A federal judge has permanently blocked an Arkansas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, ruling the mandate unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks issued the ruling permanently enjoining six school districts from enforcing Act 573 of 2025. a state law that required public schools to “prominently” display a “historical representation” of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.
The six school districts affected are Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, Lakeside, Siloam Springs, and Springdale.
The case, Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, was brought by a group of 10 multifaith and nonreligious Arkansas families. They argued the law violated their First Amendment rights by imposing a government-chosen, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments , derived from the King James Bible, on students in taxpayer-funded schools.
In his 26-page ruling, Brooks wrote that the law’s only purpose was to display a sacred religious text in a prominent place in every classroom. “The only reason to display a sacred, religious text in every classroom is to proselytize to children,” he wrote. “The State has said the quiet part out loud.”
Brooks, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, also rejected the state’s argument that the displays were passive because students weren’t required to read them. He noted that students cannot avoid the displays over 13 years of compulsory schooling.
“Nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments — with or without historical context — in a calculus, chemistry, French, or woodworking class, to name a few,” Brooks wrote.
Plaintiff Samantha Stinson, who brought the case along with her husband, Jonathan Stinson, welcomed the decision. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she said: “Act 573 is a direct infringement of our religious-freedom rights, and we’re pleased that the court ruled in our favor. The version of the Ten Commandments mandated by Act 573 conflicts with our family’s Jewish tenets and practice, and our belief that our children should receive their religious instruction at home and within our faith community, not from government officials.”
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed the Ten Commandments legislation into law last year, pushed back against the ruling. “In Arkansas, we do in fact believe that murder is wrong and stealing is bad,” she said in a statement. “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, and I look forward to appealing this suit and defending our state’s values.”
Jeff LeMaster, a spokesperson for Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin, confirmed the state plans to fight the ruling.
Similar laws in Texas and Louisiana have also faced legal challenges. The U.S. 5th Circuit of Appeals heard arguments in the Texas case in January 2026, and in February 2026 vacated a court order that had blocked Louisiana’s law. Arkansas’ case would be appealed to the U.S. 8th Circuit of Appeals.
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