Louisiana is now officially the first state to introduce what's proving to be a highly controversial law into its public classrooms. Per the Associated Press, the state's Governor, Jeff Landry, signed off on a law requiring a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font" in all public classrooms. This ranges from kindergarten to state-funded universities.
Under the law, state funds will not be used to enforce the mandate. As a result, the posters would be paid for through donations. The law also "authorizes" but doesn't strictly require other items to be potentially displayed. Including the Mayflower Compact, which was signed by religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620. The Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory. And, finally, the Declaration of Independence.
The posters, paired with a four-paragraph "context statement" describing how the Ten Commandments "were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries," must be in classrooms by the start of 2025.
As one can expect, this law quickly made the rounds on social media. Heated discussions have emerged both for and against the decision.
Louisiana Will Be Requiring The Ten Commandments To Be Displayed In Public Schools
"The state of Louisiana is ranked last in the U.S. in crime and corrections, 47th in education, 46th in health care, 49th in infrastructure & 49th in the economy. And what is their Governor's number one priority? Forcing religion on schoolchildren. Yeah that tracks, doesn't it?" one X (formerly known as Twitter) user argued in strong opposition to the law.
"All these people freaking out about the Ten Commandments in Louisiana public classrooms. Don't forget the state has one of the worst student literacy rates in the country. So there's a silver lining — they won't be able to read it!" another user stated.
BREAKING: We’re suing Louisiana for requiring all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Public schools are not Sunday schools.
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 19, 2024
Many groups and institutions are planning on suing Louisiana over the law. It remains to be seen how far any impending lawsuits will go, however. As it stands, a few Civil Liberties groups have banded together, releasing a joint statement as to their intentions.
"All students should feel safe and welcome in our public schools. H.B. 71 would undermine this critical goal and prevent schools from providing an equal education to all students, regardless of faith. We will not allow Louisiana lawmakers to undermine these religious-freedom rights."
