The fight over a Texas law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, in the same month the state's classrooms opened for a new year.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition Monday asking the justices to hear its challenge, according to The Hill, which obtained a copy from the organization. The petition had not yet appeared on the court's docket.
What the law requires
State lawmakers passed the measure last year. It requires elementary and secondary school classrooms to post a conspicuous display of the Ten Commandments, and the statute specifies the size and other requirements of that display.
Texas is one of several Republican-led states to pass such a law recently. A judge ruled that a similar Arkansas law is unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit went the other way, agreeing with Texas that its law could stand.
The argument being made
The ACLU represents a group of parents from a range of faiths who argue the requirement violates the First Amendment's religious protections.
"As a rabbi and parent, forcing a Christian version of the Ten Commandments on children in every classroom is particularly upsetting," said Joshua Fixler, a Jewish parent from Houston who is among those suing.
In its petition, the organization argued the appeals court "not only decided these cases in a way that conflicts with this Court's precedents but also deepened confusion among the lower courts over how this Court's Establishment Clause jurisprudence applies."
