A federal judge will hear arguments Monday, Oct. 21, over Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools statewide by Jan. 1. Lawyers for parents seeking to block the law will argue it violates the United States Constitution by infringing on students’ religious freedom.
State lawyers argue the lawsuit should be thrown out – not only because the posters haven’t even gone up yet, but because they say the Ten Commandments have historical significance and influence on American law.
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The Louisiana law applies to all public K-12 schools and state-funded university classrooms and requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches where the text is the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.”
Each poster must also be paired with a four-paragraph context statement that says the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries,” among other things.
School systems will not have to use public money for the posters. Instead, the displays will be paid for by donations or the posters themselves will be donated by groups or organizations. Meanwhile, questions still linger about how the requirement will be enforced if a teacher refuses to hang up the Ten Commandments and what happens if there are not enough donations to satisfy the mandate.
