BATON ROUGE — A federal appeals court said Tuesday that a law ordering Louisiana's public schools and universities to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom will remain in effect while the ACLU takes a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans voted last month to let the law stand. Since that ruling, a federal judge in Arkansas has barred a similar law from taking effect there.

In both states, groups of parents sued on behalf of their children, saying that the display of religion-based documents violated their First Amendment rights. The version to be displayed in Louisiana classrooms is based on a Protestant reading of Exodus.

“The Fifth Circuit just rejected the ACLU’s attempt to enjoin Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law while they appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This was the right decision, and now there is no injunction against Louisiana’s law,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

The attorney general's office said the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is in charge of enforcing the law. Several districts have said they will not post the Ten Commandments until the court fight is over.

LSU President Wade Rousse said last month the school was ready to post the Ten Commandments if someone would provide enough copies to cover the campus. 

"Personally, I think shining a light on God is never a negative thing," Rousse said last month. "We're going to move as quickly as we need to to stay in compliance with the law."