Appeals court rules Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in schools is unconstitutional
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Friday a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in all public-school classrooms is unconstitutional.
The law required easily readable posters to go up in all public school classrooms of the Ten Commandments, regardless of what subject the classroom teachers.
The judges said the law would be in violation of the First Amendment, giving a big win to advocates who say this bill violated the separation of church and state.
'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. '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.'
The law first went into effect at the beginning of last school year but has been held up in the courts.
The Hill has reached out to Louisiana's attorney general's office for comment.
This case could go to the Supreme Court, giving another test to the conservative-leaning high court of the role of religion in schools.
Most recently, the Supreme Court in a deadlock decision ruled against a religious charter school in Oklahoma, although Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case.
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