Louisiana
AG’s suggestions: Thou should not post Ten Commandments near a Louisiana teacher’s desk
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana’s attorney general on Friday issued four suggestions on how public schools should display the Ten Commandments. One says the document shouldn’t be posted behind any teacher’s desk and another says it should be displayed with other historical documents.
Lawmakers last year directed that a copy of the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom, including those at colleges and universities, beginning Jan. 1. A federal judge in November struck the law down as unconstitutional.
The attorney general’s office has said the judge’s order applies only to five school districts named in a lawsuit challenging the law and that other districts can post the Ten Commandments without violating an order from U.S. District Judge John de Gravelles.
The judge’s order, however, directed the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state’s education secretary to tell all districts about his decision — not just districts covering students in East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon parishes.
“Defendants (Cade) Brumley and BESE Members shall be responsible for providing notice of this order and H.B. 71’s unconstitutionality to all Louisiana public elementary, secondary, and charter schools, and all public post-secondary education institutions,” he wrote.
The American Civil Liberties Union wrote to school districts statewide last month saying that while they were not named defendants in the lawsuit, they could be sued if they didn’t protect the constitutional rights of their students.
“Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, and therefore is not technically subject to the district court’s injunction, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights. Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public-school officials may not comply with H.B. 71,” it wrote.
Lester Duhe, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said state lawyers viewed the ACLU letter as giving tacit approval for posting the Ten Commandments.
“Even ACLU’s statement agrees non-parties can comply with the law,” he said this week.
In the guidance provided Friday, the attorney general’s office said that to avoid confusion about whether the display could be attributed to a teacher, “a school should place its displays on any classroom wall other than behind a teacher’s desk, podium or location from which a teacher ordinarily delivers instruction.”
It also said the Ten Commandments should be displayed “among others reflecting educational content, such as those displaying the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance.”
The other suggestions included using one of four sample displays of the Ten Commandments the attorney general’s office provided and ensuring it was large enough to be read.
A court hearing on the challenge to the law is scheduled for Jan. 23.
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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