A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring large displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 12-6 to lift a block that a lower court initially placed on the law in 2024. In an opinion released Friday, the court said it was too early to judge whether the law is constitutional.
The majority said it is unclear how prominently schools may display the religious text, whether teachers will refer to the Ten Commandments in class or whether other documents such as the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence will also be posted.
Without those details, the panel said it lacks enough information to weigh any First Amendment issues. The majority wrote that there are not enough facts available to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation.”
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, wrote that the law “is not just constitutional – it affirms our nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
The six judges who dissented issued separate opinions, with some arguing the law exposes children to government‑endorsed religion in a place they are required to be, creating a clear constitutional burden.
Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, wrote that the law “is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent.”
The ruling follows the court’s decision to rehear the case with all judges present after three ruled in June that the law was unconstitutional. The reversal comes from one of the nation’s most conservative appeals courts, known for propelling Republican policies toward a similarly conservative U.S. Supreme Court.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the ruling Friday, declaring, “Common sense is making a comeback!”
The ACLU of Louisiana, one of several groups representing plaintiffs, said it will explore all legal pathways to continue challenging the law.
Arkansas has a similar law facing a federal court challenge. A Texas law took effect Sept. 1, marking the widest‑reaching effort in the country to display the Ten Commandments in public schools.
Some Texas districts were blocked from posting the displays after federal judges issued injunctions in two cases, but many classrooms already have them after districts paid for posters or accepted donations.
The laws are part of broader efforts by Republicans, including Trump, to incorporate religion into public school settings. Critics say the measures violate the separation of church and state, while supporters argue the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.
Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana, applauded the court for upholding America’s “time-honored tradition of recognizing faith in the public square.”
Families from a variety of religious backgrounds, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, have challenged the laws, as have clergy members and nonreligious families.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, another group involved in the case, called the ruling “extremely disappointing” and said the law will force families “into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole” as they challenge individual school districts’ displays.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said after the ruling that she sent schools several correct examples of the required poster.
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The court found the law had no secular purpose and served a plainly religious one.
In 2005, the Supreme Court found that Ten Commandments displays in two Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. But the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas Capitol in Austin.
