A Federal Appeals Court Just Ruled the Government Can Force Public Schools to Display the Ten Commandments
The big picture: In a narrow 9-8 decision, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas can require public school classrooms to display posters of the Ten Commandments — overturning two lower court rulings that had blocked the law. The reasoning dismantles a half-century of legal precedent on church-state separation, and the case is almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court.
Why it matters: If the Supreme Court upholds this, depending on how broadly they rule, every state could be cleared to mandate religious displays in public schools. The separation of church and state as it has been understood for decades is on the line.
The Texas law
The law requires public school classrooms to display posters of the Ten Commandments. It doesn’t require schools to spend taxpayer money — BUT it does require them to accept donations of posters. Christian organizations have organized heavily to flood schools with donations, AND some schools have reportedly spent money on them anyway. Republican lawmakers defended the law by calling Christian teachings an important part of U.S. history.
The challenge
The ACLU sued on behalf of families from many different faiths — including Christians. The argument: this is a government endorsement of one religion, violating the First Amendment. Two federal judges agreed and blocked the law in their jurisdictions.
The ruling that overturned them
The 5th Circuit pointed to a 2022 Supreme Court decision that allowed a public school football coach to pray at midfield, arguing that decision effectively killed the legal standard that had been used since 1971 to test church-state cases. That same standard was used in 1980 to strike down a nearly identical Kentucky Ten Commandments law. The appeals court majority argued that with the old standard gone, things previously considered unconstitutional can now be allowed.
This is bigger than Texas
The 5th Circuit had initially heard the Texas case alongside a nearly identical Louisiana law. Back in February, the court ruled it was too soon to decide on Louisiana — but this Texas ruling all but guarantees future Louisiana challenges will fail. And the Texas case is almost certainly going to the Supreme Court, where the ultraconservative majority has consistently chipped away at church-state separation. A broad ruling there would have national implications.
What’s actually at stake
The separation of church and state isn’t about opposing religion — it’s about preventing the government from picking one and imposing it on everyone. If the government can mandate this Christian text on public school walls, the same logic can be used in other states to mandate different religious content. The First Amendment was designed to prevent that.
By the numbers
9-8 — the decision
2 — federal district court rulings the appeals court overturned
1980 — year a similar Kentucky law was struck down under the now-discarded standard
2022 — year the Supreme Court case cited in the new ruling came down
1 — expected next destination for this case (Supreme Court)
The bottom line
A half-century of church-state precedent just got thinner by one ruling. The case is headed to a Supreme Court that has shown a clear pattern of further weakening that separation. What this decision allows in Texas today could be the rule for every state tomorrow.
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