But while the fight continues, posters now will begin appearing in schools across the state.
The full Fifth Circuit, rather than a three-judge panel, held in a 12-6 vote that the constitutional challenge to Louisiana’s law was not yet ready for judicial review. The exact nature and context of the displays has not been fully implemented or observed, the court said, noting it would be inappropriate to rule based on speculation about how the law would be applied.
The ruling does not declare the law constitutional but instead removed the block placed on displaying the Ten Commandments in a lower court decision.
“We’ve won a very decisive victory, and now schools can use the attorney general's guidance that she has posted on her website as a roadmap to being able to put these posters up,” Landry said on “Washington Watch” Tuesday.
Landry told show host Tony Perkins the “phenomenal opinion” by the court’s majority allows the state to clear a key hurdle.
“It paves the way for us to go ahead and implement the law, which we're going to implement,” Landry said.
The ruling has national implications. Texas has a comparable law in effect, though enforcement varies by district. An Arkansas law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, while proposed laws are under consideration in Tennessee and South Carolina.
Louisiana’s House Bill 71, signed by Landry in June of 2024, requires the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, including charter and higher education institutions.
By law, classrooms in community and technical colleges as well as Louisiana State University and other state universities — any school that receives state funding — will have the displays.
This is how you do it
The law mandates that the Ten Commandments be displayed as the central focus on a poster or document of at least 11 by 14 inches.
Text should be in a large, easily readable font, taken from the King James Bible and include a context statement describing the Ten Commandments’ role in American legal and educational history. Historical documents like the New England Primer and McGuffey Readers should be cited, the law states.
Leftist groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), did not join Landry in celebration.
The court’s ruling threatens religious freedom, they say.
“By forcing a singular religious text onto the walls of our public schools, the Fifth Circuit has flung open the door to the religious coercion of Louisiana’s children. This law transforms the public-school classroom … into a government-sanctioned house of worship,” ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms said.
The groups pledge to continue the fight.
Some schools were hesitant to post the Ten Commandments while the litigation plays out, but now there’s no suggestion that the law violates the Constitution’s establishment clause, which prohibits government establishment of religion or favoring one faith over another.
Now is the time for schools to comply with state law, Landry said.
“We’re going to be putting out a letter to superintendents and to school boards, and in messaging to our schools directly, that yes, it's time for them to go ahead and implement the law,” Landry said.
No cost to school districts
The posters have been donated and distributed to schools. The law does not require the use of public money.
Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative advocacy group guided by biblical principles, was the primary driver among the donations. It raised $40,000 to print and distribute posters to 64 of the state’s 69 school districts.
The posters were designed in coordination with the office of Louisiana Attorney Gen. Liz Murrill.
“They have no reason not to be able to post them. They don't have to worry about any litigation or legal recourse. The attorney general will handle any of those types of issues that may come about,” Landry said.
Landry said the Ten Commandments will have a direct positive impact on Louisiana students, telling parents “your child will either read the Ten Commandments, or they'll be forced to read the criminal code at some particular point in life. I think that it’s high time to get those foundational documents and good Judeo-Christian principles back into our educational system.”
