Texas has enacted a law requiring every public-school classroom to display the Ten Commandments.
With nearly six million students across more than 9,000 schools, the state becomes the largest in the nation to mandate such a display, according to the Associated Press.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed Saturday that he signed the legislation, part of a larger effort in several conservative-led states to integrate religious expressions into public institutions.
Critics swiftly warned that the law, like similar measures in Louisiana and Arkansas, will face significant legal pushback.
“The focus of this bill is to look at what is historically important to our nation educationally and judicially,” said Republican state Rep. Candy Noble, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Earlier this week, a federal appeals court struck down Louisiana’s near-identical law, ruling it unconstitutional. Arkansas, too, is currently defending its version in federal court.
Despite those legal headwinds, the Texas bill passed with ease through the Republican-dominated state legislature before the session wrapped on June 2.
Abbott simultaneously signed a second law creating space in the school day for voluntary prayer or religious reading.
While the law’s backers argue that the Ten Commandments provide moral guidance and historical context, critics say the measure erodes religious freedom.
Among those opposed are Christian and Jewish leaders who penned a letter warning that such mandates marginalize students who don’t connect with the Ten Commandments.
They highlighted Texas’s religious diversity, noting the thousands of students from other faiths enrolled in public schools.
The Ten Commandments’ wording — required to be displayed in a specific English version on a 16-by-20-inch poster — also varies across faith traditions, raising concerns about sectarian favoritism.
Supporters contend the commandments are foundational to American legal principles and deserve classroom presence. Opponents view it as government overreach.
“This infringes on others’ religious freedom,” said some faith leaders, while legal experts anticipate a constitutional showdown ahead.
In 2005, Abbott, then attorney general, defended the presence of a Ten Commandments monument on Texas Capitol grounds before the U.S. Supreme Court — and won. Now, the state may find itself returning to the high court.
Louisiana’s law has been twice ruled unconstitutional, most recently by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — the same jurisdiction that includes Texas.
Nevertheless, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell has vowed to appeal, stating she’s prepared to take the battle to the Supreme Court if necessary.
