This blog originally appeared at THEM.
All Public School Classrooms in Louisiana Are Now Required to Display the Ten Commandments
The law went into effect this week and applies to all public K-12 schools as well as private schools that receive government funding.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a new law this week requiring all public and state-funded schools to prominently display the “Ten Commandments,” making Louisiana the first U.S. state to implement such a policy.
Landry, a Republican, signed House Bill 71 into law on Wednesday, following its approval in the House by a 79-16 vote late last month. The law, which takes effect immediately, mandates that all public schools and private educational institutions receiving government funding display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and office building. The law specifies the language to be used for each commandment, requires the displays to be at least 11 by 14 inches in size, and ensures the text is the “central focus of the poster” and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” (Perhaps they’ll make an exception for Papyrus.)
Louisiana is now the only U.S. state requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments. However, since 2001, Mississippi has mandated state schools to post the motto “In God We Trust,” a requirement Louisiana matched last year.
HB 71 was authored by GOP Rep. Dodie Horton, who has been in office since 2015. Horton is also the chief sponsor of HB 122, which recently passed both chambers of the state legislature and awaits Governor Landry’s signature. This bill would prohibit K-12 teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender with students under most circumstances, an effort Horton first attempted unsuccessfully in 2022.
During the debate on HB 71 in April, Horton expressed her intent to integrate more conservative Christian principles into state law, as reported by the Times-Picayune.
“I’m not concerned with an atheist. I’m not concerned with a Muslim,” Horton said, referring to non-Christian teachers. “I’m concerned with our children looking and seeing what God’s law is.”
However, Horton’s rhetoric contrasts with other Republicans, such as Sen. J. Adam Bass, who argued that the bill’s purpose was “not solely religious.” According to the Times-Picayune, Bass maintained that the commandments hold “historical significance” to the U.S. as “one of many documents that display the history of our country and foundation of our legal system.”
On Wednesday, the same day Landry signed HB 71 into law, representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced their intention to challenge the law in a joint statement.
“The displays mandated by HB 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 groups wrote. “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, and it certainly should not be coercing students to submit day in and day out to unavoidable promotions of religious doctrine.”
fleeredstates.blog 
As a public school teacher in Georgia I have this to say, “ WHAT A JOKE!” After about 2 days no one pays attention to the posters/ signs in the front of the classroom except administrators and that is only because they don’t know really what to observe when they are observing us teach and learn. This law was passed and signed by one of the poorest performing Pre K-12 academic states in the USA. So let’s focus on what won’t help our children to be independent as adults! Parents are really going to thank Louisiana for not preparing their children for adulthood!
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