The Ten Commandments are required to be displayed in all Louisiana public school classrooms, after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a house bill into law on Wednesday.
The law stipulates that a poster-sized image of the biblical text, including “large, easily readable font,” must be present in every classroom that is the recipient of state funding, from elementary schools to universities, CNN reported.
Louisiana became the first U.S. state to require the text be shown in public school classrooms, and the law is expected to be challenged by multiple civil rights groups.
Critics of the bill argue that it contradicts the idea of separation between church and state, which is established in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” the document states.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have all promised to challenge the law in court.
“Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools,” the groups stated in a joint release.
Landry called the new legislation “one of (his) favorites,” adding, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original law given which was Moses … He got his commandments from God.”
Others who support the law point to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which ruled that a high school football coach was allowed to pray on the field and could not be disciplined by a local school district.
Legal experts argue the decision lowered the barrier between church and state, potentially allowing for more religious expression in public spaces.