Louisiana
In Louisiana's legal fight to post Ten Commandments in school, 'symbolism matters'
Should religion be in public schools? For a long time, the answer from the U.S. Supreme Court was no.
But in recent years, the court has blurred the sharp line between church and state in schools. Now, a Louisiana law has the potential to overturn decades of precedent.
The policy requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom in “large, easily readable font.” It’s drawn national controversy.
“I did not know that the Ten Commandments was such a bad way for someone to live their life,” said Gov. Jeff Landry “I believe that the legislature was only following the will of the people in the state.”
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled on the issue, saying states can’t put the religious document in schools.
After Louisiana’s law passed, Landry reportedly told a room of Republican donors he would sign it, adding “I can’t wait to be sued.”
A lawsuit from nine Louisiana families came quickly. The plaintiffs, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and non-religious, include parents who are pastors and reverends.
The state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill has asked a federal court to dismiss the case, arguing it was filed “prematurely,” since the law doesn’t take effect until January. The first hearing in the case will take place in Baton Rouge on Monday.
Over the summer, Landry and Murrill held a press conference to make their case.
The two stood at a podium flanked by large posters displaying the commandments along with references to the doctrine, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s rules for protestors and a song from the musical Hamilton. They argued the document isn’t strictly religious and has historic value.
“It shows how ubiquitous, how frequent the Ten Commandments comes up in our culture,” Murrill said.
For parents who don’t want the rules in their kid’s classroom, Landry said, “Just tell the child not to look at it.”
Landry has supported a number of laws that expand religion in public education, including one that allows public schools to hire chaplains. At the press conference, he said he was surprised by the blowback over the Ten Commandments.
“Really and truly, I don’t see what the whole big fuss is about,” he said.
Critics argue Louisiana’s law violates the First Amendment, which protects freedom of religion. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a nearly identical law more than 40 years ago.
The court said in Stone v. Graham that requiring schools in Kentucky to post the Ten Commandments “had no secular legislative purpose,” was “plainly religious in nature,” and unconstitutional.
The ACLU is challenging the law along with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religious Foundation. The firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is providing pro bono counsel. (Murrill said the state will handle its defense in house and doesn’t have a separate budget for the case.)
“The premise of the Constitution is that religion is something that is private and it succeeds best when the government just stays out of that conversation,” says Andrew Perry, a lawyer on the case with the ACLU of Louisiana.
Katherine Stewart, the author of “Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy,” has written several books on the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States. She says for supporters of Louisiana’s law, the goal is to change legal precedent.
“They think they can get the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling,” she says.
Stewart says it’s part of a movement to embed conservative Christian beliefs in government and other public institutions.
Louisiana’s legal argument relies on what’s known as a “history and tradition test,” Stewart says. The standard allows judges to argue the present can be disregarded in favor of the past.
The state’s law requires the Ten Commandments be displayed along with a statement saying the rules were “a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”
The Supreme Court has a conservative supermajority. If the justices throw out Stone v. Graham like they did with Roe v. Wade, that would open the door for dramatic change. In this case, for the role of religion in public schools to grow.
“The reason Christian nationalist leaders and activists are fighting for this is because they know symbolism matters,” Stewart says. “It matters because it suggests there is one group in society that is above all the rest.”
Robert Hogan studies state politics at LSU. He says elected officials in Louisiana are responding to people who want more religion in schools.
“They will tell you, ‘What’s wrong with schools? Well, they took prayer out of schools, right?’”
The state has a lot of conservative Christians. Hogan says while this law may not have been at the top of most voters’ priorities, the fact it easily passed the legislature — with votes from even some Democrats — shows it has public support.
So while Landry is playing to his base, Hogan says it’s also an opportunity for him to get attention nationally.
“Even if he loses on this, maybe even especially if he loses on this, he sends a signal that he’s willing to fight for these things and is willing to push the envelope in whatever way he can to achieve the aims of Christian conservatives,” he says.
Stewart says the goal of the Christian nationalist movement is to erode support for public schools so that more money can be directed to private institutions.
She says by dividing people over things like the Ten Commandments “reduces faith in public education overall among all groups. And that softens the ground for a wholesale assault.”
The Supreme Court has already opened a path to religious charter schools. Some states are sending more money to private schools through expanded vouchers.
Louisiana recently passed a universal program that, if fully funded, would give any family that sends their kid to private school, secular or religious, tuition money.
