Suit Challenges Texas Requirement for 10 Commandments in Classrooms

Suit was filed last week in a Texas federal district court challenging the constitutionality of a recently enacted Texas law that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom. The complaint (full text) in Alexander v. Morath, (ND TX, filed 6/24/2025) alleges in part:

Senate Bill 10 ... is not religiously neutral, as it mandates the display of a specific version of the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom. This requirement inherently takes a theological stance on the correct content and meaning of the scripture....

The version mandated by S.B. 10 mostly aligns with a Protestant rendition but does not match any version found in the Jewish tradition, notably omitting key language and context from the Torah. Furthermore, it does not match the version followed by most Catholics, as it includes a prohibition against "graven images" which could be offensive given the role of iconography in the Catholic faith....

84. As a result of the Ten Commandments displays mandated by S.B. 10, Texas students—including minor-child Plaintiffs—will be unconstitutionally coerced into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture, and they will be pressured to suppress their personal religious beliefs and practices, especially in school, to avoid the potential disfavor, reproach, and/or disapproval of school officials and/or their peers. ...

85. In addition, by mandating that one version of the Ten Commandments be displayed in public educational institutions and prescribing an official religious text for school children to venerate, S.B. 10 adopts an official position on religious matters, violating the Establishment Clause’s prohibition against taking sides in questions over theological doctrine and violating the “clearest command” of the Establishment Clause that “one religious denomination cannot be officially preferred over another.” Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228, 244 (1982).

86. There is no longstanding historical practice or tradition of prominently and permanently displaying any version of the Ten Commandments in American public-school classrooms. On the contrary, the Supreme Court unambiguously held in Stone that such a practice is proscribed by the Constitution.

Texas Tribune reports on the lawsuit.

Supreme Court: Parents Have Free Exercise Right to Opt Children Out of Class Discussions That Undermine Religious Beliefs

 In Mahmoud v. Taylor, (Sup.Ct., June 27, 2025), the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision upheld the granting of a preliminary injunction to parents who objected to a Maryland school district's removal of parents' right to opt their children out of class discussions involving LGBTQ+ inclusive” storybooks. The parents objected to exposing their children to discussions of sexuality and gender that were inconsistent with parents' religious beliefs. The majority, in an opinion authored by Justice Alito, said in part:

The practice of educating one’s children in one’s religious beliefs, like all religious acts and practices, receives a generous measure of protection from our Constitution....

In light of the record before us, we hold that the Board’s introduction of the “LGBTQ+-inclusive” storybooks—combined with its decision to withhold notice to parents and to forbid opt outs—substantially interferes with the religious development of their children and imposes the kind of burden on religious exercise that [Wisconsin v.] Yoder found unacceptable....

To start, we cannot accept the Board’s characterization of the “LGBTQ+-inclusive” instruction as mere “exposure to objectionable ideas” or as lessons in “mutual respect.”...

In any event, the Board and the dissent are mistaken when they rely extensively on the concept of “exposure.” The question in cases of this kind is whether the educational requirement or curriculum at issue would “substantially interfer[e] with the religious development” of the child or pose “a very real threat of undermining” the religious beliefs and practices the parent wishes to instill in the child.... Whether or not a requirement or curriculum could be characterized as “exposure” is not the touchstone for determining whether that line is crossed....

Under our precedents, the government is generally free to place incidental burdens on religious exercise so long as it does so pursuant to a neutral policy that is generally applicable....

 Here, the character of the burden requires us to proceed differently. When the burden imposed is of the same character as that imposed in Yoder, we need not ask whether the law at issue is neutral or generally applicable before proceeding to strict scrutiny.  That much is clear from our decisions in Yoder and Smith....

Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:

... [T]he Board’s response to parents’ unsuccessful attempts to opt their children out of the storybook curriculum conveys that parents’ religious views are not welcome in the “fully inclusive environment” that the Board purports to foster....

