Questions loom about how Louisiana will enforce new Ten Commandments law

It is unclear how Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms will be enforced.

The legislation did not list any repercussions for refusing to comply with the new law, prompting questions about how it will be enforced. The controversial law requires public school classrooms in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in each classroom on easily readable posters starting in 2025.

Chris Dier, Louisiana’s 2020 teacher of the year, told the Associated Press he does not plan to display the Ten Commandments in his classroom.

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

The law does specify that Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopt “rules and regulations” to ensure the “proper implementation” of the new rule, but it does not say who will carry out the enforcement, whether that be parish school boards or local school districts.

A similar Louisiana law that requires teachers to display the phrase “In God We Trust” in classrooms is enforced by local education agencies.

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

“What would be my instinct, is to do nothing, unless forced to do so,” he continued. Zervigon told the AP that his school board had not yet discussed enforcement of the law as it is now on summer break.

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

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the law as the group believes it is unconstitutional, going against previous rulings from the Supreme Court that protect the separation of church and state alongside parent’s rights to send their children to religious schools if they wish to do so.