Texas Teachers Push Back Against Ten Commandments Law

Hot-pink placards with teachings from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam surround a poster of the Ten Commandments that hangs in a teacher’s classroom in a suburban Dallas neighborhood.

The twin daughters of a substitute teacher north of Houston are wearing First Amendment buttons to school and giving the same pins to other kids in their community.

After electing not to display the Ten Commandments in her classroom at all, a teacher in southeast Texas claimed she is playing a “risky game.” However, she claimed she would hang it upside down if she had to.

As a new Republican-crafted state law, Senate Bill 10, which mandates that Texas public elementary and secondary schools hang the Ten Commandments in every classroom, goes into effect this month, these silent acts of rebellion are taking place. According to the law, a school district “may, but is not required to, purchase posters” with district dollars, but it “must accept any offer of a privately donated poster.”

Teachers Face Dilemma Over Ten Commandments Law

The number of districts that have complied with the law since the beginning of the school year is unknown.

Furthermore, although federal litigation continues, a small number of school districts that have been the target of legal challenges from parents and religious groups are still exempt from the mandate. The plaintiffs argue that the separation of church and state is violated by requiring the Ten Commandments to be taught in public schools.

However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated on September 4 that those districts unrelated to the lawsuit must comply with the law. There is no way to police the law, and it is unclear what would happen to schools or individual teachers who disobey it.

A request for comment from Paxton’s office was not answered.

Teachers Express Concerns About Religious Favoritism

Teachers who contacted NBC News said they are being put in an unpleasant situation to comply and feel at odds with their own convictions, regardless of how individual school districts implement the law.

Others are concerned that the posters seem to promote one religion over another and could start awkward discussions about Christianity, which they don’t want to have in a public school.

“You must not covet your neighbor’s wife,” it states. An elementary school art teacher in suburban Dallas who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for employment retaliation stated, “First of all, that means zero to my students.” “Be kind to one another” is an example of how it might be said. Avoid stealing. As an elementary school teacher, I constantly preach concepts like “don’t lie” and “be a good person.” I conduct a complete presentation during the first week of school, and one of the things I say is, “Please don’t steal our art supplies.”

The teacher explained that, given her school’s diverse student body and district, she chose to display posters about the principles of other religions alongside the Ten Commandments poster.

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Alternative Posters Highlight Religious Diversity

The exhibits feature the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, the Five Pillars of Islam, and a list of the ethical precepts of Hinduism, such as honesty and nonviolence.

Administrators have not yet pointed out the posters or instructed her to remove them.

The teacher remarked, “One of my teacher friends came in and she saw it and she kind of laughed.” I said, ‘Well, then, do you think I should display these other posters?’ She added, ‘You know, I’m for hanging the Ten Commandments.’ “No, I support the hanging of the Ten Commandments, so I support you hanging the remainder of that as well,” she added.

In an interview with NBC News, a middle school art teacher questioned the motives of lawmakers by stating that she has refused to display a Ten Commandments billboard. This year, lawmakers also approved a bill enabling school districts to implement rules that include prayer periods in classrooms and the reading of the Bible or “other religious text” with parental permission.

Legal and Constitutional Questions Arise

The teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymously because she fears termination, said, “We have constitutional rights, especially freedom of and from religion.” “Where do you draw the line?” she said.

The teacher remarked, “I am playing a dangerous game of how long can I not have it up until they tell me I need to wrap it up or get fired.” If I were forced to install it, I would do so inverted. Technically speaking, that would not violate the bill’s provisions.

A “durable poster or framed copy” of the Ten Commandments must be displayed in a “conspicuous place in each classroom of the school,” according to the law. The displays, which must measure at least 16 by 20 inches, must feature the Ten Commandments as they appear in the law, which is a Protestant translation of the text.

To help schools in Texas and Arkansas, where a similar law went into force this school year and is being contested in court, Christian organizations supporting SB 10 are soliciting funds.

Community Response and Student Activism

Glenn Beck, a conservative commentator, supports the website Restore American Schools, which claims to have “adopted” over 4,100 schools in Texas and over 300 in Arkansas.

The website states, “One school at a time, we can work together to restore truth, hope, and moral clarity to our classrooms.”

As an alternative to the Ten Commandments, other people have started creating posters.

Austin-based writer and philosopher Bob Peck has created posters about several religions that educators can display in their classrooms. Since he started selling them over the summer, he has received inquiries from about 100 parents and educators via his Etsy store.

Parents and Students Push Back with Creativity

Peck stated that “children deserve to see the beauty of Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.” He added, “The law says teachers must display the Ten Commandments, but my knowledge is that there is no prohibition on presenting the doctrines of other faiths.”

SB 10 prompted a discussion with her twin girls in the sixth grade, according to Angela Achen, a substitute educator for the Conroe Independent School District in Montgomery County, north of Houston.

They initially intended to make a poster expressing their disapproval of the regulation, but that idea quickly evolved into buttons.

Motivated by the first clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” the buttons support the entire First Amendment.