Class-action lawsuit filed to prevent display of Ten Commandments in Texas

A recent class-action lawsuit has been filed by a group of 18 multifaith and nonreligious families in Texas on December 2 to put an end to the public display of the Ten Commandments in Texas public school districts that are not already subject to an injunction. This suit was prompted by the unconstitutional nature of Texas Senate Bill 10, which mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. While two federal judges in Texas have already deemed Senate Bill 10 unconstitutional in specific litigation, these rulings only apply to a limited number of districts involved in that particular case. With more than 1,000 school districts in Texas, the plaintiffs believe that a class-action lawsuit is the most effective method to ensure the protection of religious freedom for all public school children and their families.

The first class-action lawsuit, Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District, is the third challenge to Senate Bill 10 filed by various organizations such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. These organizations, along with Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP as pro bono counsel, represent Texas families who do not wish for their children to be compelled to adhere to a state-mandated version of the Ten Commandments on a daily basis.

The new class-action lawsuit seeks to obtain a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt any public school district that has not already been involved in previous lawsuits from displaying the Ten Commandments. The plaintiff families come from a diverse range of faiths and nonreligious backgrounds and attend 16 school districts not mentioned in the earlier cases.

The various school districts named as defendants in this lawsuit include Argyle, Birdville, Carroll, Clear Creek, Deer Park, Fort Sam Houston, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Katy, Liberty Hill, Magnolia, Medina Valley, Pearland, Prosper, Richardson, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City, and Wylie ISDs, spanning across the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio metropolitan areas.

The lawsuit comes following the initial litigation, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, which challenged Senate Bill 10 in July 2025 on behalf of 16 multifaith and nonreligious families. The lawsuit resulted in a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in August, preventing 11 school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments. Despite the court’s clear ruling that such displays are unconstitutional, some school districts not involved in the initial case proceeded to display or announced plans to display the Ten Commandments. This led to the filing of a second lawsuit, Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, on behalf of an additional group of families. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia issued a preliminary injunction in November, requiring the districts involved to remove the displays by December 1 and prohibiting them from posting new displays.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has maintained a stance instructing districts to comply with Senate Bill 10 unless directed otherwise by the courts. The defendants in the initial case have appealed the decision, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case on January 20, 2026, while the court injunctions preventing the display of the Ten Commandments remain in place.

The primary concern driving these legal actions is the violation of religious liberty faced by public school students and their families. Despite these challenges, the organizations involved remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding the rights of students and families to determine how or whether they practice their faith.