Ten Commandments posters in Louisiana delayed as court weighs case

by Bonnie Bolden - 07/19/24 4:27 PM ET

FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. Civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Monday, June 24, challenging Louisiana’s new law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The state of Louisiana has agreed to hold off on posting new Ten Commandments posters in classrooms until court hearings can be held. A group of parents has filed a federal court case to stop the move.

After a status conference on Wednesday, it was agreed that the posters wouldn’t be placed in classrooms and Louisiana Superintendent Cade Brumley and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education won’t offer advice, rules, or regulations about the state law until Nov. 15.

U.S. Judge John W. deGravelles issued an order this week asking all parties in the suit to agree on an implementation date for the law. He suggested a Nov. 15 date, which would allow a hearing on Sept. 30. The notice that both sides agreed was issued Friday.

“The law is not ‘paused,’ ‘blocked,’ or ‘halted.’ At the district court’s request, the named defendants in Roake v. Brumley agreed to not take public-facing compliance measures until November 15 to allow sufficient time for briefing, oral argument, and a decision. Specifically, the five defendant school boards and the defendant individuals agreed not to post the Ten Commandments in public schools or promulgate related advice, rules, or regulations before November 15. But they and all other Louisiana schools remain subject to the law and its January 2025 compliance deadline. So once again – the law is not ‘paused,’ ‘blocked,’ or ‘halted.'”
Lester Duhé, press secretary for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murill

Earlier this year, the Louisiana Legislature approved a new law that will require all classrooms to hang a poster of the Ten Commandments in large, legible print.

Religious leaders across the state oppose the move, and a group of parents of public school students has sued to prevent the posters from being hung in schools, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

At the Republican National Convention on Thursday, Gov. Jeff Landry (R) defended using taxpayer dollars to defend the law in court, arguing it will benefit students and society. He said the Ten Commandments hanging in the classroom of Thomas Matthew Crooks might have kept the man from shooting at former President Trump.

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