Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston) is pressing public schools to follow the new state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom — warning districts that compliance “is not optional and not a suggestion.”
Middleton sent a letter to every Independent School District in Texas last week outlining the requirements under Senate Bill 10, which mandates a framed or poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments — at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall — be displayed “in a conspicuous place” in each classroom. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law earlier this year.
“Our schools are not God-free zones,” Middleton wrote on social media. “Texans will always stand for faith and freedom.”
The law’s rollout has sparked responses across the state — from enthusiastic support to resignations and pointed criticism from some district officials.
In a statement to The Dallas Express, Middleton defended the law and accused “atheist” and “ultra-woke” groups of trying to undermine it.
“The Ten Commandments are God’s Law,” Middleton said. “The law to display them in classrooms is not optional and not a suggestion. There is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in our Constitution, and our schools are not God-free zones. Recent Supreme Court decisions like Kennedy v. Bremerton by President Trump’s appointees reaffirmed this. It’s absurd the radical left is saying the display of the Ten Commandments is harmful to kids but pornographic and obscene materials in our libraries are not.”
“I’ve received a number of positive responses from ISDs that are enthusiastically following the law,” he continued. “But unfortunately I’ve also gotten some very hostile, anti-God emails. We need more Biblical values in our schools, not less. School administrators that choose to bend to the atheist ACLU in order to break the law need to be fired. As attorney general, I will fight to make sure the Ten Commandments are on every classroom wall and violators are held accountable.”
Some Public School Officials Pushing Back
The law’s rollout has already prompted controversy.
Longtime Carthage High School band director Johnnie Cotton resigned on October 6, 2025, after refusing to hang the Ten Commandments in his classroom, according to a Facebook post and reports by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“I believe very strongly that politics and religion have no place in the public schools,” Cotton wrote in his October 8 post, saying he was told by administrators that the display was mandatory.
“Seeing this as a line I refuse to cross, I resigned.”
Carthage ISD confirmed his resignation, citing “personal reasons.”
Several other district leaders responded directly to Middleton’s statewide message, challenging his interpretation of the law and criticizing its tone.
Chris Lehman, a trustee for Vernon ISD, called Middleton’s outreach “a political advertisement.”
“Not everyone that disagrees with SB 10 is an atheist, leftist radical affiliated with the ACLU,” Lehman wrote in an email to the senator. “Many Texans simply don’t like the idea of our government trying to legislate religion. No one’s religious beliefs should be excluded from our schools.”
Lehman added that the courts, not lawmakers, will determine the law’s constitutionality, writing, “Until then, get a grip and quit junking up my inbox with your ramblings.”
From Comfort ISD, Larry Thayn questioned Middleton’s accuracy, noting that the statute requires districts to display donated copies, not to purchase them outright.
“So I think your letter is misleading in that regard,” Thayn wrote. “CISD plans to obey the law and hang these up, I just wish you guys in Austin would stop trying to push your beliefs on everyone. One day, when the guys on your side of the isle are not in power anymore, someone may use this precedence to force us to display something else that they believe is worth of display and your beliefs may not align with.”
“I am a firm believer in the Ten Commandments; I just don’t think you, as a politician, should force that belief on everyone.”
Brad Zirkel of Medina ISD accused Middleton of intimidation, writing that his district was already in compliance and condemning what he called “a ridiculous demonstration of power.”
“I have no doubt that the courts will agree with the neutrality of our founding fathers and will overturn your ridiculous demonstration of power,” Zirkel wrote. “I look forward to your next recess when no further legislative damage can be done to our independent school system.”
Legal Context
Senate Bill 10 (2025) amended the Texas Education Code to require every public elementary and secondary school classroom to display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments “in a conspicuous place.” Each display must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and legible from anywhere in the classroom.
The law also directs districts to accept any privately donated copy that meets those standards, but does not require schools to purchase the displays themselves.
Supporters, including Middleton, cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which held that a public-school football coach’s post-game prayer was protected under the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses.
Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion rejected the long-used “Lemon test” and said Establishment Clause cases should be guided by “historical practices and understandings.”
Critics, including the ACLU of Texas, argue that mandatory religious displays still violate the Establishment Clause and are likely to trigger new legal challenges.