The curriculum itself also betrays an attempt to impose ideological conformity with specific views on sexuality and gender....

The Board easily could avoid sowing tension between its curriculum and parents’ First Amendment rights.  Most straightforwardly, rather than attempt to “weave the storybooks seamlessly into ELA lessons,” the Board could cabin its sexual- and gender-identity instruction to specific units.

Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:

 Casting aside longstanding precedent, the Court invents a constitutional right to avoid exposure to “subtle” themes “contrary to the religious principles” that parents wish to instill in their children.... Exposing students to the “message” that LGBTQ people exist, and that their loved ones may celebrate their marriages and life events, the majority says, is enough to trigger the most demanding form of judicial scrutiny..... That novel rule is squarely foreclosed by our precedent and offers no limiting principle.  Given the great diversity of religious beliefs in this country, countless interactions that occur every day in public schools might expose children to messages that conflict with a parent’s religious beliefs. If that is sufficient to trigger strict scrutiny, then little is not. 

The result will be chaos for this Nation’s public schools. Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools....

... [N]ever, in the context of public schools or elsewhere, has this Court held that mere exposure to concepts inconsistent with one’s religious beliefs could give rise to a First Amendment claim....

The logic of the Court’s ruling will also apply to countless other topics, interactions, and activities that may conflict with a parent’s religious preferences. What of the parent who wants his child’s curriculum stripped of any mention of women working outside the home, sincerely averring that such activity conflicts with the family’s religious beliefs?  It blinks reality to suggest that the simple solution for schools is to create new discrete units of instruction to cover any set of material to which a parent objects....

SCOTUSblog reports on the decision.

Texas Enacts Requirement That Schools Offer Released-Time Programs

On June 20, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott signed SB 1049 (full text) which requires all public and charter schools to permit students to attend released-time religious classes for up to five hours per week. The student must assume responsibility for any school assignments issued during his attendance at religious classes. ADF issued a press release endorsing the new law.

Texas Enacts Law Requiring Ten Commandments In Every Classroom

The Texas legislature has passed, and on June 20 Governor Gregg Abbott signed, SB10 (full text) which requires that:

a public elementary or secondary school shall display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school adurable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments...

The law requires that a poster or framed copy at least 16x20 in size include only the text of the Ten Commandments set out in the law. It must be posted "in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom...."

Texas Tribune reports on the new law. A similar Louisiana law was just found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals which also has jurisdiction over Texas. (See prior posting.)

5th Circuit Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Louisiana's 10 Commandments In Classrooms Law

In Roake v. Brumley, (5th Cir., June 20, 2025), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's grant of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of a Louisiana statute that requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. In a lengty opinion the appellate court found that plaintiffs had standing to challenge the statute and that plaintiffs had shown a substantial likelihood of succcess on the merits of their Establishment Clause claim.  The court said in part:

The precedents of the Supreme Court and this court establish that, in an Establishment Clause case, a plaintiff can generally satisfy the injury-infact element of standing when he experiences—or certainly will experience—unwanted exposure to government-sponsored religious displays or exercises in the course of his regular activities....

Although the Supreme Court set aside the Lemon test in Kennedy [v. Bremerton School District],...  Kennedy did not overrule Stone [v. Graham]. Kennedy does  not mention Stone or purport to overrule the decisions (other than Lemon) on which Stone relies, i.e., Schempp or Engel. Stone remains good law andtherefore controls....

An H.B. 71 display that meets the statute’s minimum requirements is materially identical to the displays challenged in Stone....

It is also unclear how H.B. 71 ensures that students in Louisiana public schools “understand and appreciate the foundational documents of [its] stateand  national government” when it makes displaying those “foundational” documents optional, and does not require that they also be printed in a large, easily readable font.... When the Ten Commandments must be posted prominently and legibly, while the other “contextual” materials need not be visible at all, the disparity lays bare the pretext....

... [T]he question before us is whether the permanent posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms fits within, or is consistent with, a broader tradition of using the Ten Commandments in public education....

