Louisiana is on track to be the first state that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in all public funded schools, including colleges and university.

Louisiana is likely to pass a similar law as Texas, South Carolina, and Utah.

After Supreme Court rulings like Kennedy v. Bremerton school district indicated a more liberal interpretation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, efforts were made to mandate the Ten Commandment display.

This clause prohibits the state from sponsoring religion.

Flashback: In a 1980 Kentucky case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a display requirement for the Ten Commandments was unconstitutional.

Zoom in: Dodie Horton, R-Bossier, authored the Louisiana bill (HB71), which was passed into law in 2023. Her bill also required that “In God We Trust’ be displayed in every classroom.

The bill stipulates that the Ten Commandments text must be printed in a poster measuring no less than 11 by 14 inches, and the words should be the “central focus” of the document.

The Times-Picayune.

I didn’t need to learn the Ten Commandments at school. He said, “We went to Sunday School.” You want your children to learn the Ten Commandments? Take them to church.

Duplessis noted that it is possible the bill will be challenged in court, and that defending this could take “valuable resources of the state.”

A group of civil right organizations, including the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center, issued a statement in opposition to the legislation.

In the statement, it is noted that the bill “requires an exact version of the Ten Commandments”, and displays deviating from this “would be in violation of state law.”

What’s next? The bill was approved by the Senate on Thursday with a vote of 30-8, but it must be voted again in the House to reach the governor. Jeff Landry’s desk for signature.

The bill has been amended since it was first passed by the House to allow for public donations to pay for the displays.