The Louisiana Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that could make the state the first to require all schools and universities that receive public funding to display the Ten Commandments.
For Louisiana to make history as the first state to impose such a requirement, Republican Governor Jeff Landry would need to sign the new bill into law.
The bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton, would require classrooms to print the Ten Commandments on posters measuring at least 11 inches by 14 inches and to be “centerpiece” of the poster.
Other states, including Texas, South Carolina and Utah, have recently sought to approve similar bills, according to Axios, after Supreme Court decisions such as Kennedy v. Bremerton School District signaled a looser interpretation of the Constitution’s separation of church and state clause, which bans state-sponsored religion.
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For Louisiana to become the first state to require the Ten Commandments to be posted in schools, Governor Jeff Landry would need to sign the new bill into law. (Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Louisiana’s bill, HB 71, was given final approval Tuesday night by the state House of Representatives, who voted 79-16, with only one Democrat voting no. The Senate passed the bill earlier this month.
Horton told the House of Representatives in April that this precept is the basis for all law in Louisiana.
“I hope and pray that Louisiana will be the first state to allow moral education back into the classroom,” she said at the time. “I’ve been a big fan of moral education since kindergarten. [at a private school]”It was always there on the wall. I learned that there is a God and I learned to respect Him and His laws.”
HB 71 is expected to face legal challenges due to First Amendment concerns.
“We learned the Ten Commandments when we went to Sunday school,” state Sen. Lois Duplessis, a Democrat, previously told WWLTV. “As I said on the Senate floor, if you want your kids to learn the Ten Commandments, take them to church.”
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HB 71 states that the text of the Ten Commandments must be printed on a poster measuring at least 11 inches by 14 inches. (Getty Images)
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Civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Americans for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center had previously issued a joint statement criticizing the bill.
“This bill is unconstitutional,” the statement said. “States cannot require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Many religious and civil rights groups oppose this bill, saying it violates the fundamental right of religious freedom for students and families.”
“Our public schools are not Sunday schools and students of all faiths, or even no faith, should be welcome,” the statement added.
