HOUSTON — Three parents filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court on July 30 challenging the state's requirement to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. The plaintiffs seek to temporarily block enforcement of Texas Education Code § 1.0041, which mandates that every public elementary and secondary school display a state-selected version of the religious text in each classroom.

Emily Roth, Audrey Rosa Nath, and Sanjam Kaur Sohal named the State of Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, Houston ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and Spring Branch ISD as defendants in the filing. Their children attend schools within these three independent school districts, placing them directly under the scope of the mandate.

The legal challenge asserts that Senate Bill 10, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2024, violates Article I, Section 37 of the Texas Constitution. This section is a parental rights amendment that voters approved in November 2025. The lawsuit further alleges that the statute contravenes the 1999 Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

A Harris County judge declined to issue an emergency order blocking the display requirement on August 7. The hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order took place before Judge Nathan Milliron in Harris County’s 165th District Court. Meagan Hassan serves as lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

Roth expressed concern about the broader implications of the law for her family and other students. "I feel like the door is wide open. I feel like Texas is being a test case right now, and I don't want my kids to be the guinea pigs." She noted that her children are too young to grasp the complex moral concepts listed in the commandments.

"My kids are young and they don't have the concept of murder and adultery and servitude," Roth said. Before initiating legal action, Roth filed three levels of grievances with Spring Branch ISD requesting the removal of the posters or the adoption of an inclusion policy, but all were denied. Roth is the only plaintiff seeking monetary damages from her children's school district.

Nath argued that the displays create an environment that marginalizes students of different faiths. "This is presenting the beliefs of one religion as rules on the wall. And I think that implies that any kids that believe something different aren't following the right thing at school," Nath said. Jonathan Covey, director of policy for Texas Values, defended the mandate against the parents' claims.

"Parental rights are fundamental, but they're not a license for one family to rewrite that for every child in Texas and what they learn in public schools," Covey said. Texas Values is one of the organizations that supplies schools with posters of the Ten Commandments. The law requires the display to be placed conspicuously and remain readable to someone with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.

Senate Bill 10 requires public school districts to display the Ten Commandments if they are donated, but does not require districts to purchase the posters. Texas is one of four states that currently require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools, along with Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas. Legislatures in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Montana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Indiana are considering similar legislation.

The state court case proceeds alongside federal litigation regarding the same issue. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments displays in April in an 8-9 vote. Plaintiffs in that federal case plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court. PureSource News reported on 2026-04-22 that the Fifth Circuit allowed the displays to remain in Texas schools.

Why It Matters

The outcome of this state lawsuit could determine whether Texas serves as a test case for similar legislation currently under consideration in twelve other states. While federal courts have upheld such displays, this legal challenge specifically invokes a 2025 Texas constitutional amendment regarding parental rights and the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A ruling here would establish how these specific state protections interact with mandates requiring conspicuous religious text in public school classrooms.