Three Houston-area mothers have filed a lawsuit against the state asking a court to block the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Harris County, argues that requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms violates Texas religious freedom laws and parental rights. The plaintiffs are asking the court to order the displays removed and to act before the 2026-27 school year begins in mid-August.
The lawsuit comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10 into law last year. he measure requires all public elementary and secondary schools in Texas to display a poster of the Ten Commandments. The bill passed the Texas House in an 82-46 vote and the Senate in a 21-10 vote.
According to the lawsuit, the law violates the Texas Religious Restoration Act, which was enacted in 1999 and states that “a government agency may not substantially burden a person’s free exercise of religion.”
The plaintiffs also argue that the law violates Texas Proposition 15, known as the Parental Right Amendment, which protects parents’ rights to “exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.”
Emily Roth, one of the mothers suing the state, said in a press release that the law disregards the religious beliefs of many families and permits exclusion.
“It teaches students, and their teachers, that exclusion is acceptable, maybe even preferred,” she said. “That is not a lesson I want my children learning from the state of Texas.”
The plaintiffs’ children attend schools in the Houston area, including Fairbanks ISD, Houston ISD, and Spring Branch ISD.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that some Texas school districts could remove the Ten Commandments displays. Earlier this year, however, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law does not violate the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit also asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the law before the new school year begins while the case proceeds.
No hearing has been scheduled.
