State Sen. Mayes Middleton is defending Texas’ new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, calling legal efforts to block the measure a “frivolous, litigious attack” on religious liberty.
“There is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in our Constitution, and our schools are not God free zones,” Middleton, R–Galveston, said in an exclusive statement to Katy Christian Magazine and Fort Bend Christian Magazine.
“It’s absurd the radical left is saying the display of the 10 Commandments is harmful to kids but pornographic and obscene materials in our libraries are not.”
His comments come days after a coalition of religious leaders and activists filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Senate Bill 10, which mandates a state-approved version of the Ten Commandments be clearly posted in every classroom of Texas’ nearly 9,100 public schools.
The law is scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Middleton, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said he believes the law will stand.
“I’m confident Texas will ultimately prevail in this frivolous, litigious attack on our history and religious liberties,” he said. “I look forward to having the Ten Commandments, a historical document foundational to our history and values, back in schools across Texas.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argues that SB 10 violates the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise clauses, as well as protections in the Texas Constitution.
Plaintiffs include self-identified Christian and Muslim leaders, parents in the Dallas Independent School District, and Dominique Alexander, president of the Next Generation Action Network.
Alexander’s group, which promoted protests in Dallas following the death of George Floyd in 2020, announced its legal effort through a post on X. The NGAN Legal Advocacy Fund claims the law forces students of all faiths—or none—to engage with state-endorsed religious doctrine each day.
State Sen. Phil King, R–Weatherford, who authored the bill, said the challenge was expected. “This is what the Left does,” King said in a recent interview with Texas Scorecard. “We knew this was coming and we feel strongly that the law is on Texas’ side.”
Conservative advocacy group Texas Values also weighed in, criticizing the lawsuit’s origin.
“This amateur hour lawsuit, by some organization that seems to focus a lot on chasing headlines, has no chance of success in Texas,” said Jonathan Saenz, the group’s president and an attorney. “I’m wondering if even the ACLU was aware of this lawsuit and how they feel about some other group stealing their thunder.”
Legal arguments in the complaint cite decades-old precedent against religious displays in public schools, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 ruling in Stone v. Graham, which struck down a similar law in Kentucky. Plaintiffs also argue that SB 10 infringes on parental rights and violates both state and federal protections related to religious freedom.
Despite those claims, Republican leaders remain confident the Ten Commandments law will survive the legal battle and be implemented as scheduled.
