Texas Attorney General Sues Galveston ISD Over Ten Commandments Law

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Galveston Independent School District (ISD) on Friday after the district refused to display the Ten Commandments inside its school classrooms.

Earlier this summer, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10 into law, requiring every public school classroom in the state to include a poster featuring the Ten Commandments. Many Houston-area districts have already taken steps to comply, holding votes through their elected boards of trustees to initiate the new requirement.

However, the law quickly became the subject of a legal challenge. This year, a civil rights lawsuit was filed against 11 Texas school districts that posted the biblical posters. In August, a federal judge ruled that the state’s new Ten Commandments law is unconstitutional. A federal appeals court is expected to hear arguments in the dispute next year.

Galveston ISD’s board of trustees voted on October 22 to delay displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms while the issue remains tied up in court. Elizabeth Beeton, the trustee who placed the item on the agenda, explained her reasoning during the meeting. “My reason for placing this item on the agenda is not really about the ironies or wisdom or lack thereof with the Ten Commandments law, it is that the law is unconstitutional,” Beeton said. She also noted that other legislation, such as tuition vouchers, has made it challenging for public schools to compete.

Before the board’s 4-3 vote to delay the postings, trustees heard both support and backlash from public speakers debating whether to comply with the state’s controversial law.

In a statement released Friday, Attorney General Paxton criticized the Galveston school district for ignoring the legislature and what he called the “legal and moral heritage of our nation.”

“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,” Paxton stated. He further argued that there is no valid legal reason to prevent Texas schools from honoring a framework of state laws, “especially under the misconception that a ‘separation of church and state’ phrase appears in the Constitution.”

The school district has not immediately responded to requests for comment.
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2025/11/07/535471/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-galveston-isd-for-failing-to-display-ten-commandments/