Judge: Louisiana must wait on Ten Commandments law
After FFRF and other groups filed a motion for injunction, a federal judge ruled July 19 that the state of Louisiana cannot immediately move forward on its new law of requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District set a hearing for Sept. 30. A ruling on the case is expected by Nov. 15.
Until then, the Ten Commandments can’t be displayed in schools located in five of state’s parishes: East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon. The agreement also states that Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education cannot “promulgate advice, rules or regulations regarding proper implementation” of the new law until Nov. 15.
Under the new law, public K-12 schools and college classrooms are required to display the Christian Ten Commandments on posters measuring at least 11 by 14 inches and featuring “large, easily readable font.” Schools are also required to post a three-paragraph statement that explains how the texts were “a prominent part of American public education” from the late 17th century through the late 20th century. The law gives schools until Jan. 1 to put up the Ten Commandments, and requires them to use donated posters or spend donated money, rather than public funds, to buy the displays.
Shortly after Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill on June 24, FFRF, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s national and state offices, filed a federal lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case are nine Louisiana families of different or no faiths who say the law violates the First Amendment, forbidding government establishment of religion and protecting free exercise.
“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom — rendering them unavoidable — unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the lawsuit states.
Then, on July 8, the advocacy groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to refrain from imposing the law or allowing any related enforcement of it during pending legal proceedings.
However, under the terms of the agreement, only students in those five Louisiana parishes are guaranteed not to see the Ten Commandments when they return to school. Hopefully, most schools will adopt a “wait and see” approach prior to the Jan. 1 deadline, as the lawsuit continues to progress.
