Beginning of the Fight Dier is one of 15 people suing the state over the law Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed last June, which mandates that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all classrooms, including K-12 public schools and any college or university that accepts state dollars. That means science classes, math classes — even gyms.
Along with the Louisiana Ten Commandments law, and similar legislation Texas plans to file in 2025, there are laws like the one in Oklahoma, which was introduced last summer and mandates the Bible be taught in grades five through 12. The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, which is the architect of Project 2025, has been advising superintendents in states like Louisiana and Oklahoma on how to implement their plans.
Dier is the first educator to sue over the Louisiana law. His argument is that the state is requiring teachers to use classrooms as spaces of proselytization and coercion, pressuring him and his students to worship a state-sponsored religion. The ACLU along with nine families in Louisiana are also suing the government to stop it. They filed the first lawsuit immediately after the law was signed, arguing it will isolate students who don’t follow this specific Protestant version of the Ten Commandments.
This is one of the reasons I donate to The Satanic Temple. I really hope they pursue something like needing to display all religious texts in classrooms like their tenets.