Rights groups expressed outrage and promised legal action on Wednesday as Louisiana became the only state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public classrooms.
The law requires all public classrooms, from kindergarten to university-level, to display the commandments in "large, easily readable font" by the start of 2025. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 71 into law Wednesday after declaring recently that he "could not wait to be sued."
Rights groups immediately condemned the law and vowed to challenge it. In a joint statement, the national and state ACLU as well as the Freedom from Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State called the law "blatantly unconstitutional"—a violation of the separation of church and state.
The religious diversity of Louisiana schools must be respected, the groups said.
"Our public schools are not Sunday schools," the statement said, "and students of all faiths, or no faith, should feel welcome in them."
