House Bill 71

Last updated
House Bill 71
Seal of Louisiana.svg
The Great Seal of the State of Louisiana
Louisiana State Legislature
Citation H.B. 71
Enacted by Louisiana House of Representatives
Enacted by Louisiana State Senate
Signed byGovernor Jeff Landry
SignedJune 19, 2024
Effective January 1, 2025
Struck downNovember 12, 2024
First chamber: Louisiana House of Representatives
Bill citationHouse Bill No. 71
Introduced by Dodie Horton
Struck down by
United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
Summary
To enact R.S. 17:2122 and 3996(B)(82), relative to public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools; to provide for the display of certain historical documents; to provide for the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Ten Commandments; to provide for displays in each classroom; to provide relative to the use of donations or the acceptance of donated displays for this purpose; to provide for applicability; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for historical context; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
Status: Struck down

Louisiana House Bill 71 (H.B. 71), or Act 676, [1] was a law passed by the Louisiana State Legislature and signed by Governor Jeff Landry in June 2024 that directs schools to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Contents

On November 12, 2024, United States District Judge John W. deGravelles ruled House Bill 71 unconstitutional, arguing that it was "coercive to students" who "cannot opt out of viewing the Ten Commandments when they are displayed in every classroom, every day of the year, every year of their education". Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill stated that the state would appeal the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. [2]

Background

In its 1980 decision Stone v. Graham, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a Kentucky statute requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms across the state violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, noting that the Ten Commandments were not fully secular, and thus violated the separation of church and state. [3]

In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in Van Orden v. Perry that a display of the Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capitol was constitutional on the grounds that it was an acknowledgement of the secular history of religion in the United States. However, on the same day Van Orden was decided, the Supreme Court also ruled in McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union that displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public schools was unconstitutional, on the grounds that such display had the intent of promoting religion. [3]

Louisiana State Representative Dodie Horton introduced the bill to the Louisiana House of Representatives, describing the Ten Commandments as the basis of all laws. After passing the Committee on Education in a 10–3 vote, [4] the bill was signed into law by Louisiana governor Jeff Landry on June 19, 2024. [5]

Before the passage of House Bill 71, similar bills were introduced in other states, such as South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. [6] The passage of House Bill 71 follows other laws in Louisiana regulating education, including a law allowing chaplains to be employed by public schools, and a law requiring transgender students to be referred to using the pronouns aligned to their sex assigned at birth. [7] Horton herself, a Southern Baptist, has introduced other bills similarly requiring the display of text in classrooms, including a law in 2023 requiring the display of the national motto, "In God We Trust", in classrooms. [8]

Content

The law mandates that by January 1, 2025, all state-funded school classrooms in Louisiana must have "a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches" with a King James Bible version of the Ten Commandments as the display's "central focus", in a "large, easily readable font". [9] The display will also include a "context statement" explaining the Ten Commandments' role in American education and government. Additionally, the law allows for the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Declaration of Independence in conjunction with the Ten Commandments, but does not require their display. The law does not provide state funding for the posters, instead relying on donations. [10]

House Bill 71 faced numerous legal challenges before its enforcement in January 2025.

Roake v. Brumley

Immediately after the bill was signed, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced that they would be suing the state of Louisiana over the new law. [11] Indeed, on June 24, 2024, the groups, along with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, [12] filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana known as Roake vs. Brumley, [13] representing parents of Louisiana public school children against Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and five school boards, [14] seeking both a preliminary injunction and to declare the law unconstitutional. [15]

On November 12, 2024, United States District Judge John W. deGravelles ruled House Bill 71 unconstitutional, arguing that it was "coercive to students" who "cannot opt out of viewing the Ten Commandments when they are displayed in every classroom, every day of the year, every year of their education". [16] He reasoned that in requiring a religious text, as opposed to other important documents such as the Constitution or Bill of Rights, the bill was "overtly religious" and thus violated the First Amendment. [17]

According to Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, the ruling only applied to the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Tammany, Orleans and Vernon, whose school boards were named as defendants in the case, although deGravelles' ruling required Brumley and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to inform all other school boards as well. [17] Murrill also stated that the state would appeal the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. [2]

On November 15, the Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay motion from the state, limiting the ruling to the five parishes named as defendants in the case. [18] However, on November 20, it decided against temporarily lifting deGravelles' ruling pending appeal, keeping the lower court ruling in effect until the Court of Appeals decides the case. [19]

On September 23, 2024, Christopher Dier, the 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana challenging the law. [20] [21] [22]

Reactions

House Bill 71 has faced both praise and criticism since its passing.

