Gov. Jeff Landry signed a new law requiring all Louisiana public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. (Bluepoint951)
On June 20, Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law requiring public schools in Louisiana to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
From elementary to post-secondary schools, all Louisiana public schools must display a poster similar to the “plainly constitutional” ones revealed by Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill on Aug. 5.
The duo revealed at least five different ideas for posters, including one titled “The House of Representatives and the Lawgivers,” featuring the Ten Commandments between a stone carving of “Moses the Lawgiver” and a photo of House Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana.
Another poster features former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg next to historical documents such as the 1689 English Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, as well as a quote from a school paper that she wrote about the United Nations Charter when she was 13.
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Other potential posters include images and quotes from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda and former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.
Ginsburg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, wrote an email to Rolling Stone Magazine regarding Ginsburg’s misquotation on the posters. “The use of my grandmother’s image in Louisiana’s unconstitutional effort to display the Ten Commandments in public schools is misleading and an affront to her well-documented First Amendment jurisprudence,” she said.
The posters served to “illustrate that there are constitutional ways to apply this law,” Murrill said.
There is some legal precedent to the Louisiana law. In the 1980 case of Stone v. Graham, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Kentucky. However, the 2005 Supreme Court case Van Orden v. Paryruled that a monument of the Ten Commandments could be placed in a public park.
While the bill passed easily through a Republican-controlled House, Senate and executive branch, the court immediately challenged the law. A coalition of groups filed a lawsuit, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and nine Louisiana families of different religious backgrounds. Within the nine families are four members of the clergy.
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“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom — rendering them unavoidable — unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the suit said.
“I think it’s a ridiculous invasion of religious and state crossover,” State Rep. Aimee Freeman, who represents Tulane’s district, said. “This country was founded on religious freedom, and I think it’s insulting and illegal.” Freeman voted against the bill.
Some Louisiana public schools that are defendants in the lawsuit will not have to post the Ten Commandments until at least Nov. 15, due to an agreement between the state and the federal court.
“Tell the child not to look at it,” Landry said at a news conference on Aug. 5. “Really and truly, I don’t see what the big fuss is about.”
A Louisiana babysitter was arrested after a toddler fell into a pool and drowned after being left underwater for 20 minutes, according to authorities.
Joann Johnson, 37, was charged with one count of negligent homicide on Wednesday after the 3-year-old boy died in her in-home daycare in Prairieville on May 18, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Joann Johnson, 37, was arrested after a toddler fell into a pool at her in-home daycare and drowned after being left underwater for 20 minutes. Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office
Two young children in Johnson’s care were playing in the backyard that afternoon, “without any safety wear,” when the 3-year-old fell into the pool and drowned, cops wrote in a statement.
The toddler was unconscious for a whopping 20 minutes before Johnson was seen on surveillance footage pulling him out of the water, police said.
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Emergency responders rushed to revive the boy with CPR, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Emergency responders rushed to revive the boy with CPR, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police filed an arrest warrant for Johnson following an investigation. The babysitter turned herself in on Wednesday and was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children 1-4 years old in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
RUSTON, La. (KNOE) – Louisiana Tech University’s College of Education and Human Sciences announced it has established a new Center for Literacy and Learning designed to expand evidence-based reading support for children and professional development for educators across North Louisiana.
The university’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership said the launch of the Center for Literacy and Learning at Louisiana Tech, also known as L3, will provide diagnostic assessments, tutoring and workshop opportunities, combining academic research with hands-on clinical practice.
“As literacy rates and reading achievement continue to present challenges across Louisiana and the nation, the Center for Literacy and Learning is rooted in supporting evidence-based instruction, applied research, and community partnerships,” said Dr. Dustin Whitlock, interim department head of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership.
Officials said planning for the center began more than a decade ago as faculty sought to expand literacy services for local schools and the surrounding community, but the effort faced delays due to space and funding challenges.
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University leaders said momentum increased after faculty partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education and literacy experts nationwide to create a professional learning course for Louisiana K-3 educators. The course, “The Science and Art of Teaching Reading,” focuses on structured literacy practices aligned with Science of Reading research. Louisiana Tech said funding connected to the course and the state education department helped make the center possible.
Megan Hunt, a teacher at A.E. Phillips Laboratory School, was selected to lead the center. Whitlock said Hunt brings a strong background in foundational literacy instruction and is working toward becoming a certified UFLI coach.
“Mrs. Hunt’s skill and expertise allow her to support both students and educators through high-quality literacy instruction and professional learning,” Whitlock said.
Hunt said the center is aimed at building long-term support for literacy instruction through collaboration with districts, families and community partners.
“Literacy affects all aspects of life and is ultimately how people access opportunity and how communities grow stronger,” Hunt said. “When children become proficient readers, it represents more than just academic progress; it changes the trajectory of their lives.”
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Local school leaders also praised the partnership. Michelle Thrower, K-2 facilitator for Lincoln Parish Schools, said professional development and resources connected to Louisiana Tech have supported literacy growth in the district.
“Our collaboration with Louisiana Tech has been a cornerstone of our success in elevating literacy proficiency across Lincoln Parish Schools,” Thrower said, citing DIBELS growth tied to the UFLI Foundations curriculum in K-2.
Louisiana Tech said the center will operate through three main components:
The Literacy Clinic
The Literacy Institute
The Literacy Resource Center.
The center is expected to provide individualized assessments, targeted intervention services, literacy workshops and educator professional development.
Officials said the components will be developed in phases over the next few years.
For more information, Louisiana Tech said the public can contact Dr. Dustin Whitlock at whitlock@latech.edu.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Louisiana was one of the few states chosen for a $134 million rare earth element initiative in a move that would give the U.S. more independence from China, Reuters reports.
ElementUSA has been awarded about $67 million for a rare earth refining facility projected to cost $850 million in St. John the Baptist Parish to ramp up its production of core material for military vehicles, naval ships and aircrafts.
Louisiana’s rare earth element initiatives are aimed at relocating the critical American minerals supply chain for electric vehicles, renewable energy and national defense. The minerals include bauxite residue, which is a waste product from aluminium production. The plant is expected to produce roughly 150-1,000 metric tons of rare earths annually.
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Oklahoma was also chosen to receive grant money for a refining facility in Tulsa.
