Texas parents are turning a law usually used by religious groups against a new push to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Three mothers in the Houston area sued the state on Thursday, asking a Harris County court to force schools to take down the posters—and to stop new ones from going up before classes resume later this summer, the New York Times reports. Instead of arguing church-state separation, they're leaning on Texas' own 1999 Religious Freedom Restoration Act and a new parental-rights amendment to the state constitution.
The suit says the mandated displays "substantially interfere" with the families' religious practice and ability to raise children free of state-backed religion. One plaintiff, Emily Roth, whose children are 4 and 6, says she didn't plan to introduce the Ten Commandments "this young," and that they don't reflect her family's values. The challenge comes after a federal appeals court upheld the law requiring a Protestant King James Version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a ruling that state officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, framed as a win. "The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it's important that students learn from them every single day," Paxton said at the time.
Another big name in support of posting the Ten Commandments: Vice President JD Vance, who recently told podcaster Joe Rogan that he thinks at least eight of the Ten Commandments "are something that I would hope that everybody would agree with, even if they're not themselves religious," per the Christian Post. An attorney for one of the plaintiffs calls the new state-law strategy "not a traditional First Amendment argument," while a University of Texas law professor says the bid's chances in court are uncertain. Courthouse News Service notes that a group of multifaith Texas families is also planning on asking the Supreme Court to review their own church-state/First Amendment case around the Ten Commandments.
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