Plaintiffs presented the expert testimony of Dr. Steven Green, a religious and constitutional legal historian. Dr. Green testified that the public school system did not exist at the founding; rather, public education originated sometime around the late 1820s. Dr. Green also found no evidence that the Ten Commandments were permanently displayed in early American public schools. He testified that no state enacted a law allowing the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools until North Dakota did so in 1927, and that a court later stuck down the statute....

Judge Dennis filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:

I join the majority opinion in full. I write separately to offer two additional bases for affirming the district court’s judgment. First, the Plaintiffs have standing under settled Supreme Court precedents recognizing “offended observer” standing in Establishment Clause cases.... Second, Louisiana vastly overstates both the holding and reach of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.... That decision did not undermine—much less overrule—Stone v. Graham.... Nor did it eliminate the component parts of Lemon v. Kurtzman....

Axios reports on the decision.

Iowa Enacts Law Allowing Released-Time Religious Instruction in Schools

On June 6, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill that gives students in public and accredited nonpublic schools the right to attend up to five hours per week of off-site released time religious instruction offered by private organizations. HF 870 (full text) provides that the students must agree to make up any school work that they do not complete while attending the religious classes. The new law also provides:

A child’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian ... who alleges that a school district has violated this section may bring a civil action for injunctive relief and actual damages against the school district....

ADF issued a press release commenting on the new law.

Texas Passes 3 Bills Promoting Religion in Public Schools

In addition to the much-publicized Ten Commandments bill (see prior posting), the Texas legislature this week gave final passage to three other bills relating to religion in public schools:

S.B. 11 (full text) (legislative history) creates an elaborate structure that school districts may adopt to provide for a daily period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text in each school. The daily ceremony is to be open to both students and employees but must be outside the hearing of those who are not participants. Also, it may not be a substitute for instructional time. To participate, a student's parent must sign a consent form that includes a waiver of a right to bring an Establishment Clause claim to challenge the prayer/ Bible reading policy. For an employee to participate in the daily sessions, they must sign a similar consent and waiver. Districts may not broadcast the prayer or Bible reading over the school's public address system.

SB 965 (full text) (legislative history) provides:

The right of an employee of a school district ... to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty may not be infringed on by the district or school or another state governmental entity, unless the infringement is: (1) necessary to further a compelling state interest; and (2) narrowly tailored using the least restrictive means to achieve that compelling state interest.

SB 1049 (full text) (legislative history) requires all public schools to adopt policies that provide for students, at their parents' request, to attend for 1 to 5 hours per week off-premises released time programs operated by private entities and which offer religious instruction. Under the mandated policy, students remain responsible for any schoolwork issued during the student's absence.

Texas Legislature Passes Bill to Require Ten Commandments in Every Classroom

The Texas legislature this week gave final approval to SB10 (full text) which requires public schools to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The bill sets out the language of the version of the Ten Commandments that must be used. Schools must accept privately donated posters or framed copies that meet the requirements of the Act and may also use school district funds to buy posters or copies. Three civil liberties groups yesterday announced that they will sue Texas to challenge the new law once it is signed by Governor Gregg Abbott.

Teacher's Refusal to Use Student's Preferred Pronouns Justified Her Being Fired

 In Ramirez v. Oakland Unified School District, (ND CA, May 27, 2025), a California federal district court dismissed claims by a former kindergarten teacher that her free speech and free exercise rights were violated by her termination for refusing to refer to a student using male pronouns when the student appeared to be biologically female. Both school officials and the student's parents requested that male pronouns be used. Plaintiff contended that her Catholic faith does not allow her to refer to a person using pronouns that differ from the person’s “divinely-intended gender.” The court held that the school district itself was protected by sovereign immunity and that the individual plaintiffs have qualified immunity as to any action for damages. The court went on to hold that plaintiff also failed to adequately allege either a speech or religious exercise claim, saying in part:

