Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a lawsuit against Galveston Independent School District, escalating an increasingly high-profile legal fight over a new state law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
The district is one of the first in Texas to formally resist Senate Bill 10, a new law passed by the Legislature directing schools to post the Ten Commandments on a durable poster measuring at least 16 by 20 inches in a prominent location in every class.
If Galveston ISD complied, it would have joined other districts implementing similar displays this academic year—at least those not named in the ongoing federal lawsuits challenging the statute.
After the Galveston ISD board voted to refuse the required display, Paxton sued. “America is a Christian nation and it is imperative that we display the very values and timeless truths that have historically guided the success of our country.” He cited a “misconception” that the phrase “separation of church and state” appears in the U.S. Constitution and pledged full enforcement of SB 10 for non-exempt districts.
After SB 10 took effect, a handful of families across Texas representing multiple faiths as well as nonreligious households filed suits contending that the law violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and parental rights regarding religious education.
In August, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking SB 10 for certain named districts on the grounds that the statute likely represents “government-mandated religious expression” and unfairly favors Christian denominations.
For now, only school districts named in those lawsuits—with Galveston notably absent—are exempt from compliance.
Paxton maintains that the law is still valid elsewhere, insisting that constitutional guarantees do not prevent Texas schools from “honoring a foundational framework of our laws.”
In a recent development, the full U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the Texas and Louisiana Ten Commandments cases on an “en banc” basis—meaning all active judges, not just a three-judge panel, will directly weigh in.
A Galveston ISD spokesperson told Texas Scorecard the district is closed today and will determine next steps when they return.
