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 has ruled that several Texas school districts do not need to comply with a state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all classrooms.

Texas cannot require public schools in Houston, Austin and other select districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge said Wednesday in a temporary ruling against the state’s new requirement.