Nathan et al v. Alamo Heights Independent School District et al
On July 2nd, 2025, FFRF and a coalition filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of sixteen multifaith and nonreligious Texas families to block a state law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Texas Senate Bill 10 requires all public elementary and secondary schools statewide to display either a “durable poster” or “framed copy” of the Ten Commandments in a conspicuous location within every classroom. The law specifies a particular Protestant version of the Ten Commandments.
On August 20, 2025, the district court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the school districts from implementing the law.
The plaintiffs include Jewish, Christian, Baptist, nonreligious, Hindu, and Unitarian families. The complaint argues that SB 10 violates both the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the separation of church and state and guarantees religious freedom.
- Complaint
- Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- Expert Report of Steven K. Green, J.D., Ph.D.
- Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- Plaintiffs’ Memo in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
- Order Granting Preliminary Injunction
Cribbs Ringer et al v. Comal Independent School District et al
On September 22, 2025, FFRF and a coalition filed a second lawsuit on behalf of a group of 15 nonreligious and multifaith Texas families.This new complaint is a response to school districts that have or are about to display Ten Commandments posters, despite the federal court’s ruling in the coalition’s other Texas case.
On November 18, 2025, the district court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the named public school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays by December 1st and prohibiting them from posting new displays.
- Complaint
- Plaintiffs’ Motion For Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction
- Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss and Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- Order Granting Preliminary Injunction
Ashby et al v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District et al
On December 2, 2025, FFRF and a coalition filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of eighteen multifaith and nonreligious Texas families. This lawsuit aims to stop all Texas public school districts that are not already involved in active litigation or subject to an injunction from displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom. It was filed in response to the districts who have not complied with the rulings in the previous two related cases and continue to unlawfully display the Ten Commandments. If successful, the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction would apply to the more than 1,000 school districts in Texas.
All three lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Texas, American United for Separation of Church & State, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and FFRF. Legal Director Patrick Elliott, Senior Litigation Counsel Sam Grover, and Litigation Attorney Nancy Noet are serving as co-counsel.
