Judge blocks Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms

WASHINGTON — Louisiana's new law requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments was temporarily blocked on Tuesday by a judge who called it "unconstitutional on its face and in all applications."

A multi-faith group of Louisiana families with children in public schools sued the state to challenge the law, HB 71, which mandates that public schools -- from kindergarten to the collegiate level -- display the religious text in every classroom on "a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches."

The lawsuit argues that requiring poster-sized displays of religious doctrine in classrooms violates the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights and the separation of church and state.

The suit further argues that the law violates a U.S. Supreme Court precedent, pointing to the Stone v. Graham case in which the court overturned a similar 1980 Kentucky law, holding that the separation of church and state bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Supporters of the law say the Ten Commandments have historical significance to the foundation of U.S. history and are not just a religious text.

In July, both parties agreed that the Ten Commandments would not be posted in any public school classroom and that defendants -- including the state's Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education -- would not publicly move forward on the law's implementation until the court's decision in November.

The legislation is one of several recent conservative-backed efforts to incorporate Christianity or religion into the classroom across the country.

In June, Oklahoma's state superintendent ordered educators to incorporate the Bible into their lessons, an order that is also in the midst of a legal battle.

Florida also recently passed a policy which allowed volunteer religious chaplains to serve as student counselors. The ACLU has expressed "grave concerns" over Florida's policy but legal challenges have yet to be filed in that matter.

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