A Harris County judge on Friday, denied an emergency request to block Texas's Ten Commandments classroom display law, but Conroe ISD families heading back to school Wednesday, Aug. 12, won't see the posters on campus walls.
The ruling in Roth v. State of Texas keeps Senate Bill 10 in effect for Houston ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Spring Branch ISD as those districts prepare for the new school year. Conroe ISD, which operates 67 campuses serving roughly 72,900 students including those at The Woodlands High School and College Park High School, is not a defendant in the case and remains bound by a separate court order that has kept its posters down since fall 2025.
As we reported Thursday, the Friday hearing was expected to determine whether the law would be paused before classes resumed.
The judge's denial means it was not.
"We asked for emergency relief. We did not get it," lead counsel Meagan Hassan told KPRC. "That ruling does not resolve the legal question at the heart of this case."
The lawsuit was filed July 30 by three Houston-area mothers: Emily Roth, Dr. Audrey Rosa Nath and Sanjam Kaur Sohal. Rather than making a federal First Amendment argument, they contend SB 10 violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Proposition 15, the voter-approved Parental Rights Amendment. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17.
What it means for Conroe ISD
The district said in a May 7 statement that it originally hung compliant posters by the Sept. 1, 2025, deadline, then removed them after being added to the Cribbs-Ringer v. Comal ISD litigation. The Texas Attorney General's Office provided Conroe ISD with written guidance not to display the posters while that separate case remains pending.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld SB 10 this spring in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, clearing the way for enforcement statewide. But because Conroe ISD is still covered by the Cribbs-Ringer injunction, that appellate victory has not changed the district's day-to-day posture.
SB 10 requires every public school classroom to display the King James Version of the Ten Commandments on posters at least 16 by 20 inches. Districts do not have to purchase the posters but must display them if donated.
Texas Values, a nonprofit that supports the law, celebrated the ruling outside the Harris County courthouse, KHOU reported. Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has already sued at least one district that refused to comply.
What's next
The Aug. 17 preliminary injunction hearing could produce a broader order blocking the law while the Roth lawsuit proceeds. Separately, the Cribbs-Ringer case that directly governs Conroe ISD has no confirmed hearing date. Until one of those cases resolves, classrooms across the district's 67 campuses will remain poster-free when students return Wednesday, Aug. 12.
