Louisiana has become the first US state to mandate that every public school classroom, from elementary to university level, must display a poster of the Ten Commandments. Governor Jeff Landry signed the Republican-backed measure into law on Wednesday, citing the commandments as “the foundational documents of our state and national government.”

The new law is anticipated to face challenges from civil rights groups, who argue that it violates the separation of church and state as outlined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution, specifically the Establishment Clause. This clause states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

According to the state law, the poster must feature the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” on an 11 by 14-inch (28cm by 35.5cm) display, with the commandments being “the central focus.” Additionally, the posters will include a four-paragraph context statement explaining how the commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”

These posters must be displayed in all state-funded classrooms by 2025, though the state is not providing funding for the posters themselves.

Similar laws have been proposed in other Republican-led states, such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah. The display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings has been a contentious issue, leading to numerous legal battles. In 1980, the US Supreme Court struck down a similar Kentucky law that required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in elementary and high schools. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the law “had no secular legislative purpose” and was “plainly religious in nature,” noting that the commandments included references to religious practices such as worshiping God and observing the Sabbath day.

The implementation of Louisiana’s new law is expected to reignite debates over the role of religion in public education and the boundaries of the First Amendment.