Texas
Gov. Abbott signs Ten Commandments bill mandating displays in Texas classrooms
AUSTIN — A law requiring Texas public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments is poised to take effect Sept. 1 after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill Saturday.
However, it is expected to face legal challenges.
Rocío Fierro-Pérez, political director of Texas Freedom Network, said the law ignores the separation of church and state by telling children “what kind of faith is acceptable.”
“No child should be told by the state that their beliefs are wrong, or that they don’t belong in their own school,” she said in a statement. “This is government overreach in its most dangerous form.”
Schools must conspicuously display a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom with text that can be read by anyone inside the room with average vision under the new law.
Texas’ attorney general must defend public schools in any lawsuits they face from the mandate, meaning taxpayers will foot the bill.
The ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have warned Abbott that they would file a lawsuit if he signed the legislation. In a joint statement late last month, they called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional.”
The civil liberties groups say the new law violates the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Stone vs. Graham. The court held then that Kentucky’s law requiring class displays of the Ten Commandments was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment — which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.
The organizations also noted a federal court blocked Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law from taking effect last year. That court ruled Louisiana’s law violated the Stone precedent and is “discriminatory and coercive.” That case is being appealed.
Supporters of the Ten Commandments law in Texas counter that the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District made it possible for states to pass such laws. The court held that high school football coach Joseph Kennedy’s personal midfield prayer after games was protected by the free exercise and free speech clauses of the First Amendment.
The high court’s Kennedy opinion noted that the justices had “long ago abandoned” what’s known as the Lemon test, a three-pronged approach to determine whether something violated the establishment clause separating church and state.
Instead, the court said possible violations should be determined by “reference to historical practices and understandings.”
Matt Krause, an attorney with First Liberty Institute, expressed confidence that the incoming law will ultimately be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Ten Commandments is unique in American history and culture in that it was ubiquitous,” he said in an interview, likening it to historic U.S. documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. “It squarely meets that history and tradition test more uniquely and more squarely than any other document, really, in American history.”
In Louisiana’s case, the federal court ruled it “remains bound to follow Stone until the Supreme Court overrules it.” Even without using Stone as the precedent, the court found that the law is still unconstitutional because it “fails to select historical documents generally and versions of the Decalogue specifically ‘without regard for belief,’” making it discriminatory on top of its mandate being coercive to students.
“Government officials have no business intruding on these deeply personal religious matters,” the civil liberties groups said in the joint statement last month. “We will not allow Texas lawmakers to divide communities along religious lines and attempt to turn public schools into Sunday schools.”
The Ten Commandments law is among more than 300 policies Abbott signed Saturday. Sunday is the last day the governor can sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature this session.
Abbott also signed bills into law that protect public school employees’ right to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty and require trustees to vote whether schools in their district must allow a period for praying and reading religious texts.
“Today, I signed critical legislation passed in the 89th Regular Legislative Session that protects the safety of Texans and safeguards the individual freedoms that our great state was founded on,” Abbott said in a statement. “Working with the Texas Legislature, we will keep Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
A North Texas family is making a desperate plea for information after an 18-year-old was gunned down in Dallas overnight.
“I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. Every story that I hear what they did to him, it’s horrible,” said Araceli Rodriguez.
Rodriguez and her older son, Jaden Hernandez, say Isaiah left their Fort Worth home yesterday with a new friend. He was headed to a party in Pleasant Grove.
“He would protect everyone,” said Hernandez.
Just before 2 a.m., Dallas Police responded to the home on Masters Drive.
They told Rodriguez that Isaiah was shot multiple times.
He died at Baylor before she arrived.
“I need justice for my son. I need justice. I need to find some kind of closure,” she said.
Police haven’t announced any arrests.
Rodriguez urges those with information to come forward.
It’s not the first time her family’s been rocked by gunfire.
Jaden lost his vision in a shooting in 2024.
“I just hope and pray and wish that these kids find a different way to resolve their issues,” said Rodriguez.