The complaint fails to state a claim because the alleged speech was not protected. Ms. Ramirez agreed to serve as an elementary school teacher at a public school. To do the job, a teacher must address and interact with their students. As other courts have observed, while addressing students is not part of the curriculum itself, “it is difficult to imagine how a teacher could perform [their] teaching duties on any subject without a method by which to address individual students.”,,, 

The plaintiff’s main argument in opposition — that the above analysis does not apply because this case concerns compelled speech — fails both legally and factually. While the Supreme Court has suggested that compelled speech outside of an employee’s official duties warrants heightened protection, the government may insist that the employee deliver any lawful message when the speech is part of the employee’s official duties....

Here, the plaintiff does not contest that the district’s anti-discrimination policy is facially neutral. Instead, she contends that school officials were impermissibly hostile towards her religious beliefs when enforcing the policy. The argument fails because, even accepted as true, the well-pleaded facts do not plausibly allege hostility. 

Supreme Court Denies Cert. In School's Ban on Anti-Transgender T-Shirt

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied review in L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts, (Sup. Ct., certiorari denied May 27, 2025).  In the case, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld middle school officials' decision that a student was in violation of school rules by wearing a T-shirt that proclaims: "There Are Only Two Genders." Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas filed an opinion dissenting from the denial of certiorari, saying in part:

The First Circuit held that the school did not violate L. M.’s free-speech rights. It held that the general prohibition against viewpoint-based censorship does not apply to public schools. And it employed a vague, permissive, and jargon-laden rule that departed from the standard this Court adopted in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist., 393 U. S. 503 (1969). 

The First Circuit’s decision calls out for our review....

I would grant the petition for two reasons. First, we should reaffirm the bedrock principle that a school may not engage in viewpoint discrimination when it regulates student speech. Tinker itself made that clear.... Curiously, however, the First Circuit declined to follow Tinker in this regard, instead cherry-picking which First Amendment principles it thought worthy of allowing through the schoolhouse gates.  By limiting the application of our viewpoint-discrimination cases, the decision below robs a great many students of that core First Amendment protection.

Second, we should also grant review to determine whether the First Circuit properly understood the rule adopted in Tinker regarding the suppression of student speech on the ground that it presents a risk of material disruption.

Justice Thomas also filed a separate brief dissenting opinion.  NBC News reports on the Court's action.

Suit Challenges School District's Speech Policy

Suit was filed this week in an Oregon federal district court by a clinical social worker employed by an Oregon school district challenging the application of the district's Speech Policy to his display on a shelf in his office of three books that reject notions of transgender identity. The complaint (full text) in Theis v.  InterMountain Education Service District Board of Directors, (D OR, filed 5/21/2025), alleges in part:

He is He and She is She ... explain how every child should embrace and love herself exactly as God made her to be....

... [A]n employee at one of Mr. Theis’ schools saw the covers of the Books and complained that they were “transphobic.” IMESD labeled the display as “a hostile expression of animus toward another person relating to their actual or perceived gender identity” and ordered Mr. Theis to remove them. IMESD then warned him that “further conduct of this nature” may result in discipline, including termination of his employment....

2. Plaintiff is ... a professing Christian who bases his beliefs on the Bible and strives to live out his Christian faith at work and in the community.

3. Plaintiff’s sincerely held religious beliefs govern his views about all aspects of life, including human nature, sex, and gender....

217. Defendants’ censorship of Plaintiff’s display of the Books while permitting books and other decorations with different messages on related topics is content and viewpoint discrimination, which is unconstitutional in any type of forum....

220. Defendants’ Speech Policy and practice also impose an unconstitutional heckler’s veto because they permit the restriction of protected employee expression merely because school officials deem an employee’s expression “offensive” to others....

249. Plaintiff’s sincerely held religious beliefs motivated him to display the Books in his office. 

250. Defendants substantially burdened Plaintiff’s religious exercise when they forced Plaintiff to choose between exercising his religious beliefs and being dismissed or violating his conscience.

