Louisiana puts the Ten Commandments back in the classroom, challenging the 40-year-old Supreme Court ruling in Stone v. Graham.
By Eileen Griffin
The state of Louisiana has mandated that all public education facilities post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on June 19.
Louisiana became the first state to mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school, including on college campuses, The Epoch Times reports.
Under House Bill 71, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools receiving government funding are required to display the Ten Commandments with very specific requirements for size, font, location, and visibility.
Several other states allow or encourage the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools, but Louisiana is the first state to mandate the display in every classroom.
Various groups announced immediately that they will contest the law, Shreveport Times reports. Opponents of the bill claim that the law is unconstitutional and in violation of the separation of church and state.
Three groups issued a statement announcing their intent to file a law suit. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation joined together to condemn the law.
“The law violates longstanding Supreme Court precedent and the First Amendment,” the statement reads.
“More than 40 years ago, in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court overturned a similar state statute, holding that the First Amendment bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. No other state requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools.”
The groups states that some children will feel like they don’t belong or they are not welcome in a school that displays specific religious beliefs.
“The displays mandated by H.B. 71 will result in unconstitutional religious coercion of students, who are legally required to attend school and are thus a captive audience for school-sponsored religious messages,” the statement further reads.
Prior to the bill signing by the governor, former Louisiana state representative and current president of the Family Research Council President Tony Perkins reported on its likely passage on the Christian broadcast program Washington Watch in June.
“The anti-Christian left is convulsing over legislation that has been passed by the Louisiana legislature and will be signed most likely next week by the governor,” Perkins said.
“This was common until the Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that such a display was a violation of the establishment clause of the constitution,” Perkins said. “It’s a new day for religious freedom in America so we need to seize the moment.”
The bill’s author, Louisiana state Rep. Dodie Hawkins (R), told Perkins “We wanted to get the Ten Commandments back in the classroom where they were and where they hung for almost three decades.”
“We want our children to see what God’s standards for our moral conduct is. We are not asking the teachers to teach it, but we want our children to be able to see one, that there is a God and that he has a moral standard in which they need to conduct themselves by.”
“When we look at what is happening in our schools,” Perkins said. “When we look at what is happening in our culture, and we wring our hands and policy makers try to figure out what to do to correct the lawlessness. It’s pretty simple. Go back to the Ten commandments and teach them there is truth and we are accountable to it.”
Louisiana has led the way as the first state to return the Ten Commandments to the classroom, but. Governor Landry has supported other efforts to reform education in the state.
In the month of June, Louisiana expanded educational freedom allowing all families the freedom to open Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs), The Daily Signal reports. With this new program, Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) every child in the state will have access to scholarship money to pay for private school tuition or other educational needs.
“Louisiana’s embrace of universal school choice also shows the success of efforts by conservatives to channel parents’ frustrations over ‘woke’ ideology in traditional public schools into public support for policies that empower parents to choose schools that align with their values,” writes Jason Bedrick for the outlet.
“I am used to carrying legislation that the Left absolutely abhors,” Hawkins said. “Our children deserve all that we can give them. I have been wanting to get God back in the classroom since it was removed many moons ago. This is progress and it’s just a great day for our Louisiana students.”
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