Republican Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has signed a bill requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
Per Associated Press, Landry signed the bill into law on Wednesday, June 19, which means every classroom will need a large poster featuring "large-easily readable font" listing the Ten Commandments. This applies to kindergarten up through any state-funded universities, so students of any age can't escape the judgment of a centuries-old list of rules for life printed in Comic Sans.
The bill states that all displays of the Ten Commandments must be accompanied by a "contest statement" that details how the list was "a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries." All classrooms in the state must begin displaying these posters, which will be funded through donations and not state funds, by 2025.
Supporters of the bill have countered accusations that it's solely religious by arguing it holds historical significance as "foundational documents of our state and national government." Opponents, however, ave suggested it could result in lawsuits.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled a similar law in Kentucky in the 1980s unconstitutional. This law mandated the display of the Ten Commandments, which the Court deemed violated the constitutional principle that Congress must "make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
In addition to the Ten Commandments, the bill recommends but does not require the display of the Northwest Ordinance, the Declaration of Independence, and the Mayflower Compact. While Louisiana is the first state to sign such a bill into law, other states including Oklahoma, Utah, and Texas have proposed similar bills in recent years.
