(The Center Square) –The American Civil Liberties Union has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court a Fifth Court of Appeals ruling on its 10 Commandment lawsuit against the state of Texas.
In April, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas public schools may post the Ten Commandments in classrooms after a new law went into effect.
Last year, the state legislature enacted SB 10, which amended Texas Education Code § 1.0041 to require every public elementary and secondary school classroom to display a poster of the King James translation of the Ten Commandments of the Bible (Exodus 20:2-17).
There are roughly 5.5 million students enrolled in Texas public schools, or roughly 11% of the total U.S. public school population.
The ACLU sued on behalf of more than two dozen families and several religious leaders. It argues the law is unconstitutional and violates the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
The families, a combination of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Baha’i, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious, have enrolled their children in 22 school districts statewide. The families “object to the law because the displays will pressure children to conform to the state’s favored religious beliefs and interfere with parents’ right to guide their children’s religious instruction,” the ACLU said.
The Fifth Circuit ruled that S.B. 10 doesn’t violate either the Establishment or Free Exercise clauses “despite a 1980 Supreme Court case striking down a nearly identical Kentucky law,” the ACLU notes.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected this kind of government-imposed religion before, and it should do so again,” ACLU of Texas staff attorney Chloe Kempf said in a statement. “Having these posters in Texas classrooms puts students at risk of bullying, stigmatization, and religious coercion. Our nation’s bedrock principle of separating church and state means that families and faith communities – not politicians – get to decide what role religion plays in children’s lives. Texas students deserve public schools that welcome them for who they are, respect their religious or nonreligious backgrounds, and give them the high-quality education they need to build their futures.”
ACLU national legal director Cecilia Wang said that “Fifty years ago, the ACLU won a Supreme Court victory against a nearly identical Kentucky law,” adding “we aim to do it again. In our country, no legislature can force its preferred scripture on public school students and families.”
In a separate case, Houston area moms sued requesting a district court in Harris County temporarily restrain the law from going into effect. They argue the law violates their rights protected by the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution. The judge denied their request. The case is ongoing.
Both rulings against challenges to the law came after Texas became the first state to make the Bible required reading in public schools. In June, the Texas State Board of Education voted to require a reading list for every grade level in public schools, including at least 200 Biblical texts.
This was after the Texas Education Agency developed a curriculum, Bluebonnet Learning, that also includes biblical instruction. There were so many errors in the curriculum, including those related to biblical texts, more than 4,200, that the cost to fix them exceeds more than $8.4 million, The Center Square reported.
A lawsuit is expected to be filed over the curriculum.
More than 10 years ago, the Texas legislature passed a law allowing for Bible electives in the public school system, which took effect in the 2009-2010 school year. The ACLU of Texas published a “know your rights” fact sheet in response.