Landry insists the state’s new law has less to do with religion and more with morals. “Repeat this: That the people of Louisiana in a bipartisan measure spoke through this bill.”
The state’s law takes effect on Jan. 1, though the court has blocked the policy from being implemented until at least mid-November as the lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Julia Letlow and Jamie Davis will face off this fall for U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s seat after winning their respective party runoffs Saturday night.
Letlow won the Republican runoff over John Fleming with 57% of the vote, less than an hour after polls closed on June 27. Davis won the Democratic nomination in a landslide, securing 80% of the vote over Gary Crockett.
Letlow, Davis claim victories
“I’ll fight for our families, I’ll fight for our farmers. I’ll fight for our teachers. I will fight for our parents. I’ll fight for our law enforcement. I will fight for everyone in this room, and we are just getting started,” Letlow said.
Davis said the issues driving his campaign cross party lines.
“Everybody wants better healthcare. Everybody wants better education for their children. Everybody wants a leg up with affordability. And everybody wants the Constitution to be upheld. Those issues are nonpartisan. I don’t have to change nothing but keep working,” Davis said.
Low turnout, Trump endorsement shaped Republican race
Estimated turnout was about 18% of registered voters. Political analyst Jim Engster said the low turnout actually benefited Fleming, who captured 43% of the vote, but was not enough to overcome President Trump’s endorsement of Letlow.
“He really had the 8 ball against him when President Trump endorsed Julia Letlow. President Trump is Hercules of Republican politics, and he’s carried this state three times by about 60 percent of the votes each time,” Engster said.
Engster said the results reflect the broader political landscape in Louisiana.
“It says that it’s more of the same. We’re a Republican state, and until further notice, we vote red in major elections,” Engster said.
New closed primary system draws scrutiny
Saturday’s election was the first major cycle under Louisiana’s new closed party primary system, in which Democratic voters could only choose Democratic candidates and Republican voters could only choose Republican candidates.
Engster said the change had a significant impact on participation, pointing to Cassidy’s vote totals as an example.
“Bill Cassidy might very well have held onto his seat in an open primary. After all, in the last open primary, he got 1,228,000 votes. This time he got 99,000 votes, so that’s a big difference,” Engster said.
Engster said critics of the closed primary system will use the turnout figures to make their case.
“It’ll be a case in which those who are against the closed primary will make the case that ‘The open primary may have its flaws, but more people participate. And after all, that is what we want. We want more people voting in our elections,” Engster said.
Road to November 2026
History suggests Republicans hold the advantage heading into the general election. Engster noted that Louisiana’s last elected Democratic senator was Mary Landrieu in 2008.
“It would really be a political miracle for Jamie Davis to win. Those things happen, but right now it’s a long shot, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting for him to do and for the Democratic Party to do to try to make up the inherent gap that is evident in Louisiana politics,” Engster said.
Letlow and Davis will face off in the general election on November 3.
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WEST MONROE, La. (KNOE) – The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council announced the winners of the 40th Annual Northeast Louisiana Arts Awards during a ceremony held Thursday, June 25.
Winners in nine categories were revealed during the program, where top nominees in each category were also recognized. Members of the Arts Council, its board of directors, and invited guests joined friends and family in celebrating the honorees.
2026 Northeast Louisiana Arts Awards winners
- Edmund Williamson Visual Artist of the Year: Stacy Thomas Medaries
- Tommy Usery Performing Artist of the Year: The John L. Brown, Sr. Memorial Scholarship Band
- BART (Business Art) Award: Creative Exchange
- Volunteer of the Year: Jennifer Haynes
- Dorothy Bassett Emerging Artist of the Year: Jari Richardson
- Region 8 Arts Educator of the Year: Joni Dollar
- Region 8 Higher Education Arts Educator of the Year: Emily Ezell
- Literary Artist of the Year: Jamie Mayes
- Community Arts Impact Award: Dr. Alicia Jones
For more information on the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council and its programs, click here.
Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow and Jamie Davis, a row-crop farmer in Tensas Parish, won their party runoffs Saturday and will now face off for Bill Cassidy’s U.S. Senate seat in November.
Cassidy, one of seven Republican senators who voted to remove President Donald Trump from office after the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, came in third during the Republican primary in May.
