A federal judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton ordered the removal of Ten Commandments posters in seven school districts.
By Catholics for Catholics
As it turns out, the public display of the Ten Commandments posters in some classrooms in Texas will be short-lived.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia issued a preliminary injunction instructing the taking away of Ten Commandments posters from classrooms in Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Azle, Rockwall and Mansfield Independent School Districts, which were named in a lawsuit filed by multifaith and nonreligious families in September, according to The Christian Post.
Signed into law in June by Texas governor Greg Abbot, Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) required every public school classroom in Texas to conspicuously exhibit a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in a specific English translation. Advocates lauded the measure as a way to honor the state’s “legal and moral heritage,” but opponents rapidly challenged it, contending that it propagates Christianity at the expense of other faiths and nonbelievers.
Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Freedom From Religion Foundation filed the suit on behalf of 15 families whose children attend schools in the affected districts.
Appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, Garcia ruled that the required displays “violate the Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment, which bans government endorsement of religion. Garcia cited the law’s broad reach, writing, “It is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent Plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining Defendants from enforcing SB 10 across their districts.”
Texas ordered to remove Ten Commandments displays after a judge rules it violates the First Amendment. Multifaith families and ACLU celebrate—sparking heated debate on faith and freedom in schools. #TenCommandments #TexasNews #ReligiousFreedom #FirstAmendment #ChurchAndState… pic.twitter.com/87VPm92lbv
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) November 20, 2025
The districts must take away the posters by Dec. 1 and provide evidence of compliance by Dec. 9. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, including Jewish, Muslim and nonreligious families, argued that the posters would shun minority students and force them into religious observance.
Lenee Bien-Willner, a Jewish mother whose children are among the few Jewish students at their schools, expressed profound relief. “I am relieved that as a result of today’s ruling, my children … will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,” she said in a statement shared by ACLU. “The government has no business interfering with parental decisions about matters of faith.”
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