Lawsuit Challenges Arkansas Ten Commandments Display Law in Public Schools

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – A coalition of left-leaning legal groups is attempting to block an Arkansas law that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, launching yet another challenge in the broader cultural war over America’s religious heritage.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, aims to halt the implementation of Act 573, a measure signed into law by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April. The law mandates that Arkansas public schools and state-funded buildings prominently display framed posters of both the Ten Commandments and the national motto, “In God We Trust.”

The groups argue the law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, calling the Ten Commandments a “sectarian religious document” and objecting to the law’s use of a “Protestant version” of the biblical text. Plaintiffs claim their children, some from non-Christian households, will be “pressured into religious observance” and feel alienated.

But supporters of the law say the complaints ignore the foundational role that Judeo-Christian values have played in shaping American civil society and law.

“This is a matter of historical literacy and moral clarity,” said Republican State Sen. Jim Dotson, who co-sponsored the bill. “The Ten Commandments are not just religious–they’re foundational principles for any civilized society. Telling students not to steal or kill shouldn’t be controversial.”

The legislation passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled legislature, with a 27-4 vote in the Senate and a 71-20 vote in the House.

Critics of the lawsuit argue that the push to remove the Ten Commandments from public view reflects a broader campaign by secular activists to erase America’s moral and spiritual foundations.

“Progressives want to keep God out of schools, yet they have no problem promoting radical ideologies that confuse kids about gender and undermine parental rights,” said one Arkansas parent who supports the law. “If we can put a rainbow flag in a classroom, why not the Ten Commandments?”

Under Act 573, the required displays must be funded through private donations, not taxpayer dollars. Public funds can only be used to replace noncompliant posters, allowing local communities and donors to voluntarily support the law’s implementation.

The lawsuit names four school districts — Fayetteville, Bentonville, Siloam Springs, and Springdale — though those districts have not yet acted on the law and declined to comment on pending litigation.

Governor Sanders, a vocal supporter of the law, has not commented on the lawsuit directly but has repeatedly emphasized the need to restore traditional values and moral grounding in public education.

The legal battle echoes similar disputes in other states. A nearly identical Louisiana law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge earlier this year. But some legal experts believe the current conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court may take a different view from the 1980 Stone v. Graham decision, which struck down a similar Kentucky law.

“This case could set the stage for a broader reckoning with decades of flawed precedent,” said a constitutional scholar affiliated with a conservative legal foundation. “The Founders never intended for the First Amendment to banish religion from public life. This lawsuit is just the latest attempt to do what courts shouldn’t — legislate values from the bench.”

The law is scheduled to take effect in August unless the plaintiffs succeed in their request for a preliminary injunction.

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