A federal appeals court has cleared the way for Texas to require public school classrooms to display posters of the Ten Commandments, marking a major development in an ongoing national battle over religion in public education and the First Amendment.
On Tuesday, a majority of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s law does not amount to the establishment of an official religion. The decision allows Texas to move forward with enforcement of its classroom display requirement while legal challenges continue to unfold.
The ruling centers on a 2025 state law known as Senate Bill 10, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, which mandates that public schools display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in a visible location in every classroom. The required displays must meet minimum size specifications and are intended to remain permanently visible during the school day.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the decision, framing it as a validation of the state’s authority to highlight what officials describe as foundational moral influences in American history. His office argued throughout the case that the law does not compel religious practice and instead reflects historical and cultural traditions.
The case, known as Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, originated after 16 families, supported by civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, filed suit. They argued that the law effectively promotes a specific religious tradition in public schools and pressures students into exposure to state-endorsed religious messaging.
A federal district judge initially agreed with the families, blocking enforcement of the law in several school districts, including major districts such as Houston, Austin, Plano, and Fort Bend. The lower court found that the mandate likely favored a particular religious viewpoint and could interfere with parents’ ability to direct their children’s religious upbringing.
On appeal, however, the full panel of the conservative-leaning circuit court reconsidered the issue alongside a similar case involving Louisiana’s nearly identical law. Louisiana’s statute had already been allowed to proceed following earlier appellate action, influencing the broader reasoning applied to Texas.
A key element of the court’s decision was its conclusion that prior Supreme Court precedent, particularly the 1980 ruling in Stone v. Graham, no longer carries controlling weight in the same way. Judges pointed to changes in constitutional interpretation standards over time, including the Supreme Court’s shift away from older tests used to evaluate claims of religious establishment.
The majority reasoned that the Texas law does not fund religious institutions, compel worship, or require students to affirm belief in the Ten Commandments. Instead, the court characterized the displays as passive educational materials that students are free to ignore.
Civil rights attorneys representing the families strongly disagreed with that interpretation. They maintain that because attendance in public schools is compulsory, students cannot realistically avoid exposure to the mandated religious text. They also argue that the law reflects a state preference for a particular religious tradition, which they say violates the constitutional separation between government and religion.
Opponents of the law further contend that the requirement intrudes on parental authority over religious education and may alienate students from minority faiths or those with no religious affiliation. They have indicated plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn the ruling.
In a dissenting opinion, some judges on the panel argued that the law still raises serious constitutional concerns and that earlier Supreme Court precedent remains binding unless explicitly overturned by the high court itself. They warned that allowing such mandates risks undermining religious neutrality in public education.
Supporters of the law, however, maintain that the Ten Commandments have historical significance in the development of American legal traditions and argue that acknowledging them in schools is appropriate. State attorneys also emphasized that recent Supreme Court decisions have altered the framework used to assess religion-related laws, which they say strengthens Texas’s position.
The ruling places Texas at the center of a growing national dispute over how far states can go in incorporating religious references into public school environments. With multiple lawsuits still pending and the possibility of Supreme Court review ahead, the legal and cultural debate over the Ten Commandments in classrooms is far from settled.
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