Federal Appeals Court Says Texas May Require Ten Commandments In Public Classrooms
A federal appeals court ruled that Texas may require public classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said the state law does not violate the First Amendment. The decision affects Texas public schools after the law took effect Sept. 1.
Roughly two dozen Texas districts had been blocked by court injunctions while other districts already posted the Ten Commandments. The 5th Circuit earlier voted 12-6 in an en banc decision to lift a lower-court block on a similar Louisiana law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a "major victory" while civil liberties groups said it conflicts with Supreme Court precedent. Legal observers say the combined Texas and Louisiana decisions set up a likely future clash at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Early coverage emphasized lower-court injunctions and legal uncertainty about classroom displays. Newer reporting from outlets such as PBS clarified the appeals court's explicit First Amendment holding and linked the Texas case to the earlier Louisiana en banc vote. That coverage shifted the story from local disputes to a national constitutional fight likely to reach the high court.
📌 Key Facts
- A federal appeals court (the 5th Circuit) explicitly held that Texas’s law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms does not violate the First Amendment.
- Earlier this year the same appeals court, sitting en banc, voted 12-6 to lift a lower-court block on a similar Louisiana classroom Ten Commandments law.
- The combined Texas and Louisiana rulings are being framed as likely to produce a future clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over classroom displays of the Ten Commandments.
- Texas’s law took effect Sept. 1; roughly two dozen Texas school districts were barred by injunctions but other districts have already posted the Ten Commandments.
- Reaction was split: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision a “major victory,” while ACLU‑allied groups said the ruling contradicts Supreme Court precedent.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Clarifies that the 5th Circuit explicitly held the Texas Ten Commandments classroom display law does not violate the First Amendment.
- Reports a 12-6 en banc vote earlier this year by the same appeals court to lift a lower-court block on a similar Louisiana classroom Ten Commandments law.
- Notes that roughly two dozen Texas school districts had been barred by injunctions but others already posted the Ten Commandments after the law took effect on Sept. 1.
- Includes fresh reaction quotes from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrating a 'major victory' and from ACLU-allied groups calling the ruling contrary to Supreme Court precedent.
- Frames the combined Texas and Louisiana cases as setting up a likely future clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over classroom Ten Commandments displays.