Dallas — Texas could require The Ten Commandments to be displayed In public schools, a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled a victory for conservatives who have long sought to integrate more religion into classrooms.
The 9-8 decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals gave a boost to proponents of similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana. Opponents have argued that hanging the Ten Commandments in classrooms amounts to proselytizing to students and amounts to religious indoctrination by the government.
In a long majority opinion, the conservative-leaning Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected those arguments in Texas, saying the requirement did not infringe on the rights of parents or students.
“No child shall be forced to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin,” the ruling said.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that challenged the Texas law on behalf of parents said in a statement they expect to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The First Amendment guarantees the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when, and whether to provide their children with a religious education. This decision tramples on those rights,” they said in the statement.
The state is one of several fronts in Texas where opponents have fought over religion in classrooms. In 2024, the state agreed An optional, Bible-infused curriculum For primary schools, it is proposed for a vote in June He will add Bible stories For required reading lists in Texas classrooms.
The decision on the Ten Commandments law overturns a lower federal court ruling that had barred about a dozen Texas school districts — including some of the state’s largest — from posting the posters. The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, took effect in September, marking the nation’s largest attempt to suspend the Ten Commandments in public schools.
From the beginning, the law It was fulfilled almost immediately Through a combination of embrace and resonance in Texas classrooms that educate the state’s 5.5 million public school students.
School board meetings have livened up meetings, established guidelines on what to say when students ask questions, and led to boxes of donated posters being dropped on campus doorsteps statewide. Although schools are only required by law to put up posters if they are donated, one suburban Dallas school spent nearly $1,800 to print nearly 5,000 posters.
Texas Attorney General Ken PaxtonThe Republican called the ruling “a huge victory for Texas and our moral values.”
“The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it is important that students learn from them every day,” he said.
Tuesday’s ruling comes after the appeals court heard arguments in January in the Texas case and a similar case in Louisiana. In February, The court paved the way For the state of Louisiana to implement its law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Louisiana’s Republican Attorney General, Liz Morell, said the Texas ruling “fully embraced our legal defense” of the law in her state. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a similar law earlier this month.
“It is clear that our law has always been constitutional, and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us,” Morrell said in a statement posted on social media.
Judge Stephen A. wrote: Higginson, in a dissenting opinion joined by four others on the court, argued that the Framers “intended to abolish religion, above all to prevent large religious denominations from using political power to impose their religion on others.”
“However, Texas, like Louisiana, seeks to do just that, by legislating a specific, politically co-opted Bible installed in every public school classroom,” Higgenson wrote.
The law states that schools must place donated posters “in a conspicuous place” and requires that the writing be in a size and typeface that can be seen from anywhere in the classroom to a person with “average vision.” Displays must also be 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall (40 cm wide and 50 cm long).
The Texas law was easily passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republicans, including President Donald Trump. They supported the publication of the Ten Commandments In the classroom.
___
Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report from Honolulu, Hawaii.