Louisiana: Public School Classrooms Required By Law To Display ‘The Ten Commandments’ By 2025

June 20, 2024

Louisiana has become the first state in the U.S. to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms by the year 2025.

One America News reports that Governor Jeff Landry signed a bill into law that requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed  in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to university level. The posters would be funded by private donations rather than state funds.

Supporters say the Ten Commandments are “foundational documents of our state and national government” and will be accompanied by a four paragraph “context statement” describing their historical context in the classroom.

Additionally, the law authorizes but does not mandate the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance in K-12 public schools.

Critics of the new law say they are concerned about a potential violation of the separation of church and state and have threatened that lawsuits are likely.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, along with the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, released a statement on Wednesday saying: “Even among those who may believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text that they adhere to can differ by religious denomination or tradition. The government should not be taking sides in this theological debate.”

Similar legislation has been proposed in other states including Texas, Utah and Oklahoma.

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