Thou Shall Not Compel Speech: Public Educators’ Free Speech Rights in the Face of Louisiana’s “Ten Commandments” Law and Other Rules Compelling Private Expression from Public School Teachers

Authors

• Kailey A. Olsson

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466.html

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

First Amendment jurisprudence has significantly evolved within the past decade as the Supreme Court has expanded religious protections, further developed the Compelled-Speech Doctrine, and narrowed what public school activities are considered violations of the Establishment Clause.  There is no other U.S. Supreme Court case that illustrates these monumental shifts in First Amendment interpretation quite like Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.  Writing for the majority, Justice Gorsuch found that a public school district could not suppress the personal religious expression of a football coach, even when that coach led a prayer activity with other football players and within view of other students.  The holding in Kennedy broaches critical questions about the State’s ability to restrict—or compel—a teacher’s religious expression.

Following the “declawing” of the Establishment Clause by Kennedy, states and public-school districts across the nation have been particularly empowered to pass legislation and institute policies that, for example, require the academic instruction of religious materials, allow religious chaplains into public schools, and order the display of religious materials in public school classrooms.  On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed Louisiana House Bill 71, which requires the display of the Ten Commandments in all public-school classrooms in Louisiana, into law.  The law has already elicited Establishment Clause challenges from students and parents alike.  Nevertheless, this Louisiana legislation also raises another legal question: can a state government compel a public educator to display a religious text in their classroom, even when that public educator wishes to refrain from such religious expression?  This Comment argues that Louisiana House Bill 71, now enshrined as La. Stat. Ann. § 17:2124 (2024), unconstitutionally compels religious expression from public educators by requiring them to display an unequivocally religious text on their classroom walls.  This Comment will examine the past and present of First Amendment jurisprudence, specifically the Free Speech Clause, the Government Speech Doctrine as it applies to public educators, and the Compelled Speech Clause.  After establishing that La. Stat. Ann. § 17:2124 unconstitutionally compels personal religious expression from Louisiana public educators, this Comment will propose a framework for analyzing compelled-speech objections from public educators to legislation, rules, and policies that compel personal expression from educators.

Recommended Citation

Kailey A. Olsson, Thou Shall Not Compel Speech: Public Educators’ Free Speech Rights in the Face of Louisiana’s “Ten Commandments” Law and Other Rules Compelling Private Expression from Public School Teachers, 63 San Diego L. Rev. 99 (2026).
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol63/iss1/4