In a unanimous decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a Louisiana law requiring public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom is unconstitutional. The decision upholds a federal district court’s November 2024 preliminary injunction in Rev. Roake v. Brumley, which prevents the defendant state officials and school boards from implementing the statute.
Pointing to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Stone v. Graham, which overturned a similar Kentucky law, the court of appeals held that Louisiana’s H.B. 71 violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As the court explained, Stone remains good law that is binding on lower courts and “[u]nder Stone, H.B. 71 is plainly unconstitutional.”
The court explained that “under the statute’s minimum requirements, the [Ten Commandments] posters must be indiscriminately displayed in every public school classroom in Louisiana regardless of class subject-matter,” and thus, if allowed to go up, ‘those displays will cause an ‘irreparable’ deprivation of [the Plaintiffs’] First Amendment rights.”
Represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel, the plaintiffs in Roake v. Brumley are a multifaith group of nine Louisiana families with children in public schools.
“We are grateful for this decision, which honors the religious diversity and religious-freedom rights of public school families across Louisiana,” said the Rev. Darcy Roake, a plaintiff in the case along with her husband, Adrian Van Young. “As an interfaith family, we believe that our children should receive their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials.”
“We are pleased that the First Amendment rights of students and families are protected by this vital court decision,” said Patrick Elliott, legal director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“This is a resounding victory for the separation of church and state and public education,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “With today’s ruling, the Fifth Circuit has held Louisiana accountable to a core constitutional promise: Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they must welcome all students, regardless of faith.”
“This ruling will ensure that Louisiana families — not politicians or public-school officials — get to decide if, when and how their children engage with religion,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It should send a strong message to Christian Nationalists across the country that they cannot impose their beliefs on our nation’s public-school children. Not on our watch.”
“Religious freedom — the right to choose one’s faith without pressure — is essential to American democracy,” said Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “Today’s ruling ensures that the schools our plaintiffs’ children attend will stay focused on learning, without promoting a state-preferred version of Christianity.”
Jon Youngwood, co-chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department, added, “We are heartened by the Fifth Circuit’s well-reasoned and detailed opinion, which rests upon the wisdom of the First Amendment and the protections it affords regarding the separation of church and state.”
Today’s opinion is available online here.
