Louisiana school districts could be sued if they post the Ten Commandments in classrooms as required by a new state law, according to a warning sent to superintendents by civil liberties groups that have challenged the statute in federal court.
Nola.com reports that the law requires public K-12 schools and colleges to post the Biblical text in every classroom by Jan. 1. However, a federal judge has declared the mandate unconstitutional and temporarily barred the state from enforcing it.
“Public-school officials are legally required to protect and uphold the constitutional rights of students and families,” said a letter to school superintendents from the ACLU of Louisiana and other legal groups. Enacting the contested state law, the letter added, “would violate this obligation and could result in litigation being filed against your district.”
The state has appealed the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments on Jan. 23. In the meantime, the appeals court upheld the lower court’s preliminary injunction.
But Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has argued that the order applies only to the five school districts named in the lawsuit where the plaintiffs’ children attend school: East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon.
In their letter to superintendents, the civil liberties groups acknowledged that school systems not named in the lawsuit are “not technically subject to the district court’s injunction.” But they argue that all districts are bound by the U.S. Constitution, and U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles declared Louisiana’s law to be unconstitutional.
The other groups that sent the warning letter to districts are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Gov. Jeff Landry signed the law in June, which says the Ten Commandments must be displayed in every classroom on posters measuring at least 11 by 14 inches and written in large font.
The law is seen as a test case of religious liberty and church-state separation.
The Louisiana Family Forum, an advocacy group that has been raising money to print Ten Commandments posters, has held off from distributing them to schools while the appeals court evaluates the law, said Gene Mills, the group's president.
