In September, Senate Bill 10 took effect, requiring public schools to accept and display any private donations of Ten Commandments posters. The commandments must be the King James version and be put up where they can clearly be seen by anyone with average eyesight.

“The school was following state law by hanging those up,” administrator Melissa Weiss said. “We are required to follow the law, until it’s not a law. Could the Supreme Court rule against it? Yes, because the federal government can overrule state laws. So until further notice, it’s just the law.”

Walnut Grove received a donation of enough posters to be hung in each classroom. The donations came from an unknown source.

“I do know that all of the posters across our campus are identical, so I believe that we got them from the same place,” Weiss said. “They’re all the same size. They’re all the same color. They are all the King James version, according to the Senate requirement.”

Over the last couple of months, with the poster implementation, they have inspired varying opinions across the student body.

“It’s not that I dislike Christianity or any religion. Personally, I am Muslim. A lot of the 10 commandments do fall within Islamic ideals,” senior Aisha Salamat said. “It’s the fact that it feels like there’s a religion that is being put above others in a public area that is not a Christian school.”

Walnut Grove is home to a myriad of backgrounds and religions, not just Christianity. Due to this diversity, some students report being put off by the posters.

“It feels like a reminder that there are people who belong here and people who do not belong here,” Salamat said. “But as Walnut Grove, I feel like we make a very big ideal that everyone belongs, be the standard, and include everyone. It’s weird to see a religious ideology be put above that not every student follows.”

Other students see the commandments as positive reminders for classrooms, upholding important morals.

“I don’t see anything objectively wrong with it, considering that the separation of church and state was more a separation of power as opposed to a separation of ideals,” Baptist and senior Bret Atwater said. “They’re not religious threats. They’re just moral guides. I think it’s legitimately a good idea to have up the message: don’t lie to people and don’t murder.”

However, Senate Bill 10 is currently facing major legal issues, with federal judges issuing injunctions ordering certain school districts to remove the displays. The judges have made these rulings with the argument that the posters violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by promoting religious beliefs in public schools. The law is still in effect, with Attorney General Paxton pushing to protect it statewide. Through several lawsuits over the bill’s constitutionality, the future of the posters in Prosper ISD remains uncertain.