Texas Mothers Sue to Remove Ten Commandments Posters from Schools

Three Houston-area mothers filed a lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, demanding that the Ten Commandments posters required by Senate Bill 10 be taken down from public school classrooms before the start of the new school year. The suit argues that the displays violate the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1999 and the recently approved Texas Proposition 15, also known as the Parental Rights amendment, which protect parents' authority over their children's upbringing.

Plaintiff Emily Roth said the mandatory posters “teach students, and their teachers, that exclusion is acceptable, maybe even preferred,” and that they make students feel they do not belong. The mothers are represented by former district‑court judge Vanessa D. Gilmore, who contends that the displays privilege a single faith and conflict with state law. Senate Bill 10, signed by the governor last year, requires classrooms to display donated King James Version posters of the Ten Commandments at a minimum size of 16 × 20 inches. Earlier challenges to similar displays under federal First Amendment claims have been unsuccessful.