Ten Commandments Case Goes to Supreme Court

More than two dozen Texas families have asked the US Supreme Court to review a state law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments when posters are donated. The case could become a major test of how far states can go in promoting religious texts in public schools. Similar laws have been passed in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.

Posters featuring the Ten Commandments began appearing in Texas classrooms after the law took effect in September 2025, with conservative groups and individuals donating copies to schools across the state.

The families, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups, petitioned the Supreme Court after the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law in a narrow 9-8 ruling. Their lawyers argue that requiring public schools to display scripture violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause and constitutional principles governing the separation of church and state.

The appeals court ruled that the displays do not compel students to believe in or recite the Ten Commandments. The case also revives a constitutional question the Supreme Court addressed in 1980, when it struck down a similar Kentucky law after finding that it lacked a secular purpose and was plainly religious in nature.

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately comment on the Supreme Court petition.

(max)