Attorney General Ken Paxton is countering a judge’s order that blocked the state law in 11 school districts.
By Catholics for Catholics
In the latest turn in the fracas over displaying -or not- the Ten Commandments in Texas schools, the Attorney General ordered that almost all school districts in the Lone Star State make sure to have exhibits of them in classrooms.
The move by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton happened after a judge’s order that prevented the law that mandates the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all of the state’s classrooms, according to The Christian Post.
Judge Fred Biery of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas San Antonio Division blocked the law from taking effect in 11 school districts during a ruling on Aug. 20. The districts include Alamo Heights, Northeast, Austin, Cypress, Fairbanks, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Houston, Dripping Springs, Plano and Northside.
Paxton has appealed Biery’s decision.
“From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage,” Paxton said. “Schools not enjoined by ongoing litigation must abide by S.B. 10 and display the Ten Commandments. The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country.”
Paxton said, “while no school is compelled to purchase Ten Commandments displays, schools may choose to do so. However, schools must accept and display any privately donated posters or copies that meet the requirements of S.B. 10.”
🚨 BREAKING: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton orders public schools in Texas to display the TEN COMMANDMENTS, enforcing a state law that takes effect September 1st.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 25, 2025
👏👏 pic.twitter.com/UbIOvo5plb
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, which obliges schools to post a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of a specific English version of the Ten Commandments, into law earlier this year. The measure is scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1st.
Besides Texas, states like Arkansas and Louisiana have approved similar legislation like Senate Bill 10. And like the Lone Star state, they have also encountered legal challenges.
The Christian Post reported that in June, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit with one voice upheld a lower court ruling stating that the Louisiana law violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That same month, the progressive advocacy groups Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas law.
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