Louisiana public schools must display the Ten Commandments after a federal appeals court allowed the law to take effect late last week, overturning a lower court’s decision.
WWNO and WRKF’s education reporter, Aubri Juhasz, spoke with host Adam Voss about the legal consequences and how schools are responding.
The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
ADAM VOSS, HOST:
Before we get into the details, can you start with the basics?
AUBRI JUHASZ, BYLINE: Sure. Louisiana passed a law requiring public schools, K-12 and higher education, to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom back in 2024. It was the first state to do so in a recent wave.
Families, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups quickly filed a lawsuit, arguing it violates the separation of church and state, among other issues.
A lower court agreed with them and blocked the law before it could take effect. The state, which says the statute has a secular purpose — to teach kids about the morals it says underpin the U.S. government — appealed that decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
A three-judge panel initially heard the case, as is customary, and upheld the lower court’s ruling. So the state appealed to the full bench, more than a dozen judges, and that’s where this latest ruling comes from.
VOSS: What does the ruling say exactly?
JUHASZ: So on Friday, the court reversed a lower court order that had stopped the state from enforcing the law while it made its way through the courts.
The Fifth Circuit did not rule on the law itself but said the legal challenge against it was premature because it prevented the law from taking effect, so the Ten Commandments were never posted in schools. Basically, the court said it isn’t its job to decide constitutional questions based on hypotheticals. But the majority wrote that nothing prevents future legal challenges once the posters go up.
VOSS: So the judges didn’t make a call on whether the law is unconstitutional, as plaintiffs allege?
JUHASZ: Correct. The majority opinion did not address this. Though one of the judges, a Trump appointee, wrote in a concurring opinion that he believes the law is not just constitutional, but that it “affirms the nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
The Fifth Circuit’s opinion is a pretty big turn in the case, though not entirely unexpected. It’s the most conservative appeals court in the country. And the law could still be an important test case for the U-S Supreme Court if plaintiffs decide to appeal.
The Supreme Court is in a position to redraw the line between church and state in schools after a 2022 ruling threw precedent into question. So other states are watching too, like Texas and Arkansas, which have their own laws and lawsuits.
VOSS: Where do things go from here?
JUHASZ: Plaintiffs and critics of the law say they’ll look for more ways to fight it. But for the first time, the law is now in effect in Louisiana.
I asked Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office whether there’s an on-ramp for schools and whether, and when, her office will enforce the statute. A spokesperson told me only that Murrill “expects school systems to follow the law” and pointed me to the guidance the office sent to schools when the law was supposed to take effect more than a year ago.
The statute requires Louisiana’s board of education to adopt rules and regulations, and the state’s board of education to provide resources to help schools comply, but neither has done that yet. I reached out to both of them, and they referred me to the attorney general’s office, which referred me back to them.
Most public schools in Louisiana have received donated posters designed by the AG’s office and printed by the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian group.
Overall, we don’t know how quickly schools will hang the posters or whether some already have, since it’s not something many want to broadcast, though a few rural parishes have voiced support and will likely move quickly.
The law is controversial, and as the Fifth Circuit said, once posters go up, plaintiffs can try again. That puts school districts in a difficult place if they don’t want to run afoul of the law or get swept up in a lawsuit.
