Most school districts in Louisiana will be given the green light to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms when classes resume. That’s the word from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. She says the new law, House Bill No. 71 / Act No. 676, became effective on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The legislation requires all Louisiana public school classrooms, from kindergarten to college, to post the Ten Commandments on 11-inch by 14-inch displays.
As Greg LaRose with the Louisiana Illuminator reported in November, U.S. District Judge John W. DeGravelles issued an injunction to prevent the law from taking effect. In his 177-page ruling, DeGravelles said the state was not likely to win the case.
Nine Louisiana parents had filed the lawsuit, claiming the new law is a clear violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by promoting one religion over another. The defendants include five public school boards in - East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon parishes.
The state is now appealing that ruling. And Murrill says the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has already limited the scope of the judge’s ruling. “There were only five school boards that were sued and so there’s only five school boards that are actually subject to this injunction.”
Murrill says the state is ready to defend any school board that gets sued over the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms in the remaining 67 public school districts in Louisiana. The schools are not required to spend money on the posters but they can accept donated materials. The 5th Circuit will hear oral arguments in the case on January 23.
