A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction ordering several Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays from classrooms by Dec. 1, and blocking them from installing new ones while a legal challenge moves forward.
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia ruled that the displays required under Senate Bill 10 likely violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In his order, Garcia wrote that displaying the Ten Commandments “as set forth in S.B. 10 violates the Establishment Clause,” and that preventing students from encountering the posters would be “impractical, if not impossible” without halting enforcement of the law.
The injunction stems from Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, a lawsuit filed Sept. 22 by 15 families who have children enrolled in the affected districts. The suit was filed after some districts installed or prepared to install the mandated posters.
The ruling follows an earlier decision in a separate case, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, in which another federal judge described the state law as “plainly unconstitutional.” After that decision, civil rights organizations sent letters to districts statewide advising them not to implement S.B. 10.
The latest injunction applies only to the school districts named in the Cribbs Ringer lawsuit. However, the groups involved in the litigation are encouraging all Texas districts to refrain from installing the displays, noting that school systems must follow the U.S. Constitution regardless of state directives.
The families are represented by the ACLU of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and pro bono counsel from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.