A coalition of 18 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block dozens of public school districts — including Argyle ISD — from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms as required under Senate Bill 10.
The suit, Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal ISD, is the third challenge to the law brought by the ACLU of Texas, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. Two federal judges have already ruled S.B. 10 unconstitutional and issued injunctions covering more than two dozen districts, but families and civil liberties groups argue many other districts have continued to post or plan to post the mandated displays.
Argyle ISD is one of 16 districts named as defendants in the new class action, which seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting any additional Texas district not already under court order from displaying the Ten Commandments.
“At this time, the district has not been notified of any legal action involving Argyle ISD. The district has not been made aware of any class action lawsuit filed against Texas school districts,” the district said in a statement.
The plaintiffs represent families from multiple faith backgrounds — including Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious — who say the required posters violate their rights under the First Amendment and force their children to observe a state-endorsed religious doctrine.
“Forcing the Ten Commandments on my kids is indoctrination,” said plaintiff Mari Gottlieb, a Carroll ISD parent quoted in the filing. Other parents cited concerns about exclusion, religious coercion, and government overreach.
The attorney general’s office has argued that the Ten Commandments are part of the nation’s history and heritage, and that previous rulings from federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court blocking the commandments from going up in classrooms did not examine that historical significance.
Attorney William Farrell from the attorney general’s office described SB 10’s requirement as a “passive display on the wall” that does not rise to the level of coercion because students can choose to ignore the posters if they wish. The law would “probably cross the line,” he said, if it also incorporated the Ten Commandments into lessons or assignments — but that is not the case.
The posters must only go up if they are donated to the school, he further argued, and the law does not specify what would happen if districts choose not to comply.
Civil liberties attorneys said the class action was necessary because school districts continued to implement the law despite federal rulings. “Enough is enough,” said Chloe Kempf, attorney for the ACLU of Texas. “Students and families — not the government — should decide how or whether they practice their faith.”
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Court injunctions blocking earlier defendants from displaying the Ten Commandments remain in effect while appeals proceed before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments in January.
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