A Harris County judge will hear arguments Friday on whether to block the state's Ten Commandments classroom poster mandate, just five days before Spring ISD students report for the first day of school.

Three Houston-area mothers filed the lawsuit July 30, asking the court to order posters removed from classrooms before the school year begins.

Spring ISD is not a named defendant. But the district is bound by the same state law, Texas Education Code §1.0041, passed as Senate Bill 10 in 2025, that requires every public school classroom to display a donated copy of the King James Version of the Ten Commandments on a poster at least 16 by 20 inches.

A TRO granted Friday, Aug. 7, would apply only to the three defendant districts: Spring Branch ISD, Houston ISD and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Spring ISD would not be directly bound by that order. A broader preliminary injunction later in the case could affect all Texas districts, including Spring ISD.

Spring ISD's ACE campuses, Ponderosa Elementary and Bailey Middle School, open Monday, Aug. 10. The full district starts Wednesday, Aug. 12. Spring ISD had not responded to requests for comment on its SB 10 compliance plans as of Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The hearing is set for 1 p.m. in Harris County's 165th District Court.

The lawsuit

Emily Roth, Audrey Rosa Nath and Sanjam Kaur Sohal filed the suit on behalf of themselves and their six children, who attend schools in Spring Branch ISD, Houston ISD and Cy-Fair ISD. The case also names Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as defendants.

The legal strategy is unusual. Rather than assert a First Amendment claim, the plaintiffs rely on the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1999 state law signed by then-Gov. George W. Bush that prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's free exercise of religion. They also cite the Parental Rights Amendment that Texas voters approved in November 2025.

Lead counsel Megan Hassan told the Texas Tribune on July 31 that the mothers never wanted a legal battle with the state. They simply wanted a poster removed from a classroom wall, she said, and that should never have required a lawsuit.

Roth, who is raising her children without religion, filed three levels of grievances with Spring Branch ISD beginning in October 2025. The school board unanimously voted against her requests in March, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

"My daughter was learning how to read in that kindergarten classroom," Roth told KPRC 2. "Do I want to explain the concept of adultery? These are adult themes."

The approach differs from a 2025 federal challenge that ultimately failed. A federal judge initially blocked SB 10 in August 2025, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in April in an 8-9 vote, finding the displays constitutionally sound.

Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, told KPRC 2 he is skeptical the parents can establish that a passive classroom display substantially burdens their religious exercise. But he noted the parental-rights claim may be stronger, particularly if teachers required children to read or discuss the commandments as religious truth.

Cy-Fair ISD, the only defendant district to respond publicly, said it is complying with SB 10 but will not spend public funds on posters. The district said it will display only privately donated copies, placed in the upper left-hand corner of standard classroom bulletin boards. Cy-Fair ISD described the displays as passive building fixtures not designated for instructional use.

Friday's hearing will not resolve the full lawsuit. It will determine only whether the posters must come down while the case proceeds. That question carries a hard deadline as classrooms fill the week of Aug. 10.