In a letter sent today to public school districts across Louisiana, four civil rights organizations–the ACLU of Louisiana, ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation–warned superintendents about misleading guidance issued last week by Attorney General Liz Murrill in which she encourages school districts to implement H.B. 71, an unconstitutional state law that purports to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Reminding superintendents that a federal district court held in Rev. Roake v. Brumley that H.B. 71 is unconstitutional in all possible applications, the letter reveals that the AG’s guidance provides sample posters to schools that are nearly identical to sample posters already included and rejected in the Roake litigation. As the district court explained, “regardless of what iterations of the displays AG Defendants are able to conjure up for purposes of their briefing, the fundamental requirements of the Act mandate that the displays occur in a specific time, place, and manner that contravene the First Amendment.” As a result, the district court enjoined the Roake defendants from enforcing or implementing the statute.
The letter also rebuts the AG’s assertion that all school boards, except for the five school-board defendants in Roake, must comply with H.B. 71, noting that all school districts—even if they are not party to the ongoing lawsuit and technically not subject to the district court’s injunction—have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights. As the letter explains, and as the AG has acknowledged, some school districts have already stated that they will delay implementation of H.B. 71 until the legal proceedings in Roake are resolved. The organizations urged all school districts to take the same approach, noting that appellate oral argument is scheduled for January 23, 2025, in the Roake case.
Today’s letter follows an initial letter sent by the same four organizations last month warning superintendents against implementing H.B. 71. In June of 2024, the organizations filed Roake on behalf of a multifaith group of nine families with children in Louisiana’s public schools, asserting that H.B. 71 violates the First Amendment’s religious-freedom protections.
The groups issued the following statement regarding today’s letter:
The AG’s guidance is grossly misleading and schools that follow it will be playing with fire. School districts should refrain from implementing H.B. 71 at this time and reject the AG’s invitation to go against a federal district court ruling. It is the only responsible and lawful course of action to ensure that students’ and families’ constitutional rights remain protected.
Although the Roake ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, it remains in full force and effect while the appeal proceeds, after the appellate court rejected a request by the defendants to temporarily suspend the lower court’s injunction.
