Legal fight ahead as court allows Ten Commandments in classrooms

An appeals court allowed Louisiana to implement a law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, paving the way for a continued legal battle that could make its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Feb. 20 ruling overturns a previous order that prevented the state from implementing a law known as H.B. 71, which was enacted in 2024.

The court said it couldn't block the state at this stage because there wasn't enough information about factors such as the content and prominence of the Ten Commandments displays in schools.

Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are representing the plaintiffs, a group of both religious and nonreligious families who want to stop the law.   

The plaintiffs have 90 days to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court if they choose. In the meantime, the appeals court has yet to issue a ruling on a similar Ten Commandments law in Texas.  

“This fight is far from over,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.  

Clashing perspectives on whether law is unconstitutional

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in June that Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law was “plainly unconstitutional.” But the decision was vacated in October as the court agreed to an en banc review, meaning with all of its judges.  

That hearing was held in January and included debate over both Louisiana and Texas’ Ten Commandments laws. 

In its ruling on the Louisiana case, the court said it could not preemptively bar all Ten Commandments displays around the state given the lack of information about what they will look like in practice.

Mach described it as a “surprising” result given the Supreme Court’s June opinion in Mahmoud v. Taylor that said, “when a deprivation of First Amendment rights is at stake, [an individual] need not wait for the damage to occur before filing suit.” In other words, the plaintiffs believe you don't necessarily have to wait for an action that violates one's rights to happen in order to sue.

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court ruled in favor of religious parents of students in a public school district in Maryland who sought to opt their children out from reading books with LGBTQ+ themes at school.   

Attorney Joe Davis of Becket, a nonprofit organization centered on religious liberty that is among the state’s legal counsel in the case, said the Louisiana ruling was “exactly right.”  

He reiterated the state’s stance that the Ten Commandments have historical significance in the United States and that displaying them in public school classrooms would not amount to unconstitutional religious coercion. 

In a Feb. 23 statement to USA TODAY, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office has issued guidance to public schools on how to implement the law in a constitutional manner.  

ACLU, Americans United considering legal options

The appeals court said further challenges to the state law may come once it “is implemented and a concrete factual record exists.” 

Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said the issue extends far beyond Louisiana. She referenced broader efforts, including those to establish religious charter schools and allow chaplains in public schools, saying they promote Christian nationalism and violate the Constitution. 

She said the Louisiana decision “doesn’t bode terribly well” for the Texas case, which her organization is also involved with. Both Laser and Mach said the plaintiffs were weighing their legal options as of Feb. 23.  

In a news conference after the January hearing, Murrill said she expected the plaintiffs to appeal to the Supreme Court if the ruling wasn't in their favor.

If that happens, Davis said he would “fully expect” the court to uphold Ten Commandments laws as constitutional. 

Experts have previously told USA TODAY the high court has increasingly prioritized the free exercise of religion over concerns about the separation of church and state in recent years. 

President Donald Trump has expressed support for Ten Commandments laws, saying such displays “may be, in fact, the first major step in the revival of religion, which is desperately needed, in our country” in a June 2024 Truth Social post. 

BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]. 

USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.