Fifth Circuit upholds Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms
The Facts
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas can require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
- The appeals court's ruling reversed lower court decisions that had blocked or halted the Texas law.
- The Fifth Circuit said the Texas law does not violate the First Amendment.
- The Texas requirement comes from Senate Bill 10, enacted in 2025, which requires a Ten Commandments poster or framed copy to be displayed in each public school classroom.
- Opponents of the law, including families backed by civil liberties and religious freedom groups, challenged the measure in court.
- The ruling is expected to increase the chances of a U.S. Supreme Court review of the issue.
Context
What did the appeals court decide?
The Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas may enforce its law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, concluding that the measure does not violate the First Amendment Democratic Undergro…,NYT,U.S. News & World R….
What does the Texas law require schools to do?
Texas Senate Bill 10 requires public elementary and secondary schools to place a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom, displayed in a conspicuous place CBS News,U.S. News & World R….
What happens next in the case?
Plaintiffs challenging the law said they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit's decision, and multiple reports say the ruling could lead to a Supreme Court showdown over the issue Devdiscourse,NYT,PBS.org.
How left and right read it
The Fifth Circuit’s decision lets Texas enforce a 2025 law requiring a Ten Commandments poster or framed copy in every public school classroom, after lower courts had blocked it. Because the court said the mandate does not violate the First Amendment, families backed by civil liberties and religious freedom groups are likely to press the issue further, with Supreme Court review now more likely.
The Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas may require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, reversing lower court decisions that had halted the law. By holding that Senate Bill 10 does not violate the First Amendment, the court gave the state room to carry out a policy lawmakers enacted in 2025, even as opponents prepare a likely Supreme Court challenge.
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