Letlow, who received backing from both Trump and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, nearly won the primary outright with 45% of the vote. While heavily favored, Letlow lost ground in the runoff to Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, but still won with at least 57% of the vote.
The Associated Press called the race for Letlow shortly before 9 p.m.
“President Trump, thank you for encouraging me to get into this race, thank you for your endorsement, Louisiana loves you,” Letlow said in her victory speech. The second person she thanked was Landry. Trump later congratulated Letlow on Truth Social.
Davis captured 80% of the vote in the Democratic runoff over New Orleans businessman Gary Crockett. He led in every parish.
“ I’ve always been raised and trained that if you do the work, you should reap a harvest,” Davis said in his victory speech. “I didn’t know what the harvest was going to be, but I knew that we would reap a harvest, and it just happened to be a win to go to the United States Senate.”
Like Letlow, Davis almost captured enough votes in the May 16th primary to win with 47%. His initial runoff opponent, Nick Albares, ended his campaign in late May.
History will be made regardless of the outcome in November.
Davis’ victory Saturday made him the first Black U.S. Senate finalist in Louisiana since Reconstruction.
Letlow is the first Republican woman to represent Louisiana in the U.S. House. If she wins in November, she would be the second woman elected from Louisiana to the U.S. Senate and the first Republican. Democrat Mary Landrieu served in the Senate from 1997 until 2014.
A hotly contested Republican race
The biggest issue Letlow and Fleming, conservative Republicans, appeared to differ on was carbon sequestration: the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground.
Fleming completely opposes projects in the state, while Letlow said she trusts Gov. Jeff Landry to decide what’s best and support his moratorium on new permits.
“If a project is not safe, not transparent, and does not have local buy-in, it should not move forward,” Letlow said.
Fleming, who is MAGA-aligned, said his campaign relied on “grassroots support” and was endorsed by eight parish-level Republican committees and four regional assemblies.
“It’s been a tough year-and-a-half campaigning, but I asked for this,” Fleming said in his concession speech. “I felt that the Lord led me this way. It didn’t turn out as we had hoped, but that’s OK.
“This is a very healthy process, what we have in Democracy, where we battle it out, tough it out and hopefully we get the best.”
Letlow’s platform
Letlow’s political career began in 2020 after her husband, Luke, who had just been elected to the U.S. House, died from complications from COVID-19.
She ran for his seat in a special election, won and later used her platform to encourage people to get vaccinated against the infectious disease.
Letlow, a mother of two who worked in higher education administration before entering politics, has become an increasingly vocal supporter of Trump and of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic.
Her campaign received more than $1 million from the MAHA PAC, a political group affiliated with Kennedy.
Letlow said her proudest legislative accomplishment is a Parents’ Bill of Rights she passed in the House in 2023, which stalled in the Senate.
“The bill gives parents greater transparency into curriculum, school budgets, and what is happening in their children’s classrooms,” Letlow said. “It puts families back in charge and protects children from political agendas that don’t belong in schools.”
She said her top three priorities, if elected to the U.S. Senate, will be border security and public safety, growing Louisiana’s economy and education, including school choice and parents’ rights.
Davis’ platform
Davis, a former Tensas Parish Police Juror, is running on a platform of affordability, healthcare, opportunity and upholding voting rights.
He said he took it personally when Gov. Jeff Landry canceled the congressional race where mail-in ballots had already been cast. The Democratic candidate also attended legislative committee hearings to oppose the 5-1 Republican-favored congressional voting map that the legislature eventually passed and the governor signed into law for use in the November election.
“A national ban on gerrymandering is one of the top things for me, because we need to get past this power grab that’s happening all over the nation. It needs to end so that America can just focus on the issues and not power grabs,” said Davis.
The third-generation farmer said he’ll work toward a new Farm Bill with crop insurance reform.
“So farmers can just have the opportunity to grow a crop, be able to sell it on an open market for a fair price and be able to make an honest living,” said Davis.
The 55-year-old grandfather said he’ll defend Medicaid, strengthen rural hospitals at risk of closing, focus on lowering prescription drug costs and protect Social Security and Medicare and the subsidies that keep premiums affordable.
He also supports a woman’s right to choose when it comes to abortion.
On immigration, Davis said he’s in favor of securing the border but also wants to give immigrants a simple path to citizenship.
Davis has the endorsements of the Louisiana Democratic Party, Congressman Troy Carter, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, former opponent Nick Albares and Indivisible groups across the state.
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