Supreme Court asked to review Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools

On Monday, civil rights advocates announced they had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, a move that could shape national guidelines for state-subsidized religious displays in classrooms. Over 20 families from Texas, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and similar organizations, petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a split decision made by the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April.

The appeals court's 9-8 ruling supported the Texas law, which mandates the display of a state-selected version of the Ten Commandments, sourced from the King James Bible. The families' legal team contends that the law infringes on fundamental First Amendment principles related to the separation of church and state. The attorneys argued that forcing the display of scripture on young, captive audiences, for nearly every hour of every school day, for up to 13 years, directly threatens the most basic guarantees of the First Amendment and American ideals.

The 5th Circuit overturned a lower federal court's ruling that had blocked approximately a dozen Texas school districts from putting up the posters. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas signed the law, which went into effect last September. With Texas' law requiring districts to hang the Ten Commandments only if donated, conservative groups and individuals started placing boxes of posters in campuses throughout the state as the academic year began last year.