Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking proof from dozens of Texas public school districts that they’re going to comply with an appeals court ruling saying they must display Ten Commandments posters in their classrooms.

Paxton’s announcement that he’s investigating 29 school districts to ensure they are displaying the religious texts and that they’ve voted on whether to designate a prayer or Bible-reading period has some administrators puzzled because they believe they are in compliance and can easily prove it. The districts subject to the AG’s probe include Cypress-Fairbanks, Conroe, Galveston, Fort Bend and Houston. 

Paxton, who is facing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the May 26 GOP primary runoff for Cornyn’s Senate seat, is known for filing thousands of lawsuits each year and launching investigations to win favor with voters. The winner of this month’s runoff will face James Talarico in November. 

Despite what some critics say are questionable political motives, Paxton announced in a May 7 press release that he’s investigating school districts that were named in one of several lawsuits to ensure compliance with Senate Bill 10, a state law on the Ten Commandments that was affirmed by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on April 21. 

Paxton’s investigation also aims to ensure that every public school board in Texas has taken a required vote on whether to have a designated prayer time during the school day. Houston-area school districts named in the investigation voted on the matter before the March 1 deadline, and all rejected it, citing logistical challenges and noting that students already have the right to pray privately during non-instructional time. 

It appears that what Paxton wants the school districts to prove that they voted on school prayer and that there’s a plan in place to display the Ten Commandments posters if they haven’t already done so. Some districts weren’t necessarily defying the order but had been told they didn’t have to hang the posters while the matter was tied up in the court system. The last day of school for most area districts is fast approaching, so some ISDs were planning to roll out the poster displays for the 2026-27 school year, which begins in August. 

The 5th Circuit ruling doesn’t specify a deadline or implementation timetable for when the Ten Commandments posters must be hung in classrooms. The ruling mainly addressed whether the law could be enforced constitutionally. 

Conroe ISD Communications Director Andrew Stewart said his district has asked Paxton’s office why it’s named in the investigation. The school board voted in February not to add a designated school prayer period. Additionally, Conroe ISD displayed Ten Commandments posters but later took them down based on direction from the AG’s office, Stewart said in a statement. 

“Because Conroe ISD remains subject to separate, still-pending litigation, the Office of the Attorney General of Texas recently provided Conroe ISD with explicit written guidance not to display the SB 10 posters at this time,” Stewart said. 

“Conroe ISD is currently in communication with the Office of the Attorney General to determine why the district was included in the recent investigation announcement, particularly given that the district previously displayed the posters, removed them due to pending litigation, and has continued following written guidance provided directly from the Attorney General’s Office to Conroe ISD.”

Cy-Fair ISD Assistant Superintendent Joel Weckerly said the period of appeal and possible restoration of the injunction for the original lawsuit ends in July, allowing the district time to display the privately donated posters it has received by the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Galveston ISD voted against displaying the Ten Commandments, prompting an individual lawsuit from Paxton. The board has not discussed the 5th Circuit’s latest ruling but is expected to do so at its May 20 board meeting, Communications Director Michael Dudas said. 

Maria DiPetta, director of strategic communications for Fort Bend ISD, said in an email that the district is aware of the attorney general’s announcement about investigations related to the Ten Commandments and prayer time. “The district complies with all approved legislative statutes and will continue to fully abide by the law and any applicable legal guidance,” she said.

Communications staff for Houston ISD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HISD’s board of managers voted on February 13 against adopting a daily prayer period.

The Ten Commandments requirement became effective in September 2025, dictating that the religious text be displayed in public school classrooms, as long as the posters were donated and no taxpayer money was spent on them. An extensive legal battle ensued, with parents and faith leaders joining with the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, arguing that such a mandate was unconstitutional. 

Districts that were sued didn’t have to display the posters during litigation, but according to Paxton, they do now. 

The 29 districts under investigation are the ones that were previously involved in litigation, according to Paxton’s office. 

“Texas school districts must comply with Texas law by displaying the Ten Commandments and taking a school board vote regarding the implementation of prayer time in schools,” Paxton said in his statement. “I will never stop defending our students’ religious freedom and the moral foundation of our nation.” 

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