Texas Freedom Network (TFN) Statement on Ten Commandments Appellate Ruling, April 22, 2026

Friends:

Source: San.com

The 9–8 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit allowing Texas to mandate the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms should set off alarm bells across the country (Nigrelli, 2026; TFN Press Release, 2026). 

This is not about heritage. It is not about morality. It is about power. As Texas Freedom Network President Felicia Martin makes clear, religious freedom means the state does not get to decide which beliefs are elevated and displayed for all children. Yet that is precisely what this ruling permits—by a single vote. One vote to move the state from protector of religious liberty to arbiter of religious truth. That is not neutrality. That is state-sanctioned imposition.

And let’s be clear: this is not an isolated decision. It is part of a coordinated reordering of public education in Texas—one that is narrowing what can be taught, who gets to decide, and now, what must be believed. From dismantling DEI to restructuring university governance to inserting religious doctrine into K–12 classrooms, the pattern is unmistakable. 

Public schools are being transformed from spaces of inquiry and pluralism into instruments of ideological control. The Ten Commandments on the wall are not the beginning of this story—they are the latest move in a much larger project. The question now is whether we recognize it for what it is, and whether we are willing to confront it before the line between education and indoctrination disappears altogether.

And this is all the more reason to attend our meeting this evening with the Democrat members of the Texas State Board of Education per my earlier post this morning.

-Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Reference

Nigrelli, C. (2026, April 22). Court rules Texas can require Ten Commandments in classrooms. San Antonio Express-News. https://san.com/cc/court-rules-texas-can-require-ten-commandments-in-classrooms/

TFN Statement on Ten Commandments Appellate Ruling

Spokespeople available in Spanish and English for additional comment or interview at request



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2026

CONTACT: Andrew Freeman, andrew@tfn.org, 512-746-8404

AUSTIN, Texas – The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-8 Tuesday that Texas can require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Several families and faith leaders sued school districts to block the law from taking effect after Senate Bill 10 was passed by the Texas Legislature last summer.

Texas Freedom Network President and Executive Director Felicia Martin (she/her) issued the following response:

“Religious freedom means the government does not get to decide which faith belongs on a classroom wall. This ruling gets that wrong, and it does so by just one vote. One vote should not be enough to take that freedom away from Texas families. At Texas Freedom Network, we will continue our support of the diverse families and faith leaders challenging this decision and any further legal action to bring it before the Supreme Court.”

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The Texas Freedom Network (tfn.org) is a grassroots organization of religious and community leaders and young Texans building an informed and effective movement for equality and social justice.