Politicians

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, stated that he would pass a similar bill requiring the Ten Commandments in schools in the next legislative session, known as Senate Bill 1515. He criticized Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dade Phelan for failing to put the bill to a vote on the floor in the last legislative session on Twitter. [23] 2024 president-elect and former president of the United States Donald Trump similarly endorsed the law, both in a speech to evangelical Christians on June 22, 2024, as well as in a post on Truth Social. [24] [25] Speaker of the House Mike Johnson similarly endorsed the law, stating that he expected it to survive legal challenges. [26]

In response to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Governor Landry stated his belief that if the Ten Commandments were present in the assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks', classrooms, the shooting would not have occurred. [27]

Other politicians have criticized the legislation; in particular, Democratic Louisiana Senate member Royce Duplessis called the lawmakers supporting the legislation "hypocritical". [28]

See also

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<i>Roake v. Brumley</i>

Roake v. Brumley is a United States federal court case regarding Louisiana House Bill 71, which will require the Ten Commandments to be prominently displayed in all public classrooms in Louisiana. On November 12, 2024, it was ruled unconstitutional in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, but is in the process of being appealed.

References

  1. ↑ Bolden, Bonnie; Bruhl, Allison (12 November 2024). "Federal judge rules Louisiana law to put 10 Commandments in schools unconstitutional". KTALnews.com. KTAL-TV . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 Bellware, Kim. "Judge blocks Louisiana from requiring schools to display Ten Commandments". The Washington Post . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  3. 1 2 Dallas, Kelsey (20 June 2024). "Will Louisiana's Ten Commandments law hold up in court?". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Poche, Kaylee (4 April 2024). "Bill requiring 10 Commandments to be posted in Louisiana classrooms passes House committee". Gambit. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Stephanie Gallman, Dianne (19 June 2024). "Louisiana classrooms now required by law to display the Ten Commandments | CNN Politics". CNN. Cable News Network. Retrieved 21 June 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Saric, Ivana (21 June 2024). "Trump praises Louisiana displaying Ten Commandments in public schools". Axios. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  7. ↑ Rojas, Rick; Chen, David W.; Dias, Elizabeth (21 June 2024). "Louisiana's Ten Commandments Law Signals a Broader Christian Agenda". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Perez, Kate (3 August 2023). "Louisiana law requiring 'In God We Trust' to be displayed in classrooms goes into effect". USA TODAY. Gannett Satellite Information Network. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  9. ↑ Boorstein, Michelle; Paquette, Danielle (21 June 2024). "La.'s Ten Commandments law will test religion-friendly courts, experts say". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  10. ↑ Cline, Sara (24 June 2024). "Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms challenged in lawsuit". PBS News. NewsHour Productions. The Associated Press. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  11. ↑ Tait, Robert (20 June 2024). "ACLU sues Louisiana over requiring the display of Ten Commandments in public schools". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  12. ↑ Cline, Sara; McGill, Kevin (24 June 2024). "Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  13. ↑ Rubin, April (24 June 2024). "Civil rights groups file lawsuit over Louisiana Ten Commandments law". Axios. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  14. ↑ Bohannon, Molly (24 June 2024). "Louisiana Sued Over Ten Commandments Law". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  15. ↑ Robinson, Ian (24 June 2024). "Lawsuit challenges new Ten Commandment display law in Louisiana: What to know". Shreveport Times. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  16. ↑ Rojas, Rick (12 November 2024). "Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Classrooms". The New York Times . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  17. 1 2 Cline, Sara; McGill, Kevin (12 November 2024). "Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments". AP News . The Associated Press. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  18. ↑ McGill, Kevin (15 November 2024). "Court temporarily limits scope of ruling that Louisiana's Ten Commandments law is unconstitutional". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  19. ↑ Lee, Ella (20 November 2024). "Court maintains block on Louisiana Ten Commandments law". The Hill . Nexstar Media . Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  20. ↑ Wall, Patrick (22 October 2024). "Louisiana's 2020 Teacher of the Year sues state to stop Ten Commandments law". NOLA.com . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  21. ↑ Cline, Sara; McGill, Kevin (23 October 2024). "Louisiana's 2020 Teacher of the Year is trying to block the state's Ten Commandments lawLouisiana's 2020 Teacher of the Year is trying to block the state's Ten Commandments law". AP News . The Associated Press. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  22. ↑ "Dier v. Landry, 2:24-cv-02306 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  23. ↑ Tait, Robert (21 June 2024). "Texas Republican vows to pass bill on Ten Commandments in public schools". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Kate (21 June 2024). "Trump expresses support for displaying the Ten Commandments in schools | CNN Politics". CNN. Cable News Network. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  25. ↑ Price, Michelle L.; Alexander, Ayanna (22 June 2024). "Trump endorses Ten Commandments in schools, implores evangelical Christians to vote in November". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  26. ↑ Fortinsky, Sarah; Schnell, Mychael (26 June 2024). "Speaker Johnson backs Ten Commandments mandate in Louisiana". The Hill. Nexstar Media. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  27. ↑ LaRose, Greg (18 July 2024). "Landry says Ten Commandments could have stopped Trump's would-be assassin: report • Louisiana Illuminator". Louisiana Illuminator . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  28. ↑ Roesgen, Susan (21 June 2024). "Ten Commandments - in Arabic?". WGNO. Nexstar Media. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
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