Judge rules Louisiana classrooms must hold off on posting Ten Commandments while lawsuit continues

Louisiana 's new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state may have hit some roadblocks preventing it from going into effect in some schools.

The law, which was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) last month, prompted a group of parents to file a lawsuit on the basis of the law’s constitutionality. While the law works its way through the courts, the schools the parent’s children attend will not be required to display the Ten Commandments.

A hearing is set for September 30 under U.S. District Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District. A ruling is expected by November 15. Until then, five schools will not be required to display the religious text, and the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education cannot “promulgate advice, rules or regulations regarding proper implementation ” of the law.

The plaintiffs are nine Louisiana families who come from different religious backgrounds, with four families belonging to the Christian Church, according to the Washington Post . They are being represented by a coalition of groups, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s national and state offices, filed a federal lawsuit. They believe the First Amendment of the US Constitution does not allow for government establishment of religion and guarantees religious liberty.

“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom — rendering them unavoidable — unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the lawsuit reads.

The law requires public school classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments in each classroom on easily readable posters starting in 2025. It has the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson , of Louisiana, and former President Donald Trump .

“The Ten Commandments displays required under state law will create an unwelcoming and oppressive school environment for children, like ours, who don’t believe in the state’s official version of scripture,”  Rev. Darcy Roake, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. “We believe that no child should feel excluded in public school because of their family’s faith tradition.”

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In 1980, a similar law in Kentucky regarding public schools and the Ten Commandments was struck down by the US Supreme Court, but in recent years the Supreme Court has been more open to religion in public schools.

Similar proposals have been made in other Republican leaning states like Texas and Oklahoma , but that legislation has not come to fruition there.