In a 9-8 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law requiring public elementary and secondary schools to display in each classroom a “durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.”

The court ruled the law does not violate the separation of church and state, reversing two lower court decisions.

“This is a major victory for Texas and our moral values. My office was proud to defend SB 10 and successfully ensure that the Ten Commandments will be displayed in classrooms across Texas,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton commented.

“The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” he added.

More from The New York Times:

The court also ruled the measure does not restrict parents’ right to direct their children’s religious upbringing.

“Students are neither catechized on the Commandments nor taught to adopt them,” the ruling said. “Nor are teachers commanded to proselytize students who ask about the displays or contradict students who disagree with them.”

Since Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a law in 2025 mandating the religious displays, families of various faith backgrounds have challenged it, arguing that the law amounted to state endorsement of religion. The law was passed amid a broader conservative push to infuse Christianity into public schools, and several other Republican-led states have passed similar laws.

The organizations representing the 15 Texas families who filed the lawsuit said in a statement that they were disappointed in the decision and planned to ask the Supreme Court to reverse it.

The Texas law mandates the displays in a “conspicuous” location in each classroom on a typeface visible from anywhere in the room. The posters must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and must include the text of a particular version of the Ten Commandments. Schools are not required to purchase the posters, but they must accept donations of them.

In separate rulings last year, two federal judges in the state sided with the challengers, saying the law likely violated the First Amendment. Those rulings effectively blocked the law’s enforcement across 24 Texas school districts, including in Houston and Austin.

The court ruled the law is “legally compliant with the First Amendment,” CBS News noted.

“S.B. 10 … does not tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship or whom to employ as priests, rabbis, or imams. It punishes no one who rejects the Ten Commandments, no matter the reason. It levies no taxes to support any clergy. It does not co-opt churches to perform civic functions,” the court said, according to the outlet.

“These are the kinds of things ‘establishments of religion’ did at the founding. S.B. 10 does none of them,” it added.

“Way to go Texas! Every public classroom in the state will have the Ten Commandments displayed according to yesterday’s ruling,” Franklin Graham commented.

“Our laws spring from the Ten Commandments, and this change will give young people a chance to read and know them. Of course, secularist groups already say they want to appeal. Let’s pray that they will not be successful,” he added.

CBS News shared further:

The court also said that exposing children to religious language is not enough to make the displays “engines of coercive indoctrination.”

“S.B. 10 authorizes no religious instruction and gives teachers no license to contradict children’s religious beliefs (or their parents’). No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin.”

The ACLU released a statement on Tuesday saying it is disappointed in the court’s ruling.

“We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision,” the statement reads. “The Court’s ruling goes against fundamental First Amendment principles and binding U.S. Supreme Court authority. The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction. This decision tramples those rights.”

The Senate author of the bill, Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, called the court’s ruling a great day for the state.

“As I have said all along, few documents in the history of Western civilization and in American history have had a larger impact on our moral and legal code, and our culture, than the Ten Commandments,” King said in a statement. “Returning this historical document to public school classrooms will provide moral clarity and allow students to better understand the foundation for much of American history and law. This is a great day for Texas!”

The case could ultimately end up in front of the Supreme Court.

https://100percentfedup.com/red-state-allowed-require-public-schools-display-ten/