On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Senate Bill 10 does not violate the First Amendment after a lawsuit was filed in December of 2025. The bill states that Texas public elementary or secondary schools that do not have a poster “at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall” of the Ten Commandments posted in each classroom must “accept any offer of a privately donated poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments”. This means that, if a poster of the Ten Commandments is donated to a public elementary or secondary school in Texas, the school has no choice but to display these posters in each classroom. When I first heard of this bill going into effect in 2025, I was genuinely appalled. After checking the date and realizing it was not April 1st, I assumed that there was no way that this bill would actually hold up; yet here we are.
Texas State Senator Phil King released a statement earlier in 2025 regarding the bill, stating that “The Ten Commandments are part of our Texas and American story. They are ingrained into who we are as a people and as a nation.” Well, what better way to look at what is ingrained into who we are as Americans than the intention of our founding fathers when creating this nation? The founding fathers of this nation specifically put aside their own religious beliefs and recognized the importance of separating the church from the state. In the Treaty of Tripoli, negotiated by George Washington and signed by John Adams, it states that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”. I’m not denying the influence Christianity has had on America and its institutions, but to require the display of religious text in a public place owned by the government is blatantly against the very foundational principle of separating religion from government.Â
 Moreover, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”, which requires the government to act neutrally towards religion. Sure, displaying the Ten Commandments does not stop someone from practicing their own religion, but it is obvious that it favors one. This rule lacks universality in that you could never imagine the same with, for example, the Qur’an or the Bhagavad Gita. If Surah Al-Fatiha were forcefully posted in every classroom, you’d see people and political leaders losing their minds. Why doesn’t the same apply to the Ten Commandments? To defend such an action by claiming that it has roots in America is just ironic, considering that it actually diminishes the purposeful distinction between church and state that America was founded on.
In the same statement, Texas State Senator Phil King also makes the claim that “Today, our students cry out for the moral clarity, for the statement of right and wrong that they represent. If our students don’t know the Ten Commandments, they will never understand the foundation for much of American history and law.” Moral clarity? What elementary school child needs to have moral clarity about adultery? They are worried about children reading books and being exposed to “gender dysphoria or transgenderism” (H.R. 7661), yet can forcefully have adultery mentioned on a poster in every classroom. If we are really that worried about moral clarity, how about improving education on moral behavior, like introducing a required ethics course? If we are worried about morals, then why not put general secular moral rules, why mention Sabbath and God? If we are really that worried about children being able to understand the foundations of American history and law, then why not post the Bill of Rights which is applicable to everyone?Â
So when it comes to the history of America, we must be sure to teach religion to ensure that children have morals, but as soon as Critical Race Theory is mentioned, we draw the line. The people concerned about educating the youth about the history of America are the same people who push against the teaching of Critical Race Theory, holding that children should not be learning about the more uncomfortable and complex parts of history. I don’t mention these issues to put forth all my grievances, but to highlight the sheer contradiction between selectively censoring certain educational topics that belong in a classroom environment while forcefully advertising others that do not.
A classroom is a civic space where children are meant to learn, think, and engage with the world around them. Introducing religion into this space diminishes that purpose by blurring the very distinction between church and state. The issue is not about religion itself, but about where religion should be displayed, that too, state-endorsed, and a public classroom is not the place. That is what homes, private spaces, and places of worship are for. Certain places exist for certain things. Likewise, a classroom should stay a classroom.