Teachers defy Ten Commandments classroom mandates as Supreme Court challenges loom
In Louisiana, Texas and other states, educators are suing, resigning or hanging alternative posters to resist laws requiring the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
What to know
- Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama require Ten Commandments displays in every public classroom, with more southern states debating similar bills.
- Teachers are resisting through lawsuits, resignations and quiet defiance, including surrounding mandated posters with texts from other religions.
- The Supreme Court is expected to hear challenges to the laws this fall, including a stalled Louisiana lawsuit by teacher Chris Dier.
- Resources like IllegalPoster.com have emerged to support teachers who refuse to comply.
“I want people to know there are teachers out there who want to demonstrate that we can take a stand. We don’t have to let schools become battlegrounds.”
Chris Dier, New Orleans history teacher · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 22
Chris Dier New Orleans history teacherTaria Usher Kindergarten teacher near HoustonJohnnie Cotton Texas band directorGigi Cervantes Texas theater teacherACLU Civil liberties organization
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Guardian profiles teachers' resistance to the mandates
The Guardian published a feature detailing how teachers across Louisiana, Texas and other states are pushing back in court and in classrooms against the Ten Commandments display laws, drawing wide social sharing.
“It’s a defense of many different types of values, including civil liberties and religious freedoms.”
— Chris Dier, New Orleans history teacher · source -
first by iHeart, 20h ago · also The Guardian
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Excellent: Teachers are fighting back against ridiculous, prejudicial mandates to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. # Education # Religion # Politics # US # USpol # School https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/s ep/23/schools-ten-commandments-law
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When history teacher Chris Dier sued Louisiana two years ago for mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms, he said it was not about taking a stand against Christianity. “It’s a defense of many different types of values, including civil liberties and religious freedoms,” Dier said, who teaches at a New Orleans high school. “I…
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https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/s ep/23/schools-ten-commandments-law
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Usher surrounds mandated posters and petitions school board — Rather than simply complying, Usher hung posters representing the Five Pillars of Islam, the Five Precepts of Buddhism and the Yamas and Niyamas of yoga around the required Ten Commandments display, then read a petition at a school board meeting demanding the district join the ACLU lawsuit or let teachers remove the posters without penalty.
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Ten Commandments posters delivered to Texas teacher's school — Kindergarten teacher Taria Usher, near Houston, said she was furious when copies of the Ten Commandments arrived at her school in late May, as she was legally obligated to display one.
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Activists launch IllegalPoster.com to aid resisting teachers — Opponents of the mandates created a website offering free LGBTQ-themed Ten Commandments posters and companion materials arguing the laws are unconstitutional.
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Two Texas teachers resign in protest of the mandate — Theater teacher Gigi Cervantes and band director Johnnie Cotton quit their jobs in Texas over the Ten Commandments requirement.
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Four states enact Ten Commandments classroom laws — Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama passed laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in all public school classrooms from kindergarten through college, while West Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina debate similar bills.
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Chris Dier sues Louisiana over Ten Commandments mandate — New Orleans history teacher Chris Dier filed suit against Louisiana's law requiring Ten Commandments displays in every public classroom, saying the fight was about protecting religious freedom for students of all faiths.
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www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... Not set in stone: teachers are...