A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of a new Arkansas law that would have required public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries, ruling the measure as “plainly unconstitutional.”
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued the ruling on August 4, just one day before Arkansas Act 573 was set to take effect. The law would have compelled schools across the state to prominently post framed copies of the Ten Commandments, a move that sparked widespread opposition from civil rights organizations and multifaith families.
In his decision, Judge Brooks wrote that the mandated display would violate both the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment — which prohibits government endorsement of religion — and individuals’ rights to the free exercise of religion.
Brooks referenced a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a similar law in Kentucky, stating that the Arkansas statute closely resembled the earlier unconstitutional measure. “Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law?” Brooks asked in his opinion. “Most likely because the State is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms.”
The judge further suggested that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings favoring religious expression in public settings may be encouraging states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas to pursue similar policies.
The legal challenge was brought by several civil liberties organizations, including Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the national ACLU, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The plaintiffs include a group of multifaith families with children enrolled in Arkansas public schools.
Defendants in the case include the Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, and Siloam Springs school districts. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined the case as an intervenor, seeking to defend the law despite not being named in the original suit.
Following the court’s decision, Attorney General Griffin told Axios he was “reviewing the court’s order and assessing our legal options.” Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders also criticized the ruling, defending the law as consistent with Arkansas values.
“In Arkansas, we do in fact believe that murder is wrong and stealing is bad,” Sanders said. “It is entirely appropriate to display the Ten Commandments – the basis of all Western law and morality – as a reminder to students, state employees and every Arkansan who enters a government building.”
The case marks a significant moment in the ongoing national debate over the role of religion in public education and the constitutional limits set by the First Amendment.