At the end of February, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it is premature to determine the constitutionality of House Bill 71, a Louisiana law requiring public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The decision vacated a federal district court’s November 2024 preliminary injunction in Rev. Roake v. Brumley, which prevented the defendant state officials and school boards from implementing the law.
In its ruling, the appeals court held that the Roake lawsuit was premature because the scriptural displays had not yet been posted in the children plaintiffs’ classrooms, so it “cannot yet know…how the text will be used.” However, the court acknowledged that “nothing in today’s narrow holding prevents future as-applied challenges once the statute is implemented and a concrete factual record exists.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are nine multifaith and nonreligious Louisiana families represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the pro bono law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The organizations released the following statement: “Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district. … But this fight isn’t over. We will continue fighting for the religious freedom of Louisiana families.”
The appeals court’s opinion did not address the lawsuit Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District that challenges a similar law in Texas, Senate Bill 10. The court heard oral arguments in both cases on Jan. 20, 2026.