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Jewish Teacher Claims Anti-Israel Position of Teachers' Union Violates His 1st Amendment Rights

Suit was filed this week in an Oregon federal district court against the Portland school system and the Portland teacher's union by a Jewish teacher who was born in Israel who contends that his First Amendment rights are violated by forcing him to be part of a bargaining unit represented by a union that promotes anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian positions and by the school becoming a one-sided forum for anti-Israel rhetoric. He also claims a hostile working environment has been created. Even though plaintiff chose not to become a dues-paying member of the teacher's union, under Oregon law the union remained his collective bargaining representative.  The complaint (full text) in Doe v. Portland Association of Teachers, (D OR, filed 5/19/2025) alleges in part:

63. [Palestinian] flags and other symbols were in common spaces such as hallways, the library, as well as shared classrooms. The placement was intentional so as to appear to be an expression of the community and school rather than any individual staff person.

64. These symbols ... cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiff because of his experiences growing up in Israel, including personal exposure to acts of terrorism committed to destroy the State of Israel, and because of his deeply held religious beliefs....

97. When Plaintiff reached out to PAT for support, PAT assigned him a union representative who publicly shared anti-Zionist views on social media, thus the Plaintiff did not receive fair or unbiased representation from PAT....

121. Oregon’s statutory requirement of exclusive representation, placing the Plaintiff in a bargaining unit exclusively represented by PAT, violates the Plaintiff’s free association by forcing him to associate with expression with which he disagrees, and which betrays his deeply held religious and moral beliefs....

127. Oregon’s exclusive representation laws compel Plaintiff ... to tacitly affirm beliefs that violate his deeply held religious beliefs and personal convictions as a condition of employment....

140. ... [C]urricula put forward in the District’s classrooms purports to define aspects of Plaintiff’s faith, which includes the belief in a Jewish homeland, in ways that are inconsistent with his beliefs, but that are consistent with the religious teachings of other faiths, including the beliefs of some Muslims.

141. The District allows displays of overtly anti-Israel messaging, including maps that fail to display the nation of Israel....

144. By these actions, the District prefers and promotes religious views and practices in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,,,,

The Oregonian reports on the lawsuit.

West Virginia Governor Tells Schools to Provide Religious and Philosophical Exemptions from Vaccine Requirements

Last week, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey released a letter (full text) addressed to parents, students and school officials reaffirming that his Executive Order 7-25 is still in effect. The Executive Order issued last January provides for religious and conscientious exemptions for students from compulsory school immunization requirements.  He based the Order on the provisions of the state's Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023. The Governor's recent letter, issued in light of the fact that the state legislature has not taken action on the matter, sets out a procedure for parents to use in applying for a religious or philosophical exemption. The governor's office also issued a press release summarizing the letter. The Inter-Mountain reports on the Governor's action.

3rd Circuit: Class Videos on Islam Did Not Violate Establishment Clause

In Hilsenrath v. School District. of the Chathams, (3rd Cir., May 5, 2025), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals held that videos about Islam shown in a 7th grade World Cultures and Geography class did not violate the Establishment Clause.  The court focused on the Supreme Court's new "historical practices and understandings" test in Establishment Clause cases.  The court said in part:

This kind of historical inquiry “requires serious work. And that work is especially challenging here because “free public education was virtually nonexistent at the time the Constitution was adopted." But “[h]istorical tradition can be established by analogical reasoning,”...

... [The] videos were presented in an academic rather than devotional context, they do “not come close to crossing any line” separating permissible curricular materials from impermissible proselytization....

... [E]ven assuming the Establishment Clause requires equal treatment in primary and secondary school curricula, the record does not show favoritism here. Besides Islam, C.H. and his classmates were introduced to Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. And the World Cultures and Geography course represented only a sampling of the expansive world religions curriculum offered at the School District of the Chathams....

