All Louisiana Public School Classrooms Must Display The 10 Commandments Under New Law

(PatriotWise.com) — Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry last week signed into law a series of education-related bills, including the controversial bill requiring all public schools and state-funded universities to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

In a bill-signing ceremony at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette last Wednesday, Governor Landry said that instilling respect for the rule of law should begin with “the original lawmaker,” Moses.

Under HB71, which the state legislature passed in late May, all public school classrooms as well as classrooms in state-funded colleges and universities must display a poster-size copy of the Ten Commandments in an “easily readable font.”

Taxpayer funds will not be used to cover the cost of the posters, which will be funded through private donations.

With the governor’s signature, Louisiana becomes the first state in the nation to require schools to display the Ten Commandments. Lawmakers in several other states, including Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah, have introduced similar measures to require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.

Supporters of the law argue that such a display would not violate the Constitution because the Ten Commandments have “historical significance” in the founding of the country.

Under the law, the state also authorizes public schools to display a copy of other documents of historical significance, including the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Mayflower Compact. However, unlike the Ten Commandments, HB71 does not require these documents to appear in all classrooms.

Democrat lawmakers who opposed the measure warned that HB71 was unlikely to survive any challenges in court.

Shortly after Governor Landry signed the bill, the ACLU, along with two anti-religion groups, vowed to file a lawsuit to block the implementation of the law.

In a joint statement released last Wednesday, the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said HB71 would make children who do not hold the same beliefs feel unsafe and deny them an equal education.