Following Governor Greg Abbott’s signing of Senate Bill 10 — which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom — a group of Texas parents has filed a lawsuit challenging the new law.
The lawsuit claims the new law violates the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment — unconstitutionally pressuring students into religious observance, reverence, and adoption of the state’s mandated scripture.
It was filed by Minister Dominique Alexander, Bishop Gerald Weatherall, Pastor Shanneca Weatherall, Reverend Bryant X. Phelps, Pastor Kevin Harris, Tiara Cooper, Minister Al-Shaheed Muhammad and Zaeta Muhammad.
The parents specifically filed the lawsuit against the Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency, and the school boards of Dallas ISD, DeSoto ISD, and Lancaster ISD.
Gov. Abbott signed S.B. 10 into law on Saturday, requiring public schools to post a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of a specific English version of the commandments in every classroom, even though translations and interpretations vary across denominations, faiths and languages and may differ in homes and houses of worship.
Click here to read the lawsuit in its entirety.
