Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching a statewide investigation into dozens of Texas school districts to see whether they are following new laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. He is also requesting evidence that each school board voted on whether to put organized prayer time back into public schools.
Paxton’s office announced that it has sent investigative demands to nearly 30 ISDs—from urban systems like Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Cypress-Fairbanks to suburbs like Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, and Plano—ordering them to turn over records showing whether they are displaying the Ten Commandments and whether their boards have voted on implementing a daily prayer period.
The list also includes districts such as Galveston that were previously involved in litigation over the Ten Commandments law.
“I will always fight for students’ fundamental right to pray in our schools and work to ensure that Texas kids are able to learn from the Ten Commandments daily,” Paxton said, vowing that districts “must comply with Texas law by displaying the Ten Commandments and taking a school board vote regarding the implementation of prayer time in schools.”
He framed the effort as defending both religious freedom and “the moral foundation of our nation.”
Senate Bill 10, passed by lawmakers in the 89th Legislature and effective September 1, 2025, requires public schools to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments that meet certain specifications “in a conspicuous place” in each classroom.
SB 10 had been tied up in court until a recent ruling from the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding its constitutionality, clearing the way for statewide enforcement.
Separately, Senate Bill 11 requires every school district and charter school board in Texas to formally vote on whether to adopt a policy establishing a daily period when students and employees can pray or read the Bible or other religious texts. Boards had a deadline of March 1, 2026, to make that decision, and districts that choose to implement a prayer period must obtain parental consent and ensure participation is voluntary and not broadcast over loudspeakers or imposed on non-consenting students.
As part of the new investigation, the Attorney General’s Office is requiring targeted ISDs to produce proof that their board of trustees held a vote on whether to establish a prayer period under SB 11.
They must also provide documents and policies showing whether they are displaying donated Ten Commandments copies in classrooms as required by SB 10, or explaining why they are not.
The districts named include Alamo Heights, North East, Austin, Cypress-Fairbanks, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Houston, Dripping Springs, Plano, Northside, Conroe, Galveston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, McAllen, Amarillo, El Paso, Corpus Christi, United, Texarkana, Victoria, Waco, Abilene, San Angelo, Brownsville, and Beaumont.
Many of these districts had previously delayed implementation while SB 10 was being challenged, but the Fifth Circuit’s decision has now removed that excuse.
Paxton has framed SB 10 and SB 11 as key tools to restore religious expression in Texas classrooms after years of litigation and confusion over what is allowed.
