A federal appeals court has stopped Louisiana’s move to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously said the display — which is required to be posted in elementary and secondary classrooms under the state law — would be considered government-sponsored speech and run afoul of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which requires the government not to endorse any one religion.
“Absent judicial intervention, Louisiana will implement H.B. 71. As a result, Students will be subjected to displays that accord with the statute’s minimum display requirements, in every classroom during every school day. H.B. 71 therefore inflicts significant practical harm on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights,” the ruling from Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Biden appointee, read.
“Their display in public school classrooms, as required by H.B. 71, qualifies as a religious display. Unwanted exposure to government-sponsored religious displays and exercises can, under certain circumstances, violate a plaintiff’s First Amendment rights.”
She was joined in her ruling by Judge James L. Dennis, a Clinton appointee, and Judge Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush appointee.
A group of parents had challenged the Louisiana law, which was signed by the governor in June 2024.
It required the classrooms to post the Ten Commandments along with historical context beginning in 2025. The funds for the statues of the Ten Commandments were to come from donations.
A lower court had ruled against the state, a decision the 5th Circuit affirmed. The court’s decision Friday leaves in place an injunction blocking the law from taking effect.
According to The Associated Press, the state believes the injunction applies to only some school districts while challengers to the law believe it extends to the entire state.
“All school districts in the state are bound to comply with the U.S. Constitution,” said Liz Hayes, a spokeswoman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which helped represent the challengers. “Thus, all school districts must abide by this decision and should not post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, meanwhile, said she believed the ruling applied to only five school districts and noted she will appeal the decision.
Other lawsuits are pending against Ten Commandment monuments across the country.
In Jefferson County, Illinois, voters from mixed faiths have sued the county and the board of commissioners to remove a monument of the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments that sits outside the courthouse.
And the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and allied groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of families contesting a new state law requiring elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, similar to the Louisiana dispute. They have sued the school districts where the plaintiffs live.
