Avril Elfi from OAN
Monday, June 24, 2024, 5:00 PM
Civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in all public school classrooms.
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On Monday, parents of children attending Louisiana public schools, represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Union for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the new law.
Last week, Gov. Jeff Landry (R-Louisiana) signed a new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public elementary and middle school classrooms and in state universities.
Opponents argue that the exhibit alienates students, especially non-Christians, and that the law violates the principle of separation of church and state.
Supporters of the bill argued that it was not only of purely religious importance, but also of historical importance: the Ten Commandments are described in legal terms as “a fundamental document of state and national government.”
The lawsuit seeks a court declaration that the new law prohibits the government from establishing religion and violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.
“The state’s primary purpose in passing HB 71 was to impose religious beliefs on children in public schools, regardless of whether it would cause harm to students or their families,” the lawsuit states. “Representative Dodie Horton, the bill’s lead sponsor and author, declared during debates over the bill that her goal was to present God’s law in the classroom and help children understand what God says is right and wrong.”
Among the defendants are members of the State Board of Education, several local school boards and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cade Brumley.
By early 2025, Louisiana classrooms will feature the posters with a four-paragraph “background statement” outlining how the Ten Commandments “have been a vital part of public education for nearly three centuries.” The law prohibits the use of state funds to implement the order; donations will cover the cost of the posters.
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