U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia issued a preliminary injunction ordering some Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays, a decision praised by civil liberties advocates as protecting religious freedom. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, is challenged by families who argue it violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Garcia emphasized that plaintiffs from diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds do not want their children pressured to adopt religious doctrine. The injunction is temporary; further litigation and likely appeals will determine the law's ultimate fate.
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments Displays in Some Schools
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia issued a preliminary injunction ordering some Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays, a decision praised by civil liberties advocates as protecting religious freedom. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, is challenged by families who argue it violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Garcia emphasized that plaintiffs from diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds do not want their children pressured to adopt religious doctrine. The injunction is temporary; further litigation and likely appeals will determine the law's ultimate fate.
11:22 AM, 11/19/2025Politics
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction ordering certain Texas public school districts to remove displays of the Ten Commandments, a move hailed by civil liberties advocates as a defense of religious freedom.
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia's order responds to a lawsuit challenging a state law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, that requires public schools to post the Ten Commandments. The law is being contested by families who say it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Garcia noted that the plaintiffs include families from a range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds — agnostic, atheist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Baha’i — and emphasized their shared concern about the law's effect on their children.
"They share one thing in common: Plaintiffs do not wish their children to be pressured, to observe, venerate, or adopt the religious doctrine contained in the Ten Commandments," Garcia wrote. He added that enforcing the statute would make it "impractical, if not impossible" to prevent those families from being exposed to unwelcome religious displays at school.
Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, called the preliminary injunction "a victory," saying that federal courts have repeatedly recognized that public schools cannot force religious scripture on students.
What happens next
The restraining order is temporary. Further court proceedings will determine whether the law can stand; legal experts say the dispute could ultimately be appealed up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Similar statutes in Arkansas and Louisiana have faced comparable challenges and unfavorable rulings for proponents.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is defending the statute, has signaled he will appeal adverse rulings. On the same day the injunction was issued, Paxton announced his office had filed suit against two school districts and their boards of trustees for refusing to comply with the state law, warning that "no district may ignore Texas law without consequence."
The ruling underscores broader tensions over religion in public schools and raises questions about how states can acknowledge historical influences without running afoul of the constitutional prohibition on government establishment of religion.