She hopes Isaiah’s story convinces others to put the guns down.
“I want other people to take something from this. I want them to watch who they’re around, watch who their true friends are and just be safe. This is the hardest thing for a parent to go through,” said Rodriguez.
Anyone with information is asked to call Dallas Police.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three hospitals in Texas received a combined $2.5 million in grant funding toward mobile stroke units aimed at increasing access to stroke care.
A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is blocked or reduced.
According to the governor’s office, mobile stroke units were ambulances equipped with CT scanners to help identify strokes and begin treatment faster.
“Timely stroke care can make a life-changing difference for Texans and their families,” HHS Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth said.
Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin received $1.25 million to establish a new mobile stroke unit.
To expand their existing mobile stroke units, University Medical Center of El Paso was given $500,000, and Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston received $750,000.
“Texas will ensure Texans across our state can access swift and practical medical care,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “This $2.5 million investment into mobile stroke units will enable hospitals to better provide vital care without delay in the event of a stroke. I thank HHSC for their ongoing efforts to support our hospitals and the health of all Texans, no matter where they are.”
Another $2.5 million is expected to be distributed to other hospitals in 2027, according to the governor’s office.
Any hopes the Texas Longhorns had of contending in the College World Series took a massive blow on Saturday at Charles Schwab Field in a 7-1 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs as right-hander Joey Volchko delivered the best outing of his career, striking out a career-high 15 batters in a complete game for the first Bulldogs win in Omaha since 2008.
Volchko took control early by striking out the first three batters he faced and never faltered, pouring in strikes early in the count and missing bats with the glove-side run on his four-seam fastball and electric slider. Of the 114 pitches thrown by the Stanford transfer, 84 went for strikes as Texas only managed four hits, two by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez, who scored the only run for the Horns in the fifth inning. Volchko’s ability to fill up the strike zone resulted in Texas only drawing one walk.
The Horns went 1-for-9 (.111) with runners on and 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position as only one player in the starting lineup, junior first baseman Ashton Larson, avoided a strikeout. Larson went 0-for-3.
As Volchko worked ahead in count, Texas responded by trying to attack the first pitch, a strategy that worked as poorly as attempting to get deep in at bats. After junior right fielder Aiden Robbins worked a full count against Volchko to start the game before striking out, the Horns didn’t get to a three-ball count again until pinch-hitter Josh Livingston in the eighth inning.
The Bulldogs took advantage of early mistakes by the Longhorns as sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis struggled with his command in the first inning, walking the first batter he faced before giving up a line-drive home run off the foul pole in left field by center fielder Rylan Lujo.
Even as Volantis became more effective, it backfired when junior catcher Carson Tinney airmailed a soft throw on a swinging strikeout that allowed Georgia to put a runner on first with one out after Lujo’s homer. A soft single through the right side of the Texas infield increased the pressure on Volantis, who was able to record the second out before hitting a batter and giving up two unearned runs when Tinney made another mistake on a swinging strikeout, missing his throw to first instead of trying to get the runner out at home.
So the Bulldogs took command of the game after the first inning with the benefit of only one hit as Tinney committed his third and fourth errors of the season in an uncharacteristically shaky performance.
Volantis wasn’t always able to work in the zone over the ensuing innings, hitting two more batters, even though he didn’t allow another hit until the seventh when he gave up an RBI double and a two-run single when Georgia scored three unearned runs thanks to an error by junior third baseman Casey Borba.
If the game wasn’t already out of reach for Texas before the seventh, it certainly was afterwards as the top four batters in the lineup combined to go 0-for-15 with 11 strikeouts, including four by redshirt senior second baseman Temo Becerra.
The Horns also saw junior designated hitter Ethan Mendoza depart in the eighth inning with an injury after hitting a single up the middle.
With the season on the line, Texas faces Alabama on Monday at 1 p.m. Central in an elimination game. The Tide lost to the Sooners 9-0 in the early game on Saturday.
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