U.S. District Judge Fred Biery rules the law, set to take effect Sept. 1, is unconstitutional, and allowed lawsuits opposing it to proceed.

I n surprising fashion, a federal judge in San Antonio on Wednesday morning temporarily blocked a new state law requiring public schools to display a poster of the Ten Commandments in every classroom in Texas. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued his 55-page ruling that described the law as coercive and unconstitutional.

A federal judge in San Antonio temporarily barred some school districts from implementing a Texas law requiring every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Why it matters: The ruling slows one of the nation's most aggressive pushes to mandate religious displays in public schools — setting up a likely First Amendment fight that could reach the Supreme Court.