In recent years, a handful of high-profile legal challenges have emerged in response to state laws requiring the display of religious texts in public school classrooms, particularly in conservative states. Both Texas and Louisiana have enacted legislation mandating that public schools prominently display the Ten Commandments, prompting lawsuits from parents and advocacy groups who argue that such measures violate the First Amendment. While courts have expressed skepticism toward state-sponsored religious displays in schools, ongoing litigation means the future of these laws—and the separation of church and state in public education—remains uncertain.
Texas: Ringer v. Comal Independent School District
In June 2025, Texas lawmakers enacted S.B. 10, a law that required public schools to “display” the Ten Commandments “in a conspicuous place in each classroom.” Within months, parents of public-school children filed suit. The plaintiffs, who came from a variety of religious backgrounds, alleged that S.B. 10 facially violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
On November 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the law. The court ruled that the plaintiffs had standing to bring suit and that their Establishment Clause challenge was ripe for review, as most children had already been exposed to the displays and the law’s requirements were clear and uniform. Applying Supreme Court precedent, especially Stone v. Graham, the court held that S.B. 10 likely violated the Establishment Clause. The injunction requires all defendant school districts to remove any Ten Commandments displays posted under S.B. 10, and the case is now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit as of the date of this publication.
Louisiana: Roake v. Brumley
In June 2024, Louisiana passed H.B. 71, a law that required all public schools to display a specific a version of the Ten Commandments commonly associated with Protestant denominations. A group of parents and students from diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds brought suit, challenging the law under the First Amendment. The plaintiffs claimed that H.B. 71 facially violated the Establishment Clause because it constituted state-sponsored religious endorsement and coercion. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana agreed and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting its enforcement.
On June 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit found that the claims were ripe, the plaintiffs had standing, and the defendants were not entitled to sovereign immunity under the Ex parte Young doctrine. The court of appeals concluded that H.B. 71 violated the Establishment Clause, finding that the mandated display was a religious act lacking a genuine secular purpose. It rejected Louisiana’s argument that the law served a valid secular purpose or fit within a historical tradition, noting that the legislative history and context reflected a predominantly religious motive.
Initially, some legal scholars praised the Fifth Circuit’s decision as evidence of constitutional safeguards prevailing against government-sponsored religious displays in public educational settings.[1] However, four months later, the Fifth Circuit vacated its prior opinion and granted a rehearing en banc. Then, in a 12–6 decision issued on February 20, 2026, the Fifth Circuit declined to address whether the Louisiana law was constitutional but reversed the lower court’s decision to grant an injunction on ripeness grounds. The majority reasoned that, because the Ten Commandments are rooted not only in religion but also in history, their “dual character forecloses any categorical rule against their display on public property.” Instead, in the majority’s view, the constitutionality of the law depends on the context of the displays, including their prominence, whether other materials accompany the displays, and whether teachers refer to them during instruction. Because local school boards have a large degree of discretion over the context of Ten Commandment displays, the court concluded that this fact-intensive inquiry was not yet ripe for review. The court indicated its willingness to consider future as-applied challenges, but it vacated the preliminary injunction and allowed the Louisiana law to take effect.
What this means to you
For now, these decisions are limited to the states within the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), and the legal landscape outside this region may differ. The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Roake v. Brumley may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and could shape the legal framework across the nation for laws that require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. The K-12 Team at Husch Blackwell will continue to monitor these cases closely, as well as any effects from similar decisions across the country. If you have questions about how these laws affect your district, please reach out to your Husch Blackwell attorney.
[1] See, e.g., Caroline Mala Corbin, New Judicial Federalism and the Establishment Clause: Classroom Ten Commandments As A Case Study in State Constitutional Protection, 104 Tex. L. Rev. 1 (2025); Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Louisiana Law Requiring Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments in Every Classroom, ACLU (June 20, 2025), https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-appeals-court-rules-against-louisiana-law-requiring-public-schools-to-display-ten-commandments-in-every-classroom.