Texas Ten Commandments Classroom Law Hit With Suit After Louisiana Court Ban

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on 20 June 2025 unanimously blocked Louisiana from enforcing a statute that required every public school classroom and university lecture hall to display the Ten Commandments. The court held that the mandate violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, upholding an earlier district-court decision. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell has indicated she may appeal.

The following day, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, ordering the Ten Commandments to be posted in all of the state’s roughly 9,100 public school classrooms on posters measuring at least 16 by 20 inches. The law—which affects nearly six million students—takes effect 1 September and positions Texas as the largest state to impose such a requirement.

On 25 June, a coalition of Dallas-area families and faith leaders representing Christian, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu and non-religious communities sued in federal court to block the Texas measure. Backed by the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the plaintiffs argue the mandate pressures students into religious observance and infringes on the separation of church and state.

The back-to-back court ruling in Louisiana and immediate legal challenge in Texas highlight escalating nationwide battles over efforts by conservative-led legislatures to reintroduce religious displays in public classrooms. Similar mandates in Arkansas and other states are facing litigation, setting up a potential path for U.S. Supreme Court review.