Ten Commandments Spark Debate

Introduction to the Debate

When it became clear to high school theater teacher Gigi Cervantes that she couldn’t ignore a new state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in her Texas classroom, she felt she had no choice. She resigned from the job she loved. “I just was not going to be a part of forcing or imposing religious doctrine onto my students,” she said. Texas is undertaking the nation’s largest attempt to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools, and in the rush to navigate the Republican-led mandate that took effect in September, the rollout has forced some districts to confront hard choices.

Federal Courts Intervene

Federal courts have ordered more than two dozen of the state’s nearly 1,200 school districts to not hang the posters, including on Tuesday when a judge ruled that the mandate violates First Amendment language guaranteeing religious liberty and forbidding government establishment of religion. Courts have also ruled against similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana, and the issue is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. But many Texas classrooms are far along in implementing a law that has animated school board meetings, spun up guidance about what to say when students ask questions, and led to boxes of donated posters being dropped on the doorsteps of campuses statewide.

Implementation and Controversy

Some districts didn’t wait: In suburban Dallas, school officials in Frisco spent about $1,800 to print nearly 5,000 posters, even though the law only requires schools to hang the Ten Commandments if the displays are donated. Some schools have no posters to hang. “I’m not evangelizing,” said eighth grade U.S. history teacher Dustin Parsons, who has a Ten Commandments poster hanging in his classroom in the small city of Whitesboro. He said the display helps him to demonstrate the influence of Christianity on the country’s founding principles. “I’m doing it more from a history source perspective in how they were building the Constitution,” he said.

School Districts Face a Dilemma

The law says schools must put donated posters “in a conspicuous place” and requires the writing to be a size and typeface that is visible from anywhere in a classroom to a person with “average vision.” The displays must also be 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall. Students work under Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights posters on display in a classroom at Lehman High School, in Kyle, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) South of Austin, the Hays Consolidated Independent School District posted copies of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights — which includes the First Amendment — alongside the state-required Ten Commandments.

Donors See the Posters as a Moral Guide

Texas’ law easily passed the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have backed posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. In suburban Dallas, Lorne Liechty rallied his family to raise money for Ten Commandments posters to donate to the Rockwall Independent School District. Liechty, an attorney and Rockwall County commissioner, sees the commandments as fundamental to his Christian faith, the country’s legal system and the functioning of society. “These are just really good guides for human behavior,” Liechty said. “For the life of me, I don’t know why people would object to any of these principles.” Debbie Leimback displays one of the hundreds of Ten Commandments posters she was preparing to deliver to local public schools in New Braunfels, Texas, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Questions from Teachers

Julie Leahy, director of legal services for the nonprofit Texas Classroom Teachers Association, says teachers have been asking about the consequences of refusing to display the commandments and whether they can also display posters with tenets of other religions. She said teachers also ask for guidance on how to handle students’ questions. “Generally speaking, the answer is going to be that the teacher should send them back to their family,” Leahy said. While the Austin high school where Rachel Preston teaches has been barred by a court order from displaying the Ten Commandments, she said she and her colleagues are anxious all the same. Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights posters are displayed in a classroom at Lehman High School, in Kyle, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Students Debate the Posters

When the Ten Commandments were posted last month throughout 16-year-old Madison Creed’s high school in the small East Texas city of Carthage, she said it briefly became the “buzz of the school” as students debated whether the religious doctrine belonged there. “Everybody had their opinion about it,” Creed said. “I know talking to a lot of my peers and my classmates that a lot of us don’t agree with it but there is the other portion of the school that does.” Word also came that the high school band director had resigned over the law. Johnnie Cotton wrote on Facebook that he believed “very strongly that politics and religion have no place in the public schools.” Gigi Cervantes, who resigned from her position as a theater teacher at a Fort Worth school rather than teach in a classroom where the Ten Commandments are hung, poses for a photo at her home, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Conclusion

The debate over posting the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms has sparked intense controversy, with some viewing it as a moral guide and others seeing it as an imposition of religious doctrine. As the issue continues to unfold, it is clear that the decision will have far-reaching implications for the state’s public schools and the students who attend them. The clash between beliefs among students, parents, and teachers highlights the complexity of the issue and the need for a nuanced approach that balances individual rights with the need for a cohesive educational environment.

FAQs

1. What is the new state law in Texas regarding the Ten Commandments?
   The new state law requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms if the displays are donated.
2. Why have some teachers resigned over the law?
   Some teachers have resigned because they believe the law imposes religious doctrine on students and violates their First Amendment rights.
3. What have federal courts ruled regarding similar laws in other states?
   Federal courts have ruled against similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana, citing violations of the First Amendment.
4. How have students reacted to the posting of the Ten Commandments in their classrooms?
   Students have had mixed reactions, with some debating the issue and others feeling uneasy or uncomfortable with the presence of the religious doctrine in their classrooms.
5. What is the expected outcome of the controversy?
   The issue is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide the constitutionality of the law.