The state of Louisiana is facing a lawsuit from civil rights groups over a new law that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms.
Plaintiffs in the suit include parents of children attending Louisiana public schools, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB 71 into law last Wednesday.
The law, the first of its kind in the nation, will require all public classrooms, from kindergarten to public universities, to display the Ten Commandments in poster-sized, “large, easily readable font.”
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Ten Commandments Monument. (David Brewster/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Opponents of the bill have long warned of imminent lawsuits challenging the bill, arguing it violates the principle of separation of church and state and that the exhibit would alienate non-Christian students.
Supporters say the bill has historical as well as religious significance: According to the law’s text, the Ten Commandments are “a fundamental document of state and national government.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signs bills related to education planning at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, Louisiana, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Brad Bowie/The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate via The Associated Press)
Louisiana’s posters must be in classrooms by early 2025. They will be accompanied by a four-paragraph “contextual statement” explaining how the Ten Commandments “have been a vital part of public education for nearly three centuries.”
The law “permits” but does not require the display of other items in K-12 public schools, including the Mayflower Compact, signed by religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and often referred to as America’s “first constitution,” the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government for the Northwest Territory (now the Midwest) and paved the way for new states to be admitted to the Union.
According to the law, no state funds will be used to implement the mandate, and the posters will be paid for through donations.
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“The Ten Commandments Act was passed with overwhelming support by the Louisiana General Assembly and enthusiastically signed by the Governor,” Louisiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Cade Brumley said in a statement. “I look forward to implementing this law and protecting Louisiana’s sovereign interest in choosing the course content essential to the founding of our nation.”
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
