Court clears way for Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms to take effect
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way Tuesday for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms to take effect.
The full court voted 12-6 to lift a block placed on the law that a lower court first issued in 2024. In the opinion released Friday, the court said it was too early to make a judgment call on the constitutionality of the law.
That’s partly because it’s not yet clear how prominently schools may display the religious text, if teachers will refer to the Ten Commandments during classes, or if other things like the Mayflower Compact or Declaration of Independence will also be displayed, the majority opinion said. Without those sorts of details, the majority found it didn’t have enough information to weigh any First Amendment issues that might arise from the law.
But the six judges who voted against the decision wrote a series of dissents, some arguing that the case was ripe for judicial review and others saying that the law exposes children to government-endorsed religion in a place they are required to be, presenting a clear constitutional burden.
Similar laws have been passed in Texas and Arkansas. The laws are among the pushes by Republicans, including President Donald Trump, to incorporate religion into public school classrooms. Critics say it violates the separation of church and state while backers argue that the Ten Commandments are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law.
The laws have been challenged by families representing a variety of religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, and clergy, in addition to nonreligious families.