...So assuming the Establishment Clause required the Board to treat religions equally, the record shows that it satisfied that requirement here....

Judge Phipps filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:

This Establishment Clause challenge comes at a time when the “one-size-fits-all test” from Lemon v. Kurtzman ..., has been emphatically rejected, and there is no longer any lurking constitutional mandate of secularism in governmental affairs....

Thus, with the lifting of the constitutional mandate of secularism, teaching about religious matters in a public school does not violate the Establishment Clause. For that reason, the instructional materials about Islamic beliefs, practices, and modes of worship do not offend that constitutional provision....

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Permissive Opt-Out of Children from Exposure To LGBTQ-Friendly Books

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning will hear oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In the case, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Maryland federal district court's denial of a preliminary injunction in a challenge to a school board's refusal to allow parents to opt their children out of exposure to a group of LGBTQ inclusive books. The parents contended that refusal to provide an opt out alternative violates their religious free exercise rights. (See prior posting). The SCOTUSblog case page has links to the numerous amicus briefs filed in the case as well as to other pleadings and relevant news coverage of the case.  Oral arguments will be streamed live here at 10:00 AM today. A transcript and audio recording of the arguments will be posted here by the Court later today. A SCOTUSblog article has further background on the case.

School's Gender Support Policy Did Not Violate Parent's Free Exercise or Due Process Rights

In Vitsaxaki v. Skaneateles Central School District, (ND NY, March 20, 2025), a New York federal district court rejected free exercise and due process challenges to a school district's policy of referring to students by their preferred names and pronouns without informing parents that the district is doing so.  The court said in part:

Mrs. Vitsaxaki asserts that her free exercise of religion was substantially burdened when she was unable to direct the upbringing and education of her child to “counteract” the school district’s implicit messaging that “people can change their sex.” ...

Mrs. Vitsaxaki asserts that the district’s actions taken pursuant to the Policy— permitting Doe to use a preferred names and pronouns and to receive school counseling regarding gender identity questions—were in direct contradiction of her religious views concerning gender and biological sex....

... [A] Policy that permits students to use preferred names and pronouns cannot be said to promote or endorse a religious message nor establish a particular religious practice.  Nor does Mrs. Vitsaxaki allege that it does.  Mrs. Vitsaxaki merely alleges that the choices available to students who choose to take advantage of the Policy runs afoul of her own religious beliefs....

... [T]he Court is satisfied that the Policy, which enables students to use their preferred name and/or pronouns is rationally related to the school district’s legitimate interest in promoting a safe learning environment for its students. ...

Rejecting plaintiff's claim that the school infringed her parental rights, the court said in part: 

... [W]ithin the Second Circuit, the scope of parental rights has been limited in the education context.  Most recently, ..., the Second Circuit held that “there is not a parental right, absent a violation of the Religion Clauses, to ‘direct how a public school teaches their child.’”  ...

... Mrs. Vitsaxaki’s verified complaint—and copies of the Policy...—describe a Policy that operates more like a civility code that extends the kind of decency students should expect at school: such as being called the name they ask to be called.  This strikes at the heart of the subject and manner of instruction a school district is entitled to implement for its students....

... Mrs. Vitsaxaki does not plausibly allege that the district diagnosed or treated Doe or that the district violated her right to make healthcare decisions on Doe’s behalf.   

Simply put, she remained free to exercise her parent rights at home.

Petition Seeks to Stop Latest Effort to Get Bibles in Oklahoma School Classrooms

 As previously reported, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has issued an order staying any work by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services on any new request by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) for the purchase of Bibles for distribution to public school classrooms. However, the Department of Education has announced a new "Bibles Back in School" Campaign in which it has partnered with singer Lee Greenwood in asking members of the public to purchase copies of the "God Bless the USA" Bible and donate them to OSDE for it to distribute to classrooms. The website through which purchase may be made says in part:

The God Bless The USA Bible makes a strong visual connection of the KJV translation (red letter edition) along with our nation’s Founding Father Documents – The US Constitution, The Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, and The Pledge of Allegiance – providing a profound visible teaching asset for all. This special Bible will help our next generation of leadership to carry on the future of America as we’ve known it.

