A federal appeals court has struck down Louisiana’s law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school and university classrooms, calling it “plainly unconstitutional” in a ruling issued Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court’s 2024 decision blocking House Bill 71, which mandated the religious text be posted in every classroom across public K–12 schools and state-funded colleges. The court’s decision reinforces long-standing First Amendment protections that prohibit government-endorsed religion.
In its opinion, the panel wrote that “H.B. 71 is plainly unconstitutional under Stone,” referencing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Stone v. Graham, which struck down a nearly identical law in Kentucky. That case remains binding precedent.
The ruling also cited Stone directly, quoting:
“If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments. This is not a permissible state objective.”
In another pointed line, the Fifth Circuit emphasized the reach of the mandate:
“Impressionable students will confront a display of the Ten Commandments for nearly every hour of every school day of their public school education in the course of their regular activities.”
This quote comes directly from the court’s opinion and was reported by The Washington Post.
House Bill 71 was signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry in June 2024. It required all classrooms to post a framed version of the Ten Commandments in large, readable font, accompanied by a context statement describing the commandments’ alleged role in American law and history.
The law was challenged by several civil liberties organizations, including the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, who sued on behalf of families across multiple parishes. In November 2024, U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued a preliminary injunction, which the Fifth Circuit has now affirmed and extended statewide.
Although the ruling does not end the case entirely, it blocks enforcement of the law in every Louisiana classroom for now. The state may still seek a hearing before the full Fifth Circuit or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling could have national implications. Similar bills mandating the Ten Commandments in classrooms have been proposed—and in some cases already signed into law—in Texas and Arkansas, part of a broader push by conservative lawmakers to inject religious language into public education. Legal observers say the Fifth Circuit’s decision sends a clear message that such efforts remain constitutionally vulnerable.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a forceful response to the ruling, signaling the state’s intention to continue defending the law in higher courts.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and will immediately appeal, as HB 71’s implementation deadline is approaching on January 1, 2025. This decision only binds five of Louisiana’s many school boards. School boards are independently elected, local political subdivisions in Louisiana. BESE is not the supervisor of school boards in Louisiana. BESE does not have legal supervision over school boards. Only five school boards are defendants and therefore the judge only has jurisdiction over those five. This is far from over.”
In contrast, Heather L. Weaver, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), called the decision a major win for constitutional protections.
“This is a resounding victory for the separation of church and state and public education,” Weaver said. “With today’s ruling, the Fifth Circuit has held Louisiana accountable to a core constitutional promise: Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they must welcome all students, regardless of faith.”
Legal experts note that the Court has recently taken a more permissive view toward religious expression in public life, raising the stakes for what could become a landmark ruling. At the moment, however, the Fifth Circuit’s decision stands as a powerful reaffirmation of the constitutional wall between church and state, and a clear signal to other states pursuing similar laws that such efforts remain constitutionally vulnerable. It also reaffirms the core constitutional principle that public education cannot be used as a vehicle for promoting religious doctrine.
