Ten Commandments classroom displays put on hold while lawsuit is considered

A Ten Commandments sculpture is on display in front of city hall June 27, 2001 in Grand Junction, Colorado.(Michael Smith/Getty Images)

An agreement has been reached to temporarily stop Louisiana schools from placing the Ten Commandments in every classroom while a case from parents who oppose a new law requiring the displays works its way through court.

U.S. District Judge John DeGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District in Baton Rouge signed off on a compromise Friday between the parent plaintiffs and the state to keep the religious displays out of schools at least until Nov. 15. A new state law calls for the Ten Commandments to be in place by Jan. 1, 2025, in every K-12 public school classroom and at all colleges and universities that accept state money. Posters and framed images, which have to be at least 11-by-14 inches, could have started going up as soon as classes start next month.

According to the federal court docket, DeGravelles, who former President Barack Obama appointed to the federal bench, has set a Sept. 30 date as a hearing date on the lawsuit.

In the meantime, the agreement also prevents the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from fashioning any rules or guidelines regarding Ten Commandment displays at public schools until Nov. 15.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office is defending the state against the lawsuit that the parents of nine public school students have filed. In a text message, agency spokesman Lester Duhé stressed that the agreement does not reflect unfavorably on the new law.

“The law is not ‘paused,’ ‘blocked’ or ‘halted,’” Duhé wrote, in part. “At the district court’s requests, the named defendants … agreed not to take public-facing compliance measures until November 15 to allow sufficient time for briefing, oral argument, and a decision.”

In a subsequent text message, Murrill reiterated Duhé’s statement.

“The judge declined expediting the briefing schedule because nothing would have occurred that justified it,” Murrill added.

Gov. Jeff Landry has been a champion of the new law, most recently championing it in an interview with Nexstar Television at the Republican National Convention. He claimed the Ten Commandments would have stopped the attempted assassination attempt against former President Trump over the weekend.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the new law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it amounts to a state endorsement of religion.

Groups representing the plaintiffs include the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Their lawyers haven’t immediately responded to a request for comment.

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This is a developing story that will be updated.

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