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Students, residents urge Keller ISD to challenge Texas’ SB 10 and protect classroom inclusion
Summary
Dozens of students and residents told the Keller ISD board Friday that Senate Bill 10 — a state measure requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms — would harm religious and identity minorities; speakers urged the board to seek legal action and asked specific trustees to resign.
Dozens of students and community members used the audience comment period at the July 24 Keller ISD board meeting to urge trustees to oppose Senate Bill 10, which several speakers described as a “blatant violation” of the separation of church and state.
“My name is Zara Anderson Himelsbach… I urge you, our board, to take legal action against the state legislature by seeking legal counsel to take steps to abolish this law,” student activist Zara Anderson Himelsbach said, speaking for student groups opposed to the statute. Multiple other student speakers — including Chance Wilmack, Leilana Matas, Chloe Hedrick and Jacob Everett — repeated calls for the district to pursue legal remedies and warned the requirement would alienate students of other faiths and LGBTQ students.
Speakers cited recent court decisions and examples from other states to support their view the law is unconstitutional. Several commenters named trustees they said had previously supported district actions they oppose and asked those trustees to resign; long-time resident Gabrielle Gordon also spoke about reinstating a district pregnancy support program and supporting Keller Pride events.
The board did not take any immediate action during the public-comment period. Chair noted the board's public-comment rules and that trustees do not respond to audience questions from the dais; several speakers explicitly asked the trustees to “take legal action” or otherwise oppose the state law before it is implemented.
Why it matters: Keller ISD enrolls roughly 34,000 students; legal action by a local board could affect how the law is implemented in the district and signal broader resistance among school systems that serve diverse student populations.
