A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can require every public school classroom in the state to display a framed or printed copy of the Ten Commandments. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion Tuesday, finding that Senate Bill 10, enacted by the Texas Legislature in June 2025, does not violate the First Amendment's prohibition on government establishment of religion.
The law is specific in its requirements. Each display must measure at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, use an easily readable typeface, and be placed in a conspicuous location. It covers all public elementary and secondary schools in the state.
The American Civil Liberties Union and several religious freedom organizations sued in December 2025 on behalf of 18 families with children in Texas public schools. They named 16 school districts as defendants, including seven in North Texas. The plaintiffs argued they did not want their children "forced to observe and venerate a state-mandated version of the Ten Commandments each school day, in violation of their religious freedom."
The court rejected that argument. In its opinion, the court wrote that SB 10 "does not tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship." It noted the law levies no taxes to support clergy, prescribes no religious exercise, and punishes no one for rejecting the Ten Commandments. "Students are neither catechized on the Commandments nor taught to adopt them," the court wrote. "Nor are teachers commanded to proselytize students who ask about the displays or contradict students who disagree with them." The court drew a sharp distinction between posting a text on a wall and the coercive religious establishments that existed at the nation's founding, which prescribed liturgies and punished those who skipped them.
The ACLU has not yet indicated publicly whether it will seek review by the full Fifth Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court.
