NEW ORLEANS — Lawyers for the state of Louisiana returned to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday hoping to jump-start the effort to place a copy of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. A lower court has banned  their placement in five school districts, and other school boards are holding back until judges dictate a way forward.

Soon after Republicans took control of the Legislature and the governor's office, lawmakers last year dictated that every public school, college and university post the tenets in every classroom beginning Jan. 1. Parents in five districts sued, and U.S. District Judge John de Gravelles placed the law on hold and directed state school officials to notify public districts statewide about his decision.

With the American Civil Liberties Union threatening more lawsuits, several school administrators told WBRZ at the start of the month they wanted to wait for final court action before complying with the law.

In the arguments Thursday, the state said the parents' lawsuit was filed too soon — before any display went up.

"Plaintiffs seek to challenge hypothetical displays that do not exist and that they have never seen," Solicitor General Ben Aguinaga told a three-judge panel of the court. After he argued that courts have upheld the Ten Commandments in other public settings, Judge Catharina Haynes wondered whether schools should be considered differently.

"There's a big difference between how often you go to a state Capitol rather than a school classroom," she said. 

Jonathan Youngwood, representing those who challenged the law, made a similar argument later.

"It will be noticed by students every day — 177 days a year for 13 years," for students from kindergarten to 12th grade, he said.

While the Ten Commandments are at the root of many secular laws, some lawmakers last year used religious reasons when arguing for the law. One, Youngwood said, argued that it was "important that our children learn what God says is right."

"That's establishment of religion by the state," he argued.

Aguinaga, under questioning by Judge Irma Carillo Ramirez, said he couldn't cite a case where a Ten Commandments display was approved for a school, but likened it to a Jehovah's Witness challenge to a Pledge of Allegiance case.

"The fact that they are allowed under the First Amendment to opt out of participating in the pledge does not mean that they can also request that the flag be taken down or that the pledge not be said," he said.

Haynes conducted the hearing via Zoom as New Orleans continues to dig out from a record-breaking snowstorm. The other option was postponing.

"I know it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later and we will do our best to do so," she said.