The court ruled that the bill mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in each classroom violated the First Amendment.
A federal appeals court said on June 20 that Louisiana violated the Constitution by requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
The law, known as House Bill 71, mandated that public schools in the state display a framed document or poster with the Ten Commandments in each classroom no later than Jan. 1, 2025. A group of parents sued, alleging violations of the First Amendment.
A federal court later ruled in their favor, and on June 20, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed that decision. The appeals court said that the plaintiffs had shown they would face an irreparable deprivation of their First Amendment rights.
Part of the Fifth Circuit’s decision indicated that the display would infringe on parents’ right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.
Louisiana’s Legislature said the Ten Commandments are in accordance with the nation’s history. It added that the law “reflected the understanding of the founders of our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self-government.”
While the Fifth Circuit acknowledged that the Ten Commandments contained “basic principles that are part of a civilized society,” it also said “they come from religious texts and include commandments that have clear religious import.”
Members of Louisiana’s government brought the appeal last year after U.S. District Judge John de Gravelles issued a preliminary injunction on the law. He also ordered the state superintendent to issue notice of his order and the law’s unconstitutionality to public schools, including charter schools and postsecondary schools, in the state.
That notice requirement was “an extraordinary abuse of discretion,” the superintendent and other members of the government said. “The Notice Provision violates the State’s own free speech rights,” it said in a filing last year.
It added that “the district court has commanded Louisiana officials to extend the district court’s injunction by using Louisiana’s own voice to influence non-parties to the litigation.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
By Sam Dorman
