There is perhaps nothing more emblematic of the hot-and-cold nature of the politics of Texas public education than this week’s contrasting updates on Senate Bill 10 (the Ten Commandments bill).  

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that SB 10 is a violation of the First Amendment and prohibited 11 additional Texas school districts from complying with the law. Meanwhile, as litigation plays out over the law’s constitutionality, Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Leander and Round Rock ISDs for not displaying donated copies of the Ten Commandments. Never mind that Leander ISD was already complying with the law or that LISD board members are unsure why they were named in his suit. It’s difficult to see how Paxton’s frivolous suit will help with his –16 point approval rating. 

All of it begs the question: What are we doing here? Between TEA takeovers and the rollout of harmful vouchers, it’s hard to take a breath and point out that all this — the handwringing over culture war issues and the wasted time hanging and removing religious texts — benefits nobody. The litigation and uncertainty that surround SB 10 only serves to hurt the stakeholders of Texas’s future success: our students and the public school employees charged with preparing them.  

As you gear up to spend Thanksgiving with your loved ones, here’s an important conversation topic: Are Texas lawmakers and elected officials more interested in enacting sensible public education policy or manufacturing outrage?