ACLU asks high court to review TX Ten Commandments mandate
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review Texas law (Senate Bill 10, enacted in 2025) requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom from kindergarten to 12th grade. The ACLU argues that this mandate violates students’ and parents’ first Amendment rights, specifically the establishment and free exercise clauses. The petition follows a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals, which upheld the law, asserting it did not breach constitutional rights.
Plaintiffs include Rabbi Joshua Fixler and interfaith parents Rebekah and Ted Lowe, who express concerns that the law forces children to confront religious displays and undermines family-led religious education. The ACLU points to past Supreme Court decisions,such as Stone v. Graham (1980), which struck down similar commandments displays, as precedents.
The case now awaits potential review by the Supreme Court, which requires at least four justices to agree to hear it, despite the court’s conservative 6-3 majority. The ACLU highlights the broader implications for religious freedom and the separation of church and state in public education.
The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court on Monday to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, arguing the mandate violates students’ and parents’ First Amendment rights.
The petition asks the justices to take up two challenges to Senate Bill 10, which was enacted in 2025 and requires Texas public schools to display a state-selected version of the Ten Commandments permanently and conspicuously in classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grade.
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More than two dozen families from a range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds are challenging the mandate across 22 Texas school districts. They are represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett serving as pro bono counsel.
The Supreme Court petition comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the state’s requirement in April, arguing that Texas did not violate the establishment or free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
Among the plaintiffs listed on the petition is Rabbi Joshua Fixler, who said the mandate is “particularly upsetting” as a rabbi.
“I am not only worried about my own kids, but I’m deeply concerned about all the children in my congregation,” Fixler said. “These displays put children in the position of having to defend themselves and their families’ religious beliefs against a government mandate that makes them feel different and separate from their classmates.”
Interfaith parents Rebekah and Ted Lowe, who are raising their children in Christian and Jewish religions, are also plaintiffs in the case, arguing Texas politicians shouldn’t control which religion their children follow.
“Texas politicians shouldn’t have a seat at the table in deciding how our children receive their religious education. That decision belongs to our family,” the couple said. “This law puts one version of religious beliefs above all others in our public schools and sends a message to our children that what we teach them about religion at home is somehow wrong.”
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The ACLU argued the biblical requirement violates both the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment, and lambasted the earlier court’s decision. The organization pointed to the high court’s 1980 decision in Stone v. Graham, which struck down a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms. A similar law was also struck down in Arkansas.
The Supreme Court is not required to hear the challenge. At least four justices must vote to grant the petition before the case can proceed. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
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