The laws putting the Ten Commandments and the Bible in public school classrooms

A Texas bill requiring the Ten Commandments in every classroom passed the state Senate in 2023 but died in the House.^[8][9] In June 2024 Louisiana became the first state to require the displays, in a law signed by Gov. Jeff Landry,^[1] and civil liberties groups sued within days.^[3] In November a federal judge temporarily blocked the law,^[10] and an appeals court declined to lift the hold.^[11] Oklahoma's schools superintendent, Ryan Walters, sought to buy 55,000 Bibles for classrooms,^[12] but after he stepped down in 2025, his successor rescinded his mandate to place Bibles in schools.^[13][14]

In 2025 Texas passed its own requirement,^[2] and Arkansas families sued over a similar law there.^[15] In June a ruling against Louisiana's law handed civil liberties groups a major win,^[16] another temporarily blocked several large Arkansas districts from enforcing that state's law,^[17] and judges in Texas barred some districts from posting the displays.^[18][19] The tide turned in 2026: the federal appeals court cleared the way for Louisiana's law in February,^[5] a judge struck down Arkansas's law in March,^[4] and in April the same appeals court said Texas could require the displays.^[6] In June the Texas State Board of Education voted to make Bible passages required reading,^[20] and in August the ACLU asked the Supreme Court to take up the Texas case.^[7]