CV NEWS FEED // Louisiana is set to become the first state to require all publicly-funded K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
The requirement is contingent on HB71, a bill introduced to the state House of Representatives earlier this year by Republican Rep. Dodie Horton. The House passed the legislation 82-19 on April 10 and sent it to the state Senate, which then passed it 30-8 on May 16.
The legislation requires all publicly-funded schools to display any type of poster or framed document depicting the text of the Ten Commandments, as long as it is larger than 11 by 14 inches and the text—printed in a large, legible font—is the central focus of the display.
Charter schools are exempted from the requirement. The legislation also stipulates that public funds may not be used to purchase the displays, but allows schools to use donated displays or use donated funds to purchase them.
The legislation has now been returned to the House, which will now vote a second time before sending it to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry for his approval or veto.
According to Governing, a news outlet for public leaders, Republican Sen. J. Adam Bass told the Senate that the purpose of the bill is not “solely religious.”
Instead, he argued, the Ten Commandments have “historical significance, which is simply one of many documents that display the history of our country and foundation of our legal system.”
Governing added that Horton called the Ten Commandments the “basis of all laws in Louisiana” as she defended her bill during an April House debate.
“I’m not concerned with an atheist. I’m not concerned with a Muslim,” she said in response to a question about teachers who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments, according to Governing. “I’m concerned with our children looking and seeing what God’s law is.”
However, Democratic Sen. Royce Duplessis, a self-identified practicing Catholic, opposed the legislation in the Senate.
“I didn’t have to learn the Ten Commandments in school. We went to Sunday school,” he said, according to Governing. “You want your kids to learn about the Ten Commandments, take them to church.”
He also said that the bill could land the state in several lawsuits over violations of First Amendment rights.
“We’re going to spend valuable state resources defending the law when we really need to be teaching our kids how to read and write,” Duplessis said. “I don’t think this is appropriate for us to mandate.”
According to news outlet Axios New Orleans, three other states—Texas, South Carolina, and Utah—have attempted to pass similar legislation, but each state Legislature has rejected it.
Axios New Orleans added that the Ten Commandment bills began to appear after a 2022 Supreme Court case indicated a “looser interpretation” of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
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