Louisiana's Plan for Ten Commandments in Schools on Pause

Louisiana's plan to make all of the state's public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments next year remains on hold under an order Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state request to temporarily stay an earlier order by US District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge while litigation continues. Arguments before a 5th Circuit panel are scheduled for Jan. 23, meaning the judge's order stays in effect well past the law's Jan. 1 deadline to post the commandments, per the AP. The state contends that deGravelles' order affects only the five school districts that are defendants in a legal challenge. But it's unclear whether or how the law would be enforced in the state's 67 other districts while the appeal progresses.

Also, deGravelles ordered that all schools in every district be notified of his decision that the law is unconstitutional, a requirement maintained by Wednesday's ruling. "We're pleased that the Court of Appeals left the district court's injunction fully intact," said Sam Grover, an attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. State Attorney General Liz Murrill said that her office would "continue to defend this clearly constitutional law." DeGravelles ruled that the law, passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature, was "overtly religious" and "unconstitutional on its face." He also said it amounted to unconstitutional religious government coercion of students, who are legally required to attend school.

Louisiana's legislation, which applies to all public K-12 schools and state-funded university classrooms, requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents to sue. They argue the law violates the First Amendment's provisions forbidding the government from establishing a religion or blocking the free exercise of it. Proponents say the Ten Commandments aren't solely religious and have a historical significance to the foundation of US law. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law was unconstitutional, finding that it had a plainly religious purpose and no secular one. More here.

(More Ten Commandments stories.)