Federal Appeals Court Upholds Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Schools

On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of a Texas law that requires schools to display privately donated Ten Commandments displays in every classroom. This decision overturned an injunction by a lower court judge that blocked Texas from implementing the law.

During its 2025 legislative session, the Texas State Legislature passed SB 10, which created the requirement to display the Ten Commandments in every government school classroom. These displays would be privately donated from individuals or organizations. Our friends at Texas Values strongly advocated in favor of this bill and have raised funds to purchase Ten Commandments displays for Texas schools.

In response to SB 10’s passage, opponents of religious liberty, like the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, challenged the law. They incorrectly argued that the law violates both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Thankfully, the Fifth Circuit disagreed and ruled that Ten Commandments displays in schools do not violate the First Amendment. The court first ruled that Stone v. Graham (the SCOTUS case that struck down a similar law from Kentucky in 1980) is no longer good law after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision (which threw out the Lemon Test).

Specifically, the Fifth Circuit concluded that “without Lemon, Stone disappears.” The court then looked to the history and traditions of the United States and concluded that the Ten Commandments law does not establish a state religion, nor does it coerce anyone to practice a religion. Therefore, SB 10 does not violate the Establishment Clause. The court then dismissed the Free Exercise claim by ruling that the plaintiffs in the case had not shown any burden on their religious beliefs—a commonsense ruling against a ridiculous claim.

While celebrating the Fifth Circuit’s decision, Jonathan Saenz, President & Attorney for Texas Values, stated, “[the Fifth Circuit’s] ruling confirms that our state can honor the moral heritage that undergirds our legal system without violating the First Amendment. This decision makes clear that acknowledging the historical foundations of our laws is not only permissible — it is fully consistent with the Constitution.” Hopefully this ruling empowers the Kentucky General Assembly to also act on this important issue.

During the 2025 and 2026 KY General Assemblies, Rep. Josh Calloway and Rep. Richard White introduced bills to bring the Ten Commandments back to Kentucky classrooms. Unfortunately, those bills did not receive any movement, likely due to opposition from some in leadership. However, this new decision from the Fifth Circuit provides strong persuasive authority in support of bringing the Ten Commandments back to Kentucky classrooms. Given that a Kentucky law was at the center of the Stone v. Graham decision, it would be fitting for Kentucky to repass a Ten Commandments law and declare victory over the improperly decided 1980 case.