Yesterday, the petitioners in Walke v. Walters, (OK Sup. Ct., filed 3/12/2025), filed a Supplemental Petition (full text) with the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking it to issue an injunction prohibiting OSDE from proceeding with the Campaign, arguing that OSDE lacks authority to distribute Bibles to school districts and that the Bibles Back to School Campaign violates provisions of the Oklahoma state Constitution (Art. 1 Sec. 2 and Art. 2 Sec 5)which prohibit public money from being used to support any system of religion. The Petition says in part:

To be sure, private parties are free to offer donations of items-- including Bibles-- to school districts, but state officials cross the constitutional line when they organize, promote, and participate in a campaign to distribute donated copies of a particular religious text to schools.

Americans United issued a press release announcing the filing of the Supplemental Petition.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Stays for Now Bible Purchases for Public Schools

As previously reported, in October suit was filed by public school parents, teachers and by clergy challenging Oklahoma's requirement for all public schools to incorporate the Bible in their curricula. The suit was filed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking it to assume original jurisdiction because of the importance and time-sensitiveness of the case. The suit was filed against the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, the State Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), and personnel of each agency. OMES processes purchasing requests by state agencies. At the request of the petitioners as well as by OMES, the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Walke v. Walters, (OK Sup. Ct., March 10, 2025), issued an Order (full text) staying any work by OMES on any new request by the Department of Education for the purchase of Bibles as well as staying OMES's work on a pending Request for Proposals on Biblical Character Instruction. The Court however deferred until a later stage in the case petitioners' request for a stay on implementing in its entirety the state's Bible Education Mandate. Oklahoma Public Radio reports on the Court's order.

Parent May Proceed on Some Challenges to School's Policy on Transgender Students

In Landerer v. Dover Area School District, (MD PA, Feb. 13, 2025), a mother challenged a school board's policy Directive that prohibits parental notification without student consent when a student asks to socially transition and be called by a different name or pronouns. The court held that plaintiff lacked standing to obtain injunctive or declaratory relief because she had withdrawn her children from the Dover School District. The court also dismissed plaintiff's free exercise claim, saying in part:

... [T]he policy here is rationally related to the legitimate interest of protecting transgender students. Even though the policy is alleged by Plaintiff to impact or burden her religious beliefs, the Directive survives rational basis review.

The court however refused to dismiss plaintiff's claim that a teacher interfered with her right to direct the care (including medical and mental health care), custody and control of her child. It also refused to dismiss plaintiff's claim that she was denied procedural due process because the Directive failed to provide for notice to parents of their children's request to use a different name and pronoun. The court allowed plaintiff to proceed only against the school board and not against the individual defendants on these claims because of qualified immunity.

Britain's Court of Appeals: Teacher Wrongfully Terminated for Personal Facebook Postings Reflecting Christian Beliefs on Sexuality

In Higgs v. Farmor's School, (EWCA, Feb. 12, 2025), Britain's Court of Appeal held that the dismissal of a teacher because of posts on her personal Facebook page reflecting her Christian-based objections to schools teaching children about same-sex marriage and gender fluidity constituted unlawful discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in violation of the Equality Act 2010. The court said in part:

The school sought to justify her dismissal on the basis that the posts in question were intemperately expressed and included insulting references to the promoters of gender fluidity and “the LGBT crowd” which were liable to damage the school’s reputation in the community: the posts had been reported by one parent and might be seen by others.  However, neither the language of the posts nor the risk of reputational damage were capable of justifying the Claimant’s dismissal in circumstances where she had not said anything of the kind at work or displayed any discriminatory attitudes in her treatment of pupils.

Lord Justice Falk filed a brief concurring opinion.