Louisiana can now put the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom

Appeals court lifts block on display law

A federal appeals court cleared the way for Louisiana to put the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.

The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 12-6 on Feb. 20 to lift an order that had blocked the law since 2024. The court did not say whether the law is constitutional.

Instead, the majority said the challenge came too early because no one knows yet how schools will actually display the text.

Judges said too many details remain unknown

The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to rule, only to guess. The judges said they do not know how big or visible the displays will be in classrooms.

They also said it is unclear whether teachers will talk about the commandments during lessons.

The law allows schools to post other documents like the Declaration of Independence alongside the text, but nobody knows if schools will do that. Local school boards control the design and placement.

Gov. Landry signed the law in 2024

Gov. Jeff Landry signed H.B. 71 on June 19, 2024. The law requires every public K-12 school, charter school, and state-funded university in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

Each display must be a poster or framed document at least 11 by 14 inches, with the text as the main focus in large, readable type.

A three-paragraph statement about the commandments’ role in American education must go with it. Schools cannot spend public money on the displays.

Only the commandments are required

Schools can also post the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance, but those are optional. The Ten Commandments are the only required display.

Local school boards decide how to arrange everything, and Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office sent schools sample posters showing how to follow the law.

That flexibility is exactly what the court pointed to when it said the challenge came too soon.

Three groups sued right after the signing

The ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed suit in June 2024, days after Landry signed the bill.

The case, Roake v. Brumley, represents nine families with kids in public schools across five Louisiana parishes.

A federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional in November 2024, saying students cannot avoid seeing the commandments every day. A three-judge panel agreed, but the full court of 18 judges then took over.

Nine families from five parishes brought the case

The families come from East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany, and Vernon parishes. Their religious backgrounds include Catholic, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Jewish, and nonreligious viewpoints.

They have argued that the version of the Ten Commandments in the law does not match what their own faith traditions teach.

The text in the law comes from a monument on the Texas Capitol grounds that the Supreme Court upheld in 2005.

Supporters say the law honors American tradition

Gov. Landry praised the ruling, and Attorney General Murrill urged schools to follow the law right away.

Joseph Davis, an attorney with the Becket Fund representing Louisiana, said the decision “upholds a tradition of recognizing faith in the public square.”

Backers argue the commandments are a historical document and part of the foundation of American law, not just a religious text.

Opponents call the ruling a setback

The ACLU and its allies called the decision extremely disappointing. Alanah Odoms, head of the ACLU of Louisiana, called the ruling cowardly.

The plaintiffs’ legal team said the decision forces families into district-by-district fights instead of settling the issue for the whole state.

The groups said they are looking at every legal option, and the families have 90 days to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Six judges voted against the majority

Six of the 18 judges disagreed. Judge James Dennis wrote that the majority chose to dodge Supreme Court rules that bar Ten Commandments displays in classrooms.

Judges Dana Douglas, James Graves Jr., Stephen Higginson, and Irma Ramirez joined him.

The dissenters argued that the law puts government-backed religion in front of children in a place where attendance is required.

Dennis wrote this is exactly the kind of religious endorsement the nation’s founders tried to prevent.

Judge Ho said the law is constitutional

Judge James Ho went further than the majority in a separate opinion. Ho argued the law is constitutional and reflects what he called the nation’s highest traditions.

He said the Supreme Court has effectively moved past a 1980 ruling that struck down a similar law, even though it has not formally overturned it.

The majority itself did not weigh in on whether the law passes constitutional review.

A 1980 ruling looms over the case

In Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law that required posting the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. The court said the law had no nonreligious purpose.

That ruling used a legal standard called the Lemon test, which the court has stepped away from but never officially dropped.

In 2005, the court blocked commandment displays in Kentucky courthouses but upheld the Texas Capitol monument. How today’s court would rule remains an open question.

Texas and Arkansas face similar fights

Louisiana is not alone. Texas passed its own classroom commandments law, which took effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

Some Texas school districts face court orders blocking the displays, but many others already have them up. Arkansas passed a similar law and is also fighting a federal challenge.

The 5th Circuit heard arguments on both the Louisiana and Texas cases in January, but the Feb. 20 ruling covers only Louisiana. These cases could push the Supreme Court to decide the issue once and for all.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Louisiana school that defied segregation for 300 Native American kids
• You Can Hike through 600 Acres of Ancient Trees at This Louisiana State Park
• How one woman’s architectural tantrum transformed New Orleans’ “most villainous” square