Virginia County School Board Sued Over Ten Commandments

RICHMOND, Va. – Civil-liberties groups are suing a southwest Virginia school board for posting the Ten Commandments, contending that the display violates the Constitution's guarantee of separation of church and state.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Giles County School Board in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on behalf of an unidentified Narrows High School student and the student's parent. The lawsuit says the display unconstitutionally promotes a specific religious faith and serves no secular purpose.

It seeks to have the Ten Commandments removed from school walls and a ban on further display of the biblical documents.

After removing them during the school year, school board members voted in June to rehang the biblical texts as part of displays that include other U.S. historical documents.