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The Ten Commandments will not be displayed in Louisiana’s public schools until at least Nov. 15, 2024.
A state law passed in Louisiana in 2024 would make schools to place the Ten Commandments in every classroom by Jan 1, 2025. But a group of parents are opposing the new law, filing a lawsuit in June saying it violates the First Amendment, according to The Associated Press.
The law does not require schools to spend public money on the Ten Commandments posters. Instead, it allows schools to accept donated posters and money to pay for posters, the outlet noted. (TAKE A POLL: What Is the Most Pressing Political Issue Facing Our Country Today?)
ACLU Involvement
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit, presumably on behalf of parents. The group also called the law a “disturbing abuse of power by state officials,” according to K-12 Dive.
“The Ten Commandments law is not ‘paused,’ ‘blocked,’ or ‘halted,’” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. “No posters are going up before November 15 because certain legal actions take time, specifically publishing rules through BESE [Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education], in addition to creating the posters.” (TAKE A POLL: Do You Trust the News Media’s Reporting on Politics?)
“Louisiana law requires children to attend school so they can be educated, not evangelized,” ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief senior staff attorney Heather Weaver said of the law.
Statement From Gov. Landry
“If you want to respect the rule of law you’ve got to start from the original law given, which was Moses,” said Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry after signing the law. (TAKE A POLL: Do You Read Religious Texts Often?)
The Ten Commandments must be a “poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches,” where the Commandments are the “central focus.” There must also be a “context statement” telling all who see the posters about how “the Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”
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