A coalition of parents attempting to block a state law that would
require t
hat t
he Ten Commandments
be displayed in public school classrooms by next year have won a legal battle in federal court.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued an order Tuesday granting the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, which means the state can’t begin its plan to promote and create rules surrounding the law as soon as Friday while the litigation plays out.
The judge wrote that the law is “facially unconstitutional” and “in all applications,” barring Louisiana from enforcing it and adopting rules around it that obligate all public K-12 schools and colleges to exhibit posters of the Ten Commandments.
His order prompted Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill to say she would “immediately appeal.”
In the meantime, deGravelles, who
heard arguments
over the legislation on Oct. 21, ordered her office to “provide notice to all schools that the Act has been found unconstitutional.”
“Each of the Plaintiffs’ minor children will be forced ‘in every practical sense,’ through Louisiana’s required attendance policy, to be a ‘captive audience’ and to participate in a religious exercise: reading and considering a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one posted in every single classroom, for the entire school year, regardless of the age of the student or subject matter of the course,” the judge wrote.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs applauded the judge’s decision.
“This ruling should serve as a reality check for Louisiana lawmakers who want to use public schools to convert children to their preferred brand of Christianity,” Heather Weaver, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said in a statement. “Public schools are not Sunday schools, and today’s decision ensures that our clients’ classrooms will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed.”
The law had dictated that schools have by Jan. 1 to comply.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” Murrill said in a statement.
Gov. Jeff Landry signed the GOP-backed legislation in June, part of his
conservative agenda
that has reshaped Louisiana’s cultural landscape, from
abortion rights
to criminal justice to education.
The move prompted a coalition of parents — Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious —
to sue the state
in federal court. They argued that the law “substantially interferes with and burdens” their First Amendment right to raise their children with whatever religious doctrine they want.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP have supported the suit.
The Rev. Darcy Roake, who is a plaintiff in the case along with her husband, Adrian Van Young, said in a statement that she was “relieved” by the judge’s order, adding: “We expect our children to receive their secular education in public school and their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials.”
Steven Green, a professor of law, history and religious studies at Willamette University in Oregon, testified against the law during the federal court hearing, arguing that the Ten Commandments are not at the core of the U.S. government and its founding, and if anything, the Founding Fathers believed in a separation of church and state.
At a news conference after the hearing, Murrill dismissed Green’s testimony as not being relevant as to whether the posters themselves violate the First Amendment.
“This law, I believe, is constitutional, and we’ve illustrated it in numerous ways that the law is constitutional. We’ve shown that in our briefs by creating a number of posters,” Murrill told reporters. “Again, you don’t have to like the posters. The point is you can make posters that comply with the Constitution.”
In August, Murrill and Landry presented examples of how posters of the Ten Commandments could be designed and hung up in classrooms for educational purposes. The displays included historical context for the commandments that the state believes makes its law constitutional.
One poster compared Moses and Martin Luther King Jr., while another riffed off the song “Ten Duel Commandments” from the musical “Hamilton.”
Murrill said no public funds would be required to be spent on printing the posters and they can be supplied through private donations, but questions remained about what happens to educators that refuse to comply with the law.
The state has anticipated that the case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which last weighed in on the issue in 1980, when the justices ruled 5-4 that Kentucky’s posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools was unconstitutional.
In his ruling, deGravelles acknowledged the Supreme Court precedent on the issue of whether it is constitutional to display religious text in public schools as Louisiana law would require.
“The question is not whether the Biblical laws can ever be put on a poster; the issue is whether, as a matter of law, there is any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments in accordance with the minimum requirements of the Act,” he wrote. “In short, the Court finds that there is not.”
Another state,
Oklahoma, is facing similar lawsuits
over a
requirement that the Bible
be part of lesson plans in public school grades five through 12, and that the Bible be stocked in every classroom.
When asked what he would tell parents concerned about having the Ten Commandments in public schools,
Landry said in August
: “Tell your child not to look at them.”
Note: Thank you for visiting our website! We strive to keep you informed with the latest updates based on expected timelines, although please note that we are not affiliated with any official bodies. Our team is committed to ensuring accuracy and transparency in our reporting, verifying all information before publication. We aim to bring you reliable news, and if you have any questions or concerns about our content, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!