Louisiana Ten Commandments Classroom Requirement Funding, Imposed Issues

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Even though a legal challenge is already underway over a new Louisiana law that requires Ten Commandments to be displayed In classrooms, the details of how the mandate will be implemented and enforced remain unclear.

Across the country there have been conservative pressures to incorporate religion into classroomsof Florida legislation that allows school districts to have volunteer chaplains to counsel students to Oklahoma’s top education official ordering public schools incorporate the Bible into classes.

In Louisiana, the logistics of the new law are still unclear.

Unless a court suspends legislation, schools have just over five months until they are required to display the poster-sized Ten Commandments in every classroom in public K-12 schools and state-funded universities. But it is unclear whether the new law has the strength to enforce the requirement and penalize those who refuse to comply.

Supporters of the law say donations will pay for the thousands of signs needed, while critics argue the law is an unfunded mandate that could overwhelm schools. And teachers at some schools have said they are unlikely to hang the signs, including in the blue city of New Orleans, where residents and officials have a history of resisting conservative policies.

Louisiana has more than 1,300 public schools. Louisiana State University has nearly 1,000 classrooms on its main campus in Baton Rouge alone and on seven other campuses across the state. This means that thousands of posters will be needed to comply with the new law.

The Louisiana Department of Education is required by the new law to identify and post on its website resources that can provide the posters for free.

Lawmakers supporting the bill said during debate in May that the posters or the funds to print them will likely be donated to schools in this deep Bible Belt state. National praise for the law from conservative groups and figures, including, most recently, former president Donald Trumpcould result in external financial support for the mandate.

The Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian organization, has already created a page on its website for donations that “will be used specifically for the purpose of producing and distributing displays of the ’10 Commandments’ to educational institutions throughout Louisiana.”

But the question of what happens if a school doesn’t receive enough donations has remained unclear for months.

“This way, schools have the possibility of raising funds or they (the posters) can be donated. But what if you can’t raise funds or find a donor?” State Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who voted against the bill, asked during debate on the legislation last month.

“I don’t know what happens then,” responded state Sen. Adam Bass, a Republican who co-authored the law.

The Associated Press contacted several co-authors of the bill, including Bass and the offices of Attorney General Liz Murrill, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, but did not received answers to questions about financing.

Lawmakers supporting the bill were adamant during the debate that the law is clear that donations would be used to obtain the signs. Others suggest that the law’s language may still allow for the purchase of displays through public funds.

“Louisiana law does not appear to prohibit the use of public funds to pay for Ten Commandments displays. Such use of taxpayer money would only exacerbate this egregious constitutional violation,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which opposes the law.

The bill says it “shall not require” a public school governing authority to spend its funds on purchasing displays. Instead, “to fund the displays free of charge, the public school governing authority must” accept donated funds to purchase the displays or accept donated displays.

Even with enough donations, opponents say the state is still spending money and resources to defend a lawsuit over a requirement they consider unconstitutional.

But supporters say it’s a battle they’re willing to fight.

Louisiana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Chris Dier said he does not plan to post the Ten Commandments in his classroom.

“I don’t believe in doing something that is unconstitutional and harmful to students,” said Dier, who teaches at a New Orleans high school.

It is unclear whether noncompliance will result in punishment, as the language of the law does not list any repercussions. While the law specifies that the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopt “rules and regulations” to ensure “proper implementation” of the mandate, enforcement could fall to parish school boards or local school districts.

A similar law passed last year mandates that “In God We Trust” be displayed in classrooms. Enforcement and penalties for noncompliance with this law are determined by local education agencies, said Kevin Calbert, spokesman for the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The AP emailed 55 members of parochial school boards across the state, including rural and urban parishes in Republican-dominated and Democratic-leaning areas, to ask if they support the law and how they plan to enforce it. Two responded, saying they support the mandate.

Carlos Luis Zervigon, vice president of the Orleans Parish School Board, thought differently, describing it as “blatantly unconstitutional.”

“I haven’t heard any talk or interest in considering applying this,” the former history teacher said. “What my instinct would be is not to do anything unless I’m forced to.”

With schools closed and many school boards meeting less frequently in the summer, Zervigon said his board has not yet spoken about the requirement. However, if you are tasked with figuring out the implementation and enforcement of the mandate, you are likely to take a “wait and see attitude” until the court rules.

“I could see myself drafting a resolution that could say something to the effect of, ‘We will not enforce it until we have legal clarity about whether this is constitutional or not,’” he said.

However, if New Orleans takes the lead, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry “could exact retribution,” Zervigon said.

Landry, a Republican, Tried to punish New Orleans in the past after city officials expressed opposition to enforcing Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban.