The Texas Ten Commandments in schools law, Senate Bill 10, requires every public elementary and secondary school classroom in the state to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The display must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, must use the exact text written into the statute, and must hang in a conspicuous place in every room where students receive instruction. There is no exemption for any public school, and no opt-out for parents or students.
What Every Classroom Must Display
SB 10 adds Section 1.0041 to the Texas Education Code and spells out, word for word, the version of the Ten Commandments schools have to post.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version The text is written in archaic English that tracks the King James tradition and begins “I AM the LORD thy God.” Schools cannot swap in a different translation, a modern paraphrase, or a version used by a particular denomination.
The physical requirements are specific. Each poster or framed copy must measure at least 16 by 20 inches. The text has to be printed in a size and typeface that a person with average vision can read from anywhere in the room. A poster that meets the dimensions but sits in a back corner behind a bookshelf would not satisfy that visibility standard.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version
Nothing else is allowed on the poster. Decorative images, commentary, scripture citations, or branding from a donor organization all take a compliant display out of compliance. A school handed a donated poster covered in artwork or a church logo would have to turn it down.
The statute refers to a “durable poster or framed copy.” It says nothing about smartboards, projected images, or digital signage, which strongly suggests a permanent physical display is what the law demands. A rotating image on a classroom screen would not take the place of the poster.
Which Schools Have to Comply
The mandate reaches every public elementary and secondary school in Texas. That includes traditional campuses run by independent school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, which the Education Code classifies as public schools. The statute drives the point home with a catch-all: “Notwithstanding any other law, a public elementary or secondary school is not exempt from this section.”1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version
Private schools are not covered. Public universities and community colleges are also outside the law, which applies only to K-12 settings.
Who Pays for the Posters
The funding structure runs on donations first. Any school that does not already have compliant posters in every classroom has to accept privately donated copies, provided those copies meet the size, text, and no-additional-content rules.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version Donations can come from individuals, churches, or community groups.
If donations fall short, the district may spend its own funds to buy the rest, but the statute does not require it to.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version That permissive language is doing real work. A district could decline to spend taxpayer money on posters while still being obligated to hang any compliant ones that donors supply. In practice, community donors are expected to carry most of the cost.
What Families Can and Can’t Do
SB 10 contains no opt-out. Because every classroom must have the display, there is no classroom to transfer a child into to avoid it. Parents who object on religious or philosophical grounds have no administrative process built into the law. The only route is a federal constitutional challenge, which several families and civil rights groups have already pursued.
What Happens to Districts That Don’t Comply
The statute itself sets no fine, no funding penalty, and no clawback for districts that refuse to post the displays. That has not translated into a free pass. The Texas Attorney General has publicly threatened enforcement and has sued at least three districts for alleged noncompliance.
Running the other direction, SB 10 shields districts that do comply. The attorney general must defend any school sued for displaying the Ten Commandments under the law, and the state covers all expenses, costs, judgments, and settlements that come out of that defense.1Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 10 – Enrolled Version A board that hangs the posters and gets sued pays nothing out of district funds for the fight. A board that refuses gets no such cover and may face enforcement from the state.
Where the Law Stands in Court
Sixteen Texas families, represented by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations, challenged the law in Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District. The full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-8 for the state on April 21, 2026. The majority found that SB 10 does not resemble a founding-era religious establishment because it does not require students to pray, recite, or profess belief, and it imposes no penalty for disagreement. Eight judges dissented.
The plaintiffs have said they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case. A separate lawsuit seeking to block all Texas schools from following the law is still pending in federal court. Until the Supreme Court steps in, the law stands and schools are expected to comply.