Ten Commandments Ten Commandments
A 42-year-old Ten Commandments sculpture is on display in front of city hall June 27, 2001 in Grand Junction, CO. The sculpture became a target of controversy betweem the ACLU and the Christian Coalition''s American Center for Law and Justice when the ACLU began a legal offensive aimed at removing displays of the Ten Commandments from city halls and other civic buildings throughout the United States. Michael Smith/Getty Images

Louisiana's public colleges and universities have begun posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms after the state's contentious HB71 law, which mandates the displays across all public education levels, cleared its final legal hurdles earlier this year.

HB71, passed by lawmakers in 2024 and signed by Governor Jeff Landry, requires every public classroom from kindergarten through the collegiate level to display a poster or framed document of the Ten Commandments.

The law makes Louisiana the first state to mandate such religious text in all public schools and college classrooms, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Implementation had been delayed by court challenges but is now moving forward following a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

According to the statute, the Ten Commandments must be the "central focus" of the display, printed in a large, easily readable font on material at least 11 inches by 14 inches in size.

The posters may also include a four-paragraph context statement describing the historical role of the Ten Commandments in American public education. Displays are to be funded through private donations, and the law does not appropriate state money for printing or installing the posters.

The mandate applies to classrooms in public colleges and universities as well as elementary and secondary schools, meaning higher education campuses are now updating walls alongside K–12 districts, ABC News reported.

Guidance circulated to school systems instructs administrators to select from approved poster designs and place them on walls where students can easily see them, but not directly behind the instructor's usual teaching position.

Some districts that had previously held off due to the injunction have been told they must now "immediately" post the donated materials to comply with HB71.

Civil liberties organizations, including the ACLU and allied groups, argue that HB71 violates the Establishment Clause and have pursued litigation challenging the law.

A district court initially agreed, issuing a preliminary injunction in 2024 that blocked enforcement before the semester-wide rollout.

The Fifth Circuit's more recent rulings, however, have lifted that injunction, allowing Louisiana's colleges and other public schools to proceed with the law's requirements as legal challenges continue in the federal courts, as per BJC Online.