A federal appeals court has ruled against a number of Texas families who sought to block school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
In a split opinion filed Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state of Texas and reversed a ruling by a federal judge that prohibited some Texas schools from displaying the Ten Commandments.
“Yes, Plaintiffs have sincere religious disagreements with its content,” Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote for the majority. “But that does not transform the poster into a summons to prayer.”
Several families, both from religious and nonreligious backgrounds, brought the lawsuit against a number of Texas school districts, including Plano ISD, in July 2025, and a federal judge in August issued a preliminary injunction preventing the school districts named in the case from displaying the Ten Commandments.
Tuesday’s opinion reversed that injunction.
The districts, represented by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, appealed the decision. Paxton asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case along with a challenge to a similar law in Louisiana and the court heard arguments in January.
The Dallas Morning News reached out to a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, who is representing the families, for a comment. The News also reached out to Paxton’s office seeking a comment.
Two other lawsuits in Texas brought by families have sued dozens of school districts over displays of the Ten Commandments, including a case seeking class action status that would impact all Texas public schools.
“The Ten Commandments are indisputably a cornerstone of America’s moral and legal heritage,” Paxton said in his advisory.