What Does the Constitution Actually Say?: A Non-Boring Guide to How Our Democracy Is Supposed to Work. Check out his Substack, Politics Made Easy.
