Austin ISD is under investigation for the third time this year by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, this time over compliance with a state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Paxton announced the investigation in a Thursday news release. The attorney general launched similar investigations in 28 other school districts.
Paxton’s office is asking districts to provide documents on their compliance with Senate Bill 10, which went into effect in September but has met multiple legal challenges. The law has been a major component of a larger push by the state to expand the role of religion in public schools. It requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms if they receive privately-donated copies of the commandments. Schools are not required to purchase their own displays. The announcement comes after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the new state law in April. Critics maintain the law violates the separation of church and state and discriminates against students of other faiths and beliefs. Proponents of the law argue that the display of Christian teachings is part of U.S. history and combats what they see as moral decline…