A federal appeals court will hear arguments in January on Texas' and Louisiana's laws requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider both states' appeals together after lower courts ruled their laws unconstitutional.
In Texas, 16 families from different religious and nonreligious backgrounds sued to block the law requiring every public classroom to display a donated 16-by-20-inch poster of the Ten Commandments.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery blocked enforcement of the law in August, saying it favored Christianity and interfered with families' religious freedom. His order applied to 11 school districts, though more have since been added in subsequent lawsuits.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and several religious liberty organizations filed the lawsuits, arguing that the state cannot endorse a specific religious text. They say the version mandated by the law represents a Protestant translation and violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
The plaintiffs also note that the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms is unconstitutional.
Texas officials appealed the ruling.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Ten Commandments are foundational to U.S. law and history and called legal objections "bogus claims" about church-state separation.
The 5th Circuit recently blocked Louisiana's similar law from taking effect. By agreeing to hear both appeals together, the full 17-judge panel signaled the issue's national importance.
Legal experts expect the dispute could reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which has recently shifted its approach to cases involving religion in public life.
Supporters of the Texas law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, say the Ten Commandments help students understand the moral roots of American law.
Critics counter that the measure erodes church-state separation and forces religious messaging into classrooms attended by about 5.5 million Texas children.
Biery noted that students can study the Ten Commandments’ historical influence without the state "selecting an official version of scripture" and displaying it in every classroom.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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