Louisiana is now allowed to proceed with a law that requires public schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.
The law remains largely intact for now, but only five school districts involved in pending litigation of the measure will not be required to exhibit the religious text by January 1. Louisiana’s remaining 67 school districts will have to comply.
On Tuesday, a federal judge said the law requiring classroom displays of the Ten Commandments by next year is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court judge John deGravelles therefore prohibited Louisiana from enforcing the measure that mandates all 72 public K-12 schools and colleges in the state to display posters or framed documents of the Ten Commandments.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, however, determined that the judge’s preliminary injunction only affects five school boards. Those defendants named in the lawsuit are the East Baton Rouge Parish, Livingston Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Orleans Parish, and Vernon Parish school boards.
The measure follows another Louisiana law that requires the display of the religious motto, “In God We Trust,” in all classrooms. That law went into effect in August 2023.