Texas AG targets Houston-area ISDs after appeals court ruling

Ken Paxton announced on Thursday that he would be looking into all of Texas's school districts to see if they are following the rules that say they have to put up Ten Commandments displays and think about school prayer times.

The investigation came after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an order that had stopped Senate Bill 10 from being put into effect in 11 districts. With a vote of 9-8, the court said that the law does not make any faith the official religion of the state.

According to Paxton's office, the investigation will check to see if school systems are following Senate Bill 10 by putting up the Ten Commandments in classrooms and if they followed Senate Bill 11 by having school boards vote by March 1 on setting up a time for prayer.

Paix said, "I will always fight for students' basic right to pray in our schools." "Texas law says that school districts must put up the Ten Commandments and let the school board decide if prayer time should be allowed in schools."

Several school districts in the Houston area are being investigated. These include the Houston Independent School District, the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, and the Fort Bend Independent School District. These districts were not supposed to be enforced until the lawsuit was over.

Under SB 10, public schools must put up 16-by-20-inch posters of the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments that were given somewhere that can be seen in every classroom. The law doesn't require schools to buy the posters, but it does require them to accept gifts that meet certain requirements.

Districts have given different answers. Fort Bend ISD said in a statement that the district "complies with all approved legislative statutes and will continue to fully abide by the law and any applicable legal guidance." " Officials from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD said that the district hopes to "uniformly roll out" donated posters before the 2026–27 school year, unless the law changes again.

Galveston Independent School District, which was already under investigation for not following the rules, said that the timing of the court decision meant the board could not discuss it right away. Instead, we would discuss the problem at a meeting in May.

The court case is still going on. Families who tried to stop the law say it goes against the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The American Civil Liberties Union, which was defending the plaintiffs, said, "The First Amendment protects the separation of church and state."

Legal experts also voiced their worries. At the University of Texas School of Law, Douglas Laycock teaches constitutional law. He said that the ruling "violates the religious liberty of every parent who sends their children to a public school."

Even though there is resistance, conservative groups across Texas have begun collecting Ten Commandments posters to give to schools. This is because districts are moving toward compliance while they wait for appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.