5th Circuit: Ten Commandments of Bible Displays Can Go in Louisiana Schools

The 5th Circuit ruled it's too early to decide if Louisiana's Ten Commandments law is constitutional, vacating an injunction and allowing displays in public school classrooms for now.

A federal appeals court has cleared the way for Louisiana to require the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, ruling that a legal challenge to the 2024 law is premature. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to vacate a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement, discarding a previous three-judge panel decision that deemed the law "plainly unconstitutional."

The court emphasized that without knowing exactly how local school boards will implement the displays, judges cannot determine whether the law violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. "We do not know, for example, how prominently the displays will appear, what other materials might accompany them, or how if at all teachers will reference them during instruction," the majority wrote in an unsigned opinion.

Under House Bill 71, signed by Governor Jeff Landry in 2024, posters must be no smaller than 11 by 14 inches with the Ten Commandments as the "central focus" in a "large, easily readable font," accompanied by a three-paragraph statement about their historical role in American education. The law applies to every public K-12 classroom and state-funded college.

Dissenting judges sharply criticized the ruling. Circuit Judge James L. Dennis called the law "precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent," arguing it exposes children to "government-endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance".

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill welcomed the decision, stating, "Don't kill or steal shouldn't be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law".

The ACLU, representing plaintiff families of various faiths, called the ruling "extremely disappointing" but pledged to continue fighting, noting the court's holding does not prevent future "as-applied challenges once the statute is implemented". The law makes Louisiana the first state since a 1980 Supreme Court ruling striking down a similar Kentucky statute to mandate such displays.