Jan 10, 2025 - Politics

Most Louisiana schools directed to follow Ten Commandments law while lawsuit plays out

Chelsea Brasted

An image with an inset version of a poster that says "The Supreme Court and the Lawgivers." — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office created four posters of the Ten Commandments for schools to print and display in compliance with a new law. Image: Courtesy of Louisiana Attorney General

When most Louisiana public school students went back to school earlier this week after the holidays, they may have found a new poster in each of their classrooms displaying the Ten Commandments.

Why it matters: A controversial new law requiring the display went into effect Jan. 1 for all Louisiana public school students, except those in Orleans, St. Tammany, Vernon, East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes.

The latest: Attorney General Liz Murrill issued guidance this week on how schools can comply with the new law.

Schools should print one of four posters that her office designed so it's at least 11 by 14 inches big.
The posters shouldn't be placed behind teachers desks or podiums "to avoid any possibility of confusion whether displays are attributable to individual teachers," Murrill said.
See the guidance.

The intrigue: Civil rights organizations, which are suing the state over the law, called the guidance "misleading." Read their letter.

The groups maintain that no state public school — not just those in the five parishes named in the lawsuit — should have to follow the law while it works its way through federal court. A judge has already said the law is "plainly unconstitutional."

What's next: Arguments over the law are expected in federal court later this month, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

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Most Louisiana schools directed to follow Ten Commandments law while lawsuit plays out

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