Groups prepared to sue Texas over bill requiring Ten Commandments in public schools
AUSTIN, TX - JUNE 27: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott attends a press conference celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows a Ten Commandments monument to stand outside the Texas State Capitol June 27, 2005 in Austin, Texas. A sharply
AUSTIN - Groups are planning to sue the state of Texas over a bill requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
Senate Bill 10 was approved by the Texas Legislature on Wednesday and sent to Governor Greg Abbott's desk. The bill has not been signed into law at this time, but earlier this month Abbott promised to make it law.
Ten Commandments bill lawsuit
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Freedom From Religion Foundation announced on Thursday that they plan to sue over Senate Bill 10.
The ACLU points to past Supreme Court decisions banning public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
A similar law in Louisiana was blocked by a federal court in June.
What they're saying:
"S.B. 10 is blatantly unconstitutional. We will be working with Texas public school families to prepare a lawsuit to stop this violation of students’ and parents’ First Amendment rights," said the groups in a joint statement. "S.B. 10 will co-opt the faith of millions of Texans and marginalize students and families who do not subscribe to the state’s favored scripture. We will not allow Texas lawmakers to divide communities along religious lines and attempt to turn public schools into Sunday schools. If Governor Abbott signs this measure into law, we will file suit to defend the fundamental religious freedom rights of all Texas students and parents."
Senate Bill 10: Ten Commandments in Texas Schools
Dig deeper:
SB 10 would require schools to post a "durable poster or framed copy" of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.
The displayed copies would need to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and "in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom."
The bill would mandate that schools that do not have posters that meet the requirements to accept donations or use public funds to replace them.
Several Democrats opposed the passage of the bill. Amendments to let school boards vote on allowing the Ten Commandments in classrooms and pushes to allow codes of ethics from other religions were rejected in the Texas House.
Similar bills in past sessions have failed in the past. Before the session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick listed Senate Bill 10 as one of his priority pieces of legislation.
What's next:
The bill still needs to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
If approved by the governor, it would go into effect starting in September.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a news release by several groups who plan to sue over Senate Bill 10. More information on the bill comes from the Texas Legislature and previous comments by Gov. Greg Abbott.