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Supreme Court asked to review Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools
PBS • • nation
Key Points:
- Over two dozen Texas families, supported by the ACLU and other groups, have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing Texas public schools to display a state-selected version of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
- The 5th Circuit's 9-8 ruling upheld the law, which requires schools to display the Ten Commandments posters if donated, reversing a lower court's block on the practice.
- The families argue that the law violates the First Amendment's separation of church and state by imposing religious scripture on students during school hours.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law into effect in September 2023, and conservative groups have actively distributed Ten Commandments posters to schools across the state.
- Similar laws mandating Ten Commandments displays have been enacted recently in other Southern states, including Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama, reflecting a regional push by Republicans.
