Four leading secular organizations have warned district superintendents about misleading guidance that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued last week.
Murrill encouraged school districts to implement HB 71, an unconstitutional state law that requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the ACLU of Louisiana, ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are reminding superintendents that a federal district court held in their ongoing legal challenge, Rev. Roake v. Brumley, that HB 71 is unconstitutional in all possible applications.
The letter to school districts from FFRF and other groups suing on behalf of Louisiana parents documents that the attorney general’s guidance provides sample posters to schools that are nearly identical to sample posters already included and rejected by the court in the Roake litigation. As the district judge explained: “Regardless of what iterations of the displays AG defendants can 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 attorney general’s assertion that all school boards, except for the five school-board defendants in Roake, must comply with HB 71, explaining 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 rebuttal explains, and as the attorney general has acknowledged, some school districts have already stated that they will delay implementation of HB 71 until the legal proceedings in Roake are resolved. The state/church organizations urged all school districts to take the same approach, noting that appellate oral argument is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Today’s letter follows an initial letter sent by the same four organizations last month warning superintendents against implementing HB 71. In June 2024, the organizations filed the legal challenge of the Ten Commandments law on behalf of a multifaith group of nine families with children in Louisiana’s public schools, asserting that HB 71 violates the First Amendment’s religious freedom protections.
The groups issued the following statement regarding today’s letter: “The attorney general’s guidance is grossly misleading and schools that follow it will be playing with fire. School districts should refrain from implementing HB 71 at this time and reject the attorney general’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 5th U.S. Court of Appeals, it remains in full force and effect after the appellate court rejected the defendants’ request to temporarily suspend the lower court’s injunction while the appeal proceeds.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including members in Louisiana. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
