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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Seven families filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a new state law that will require public school classrooms to post copies of the Ten Commandments, saying it will violate their constitutional rights.
"Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library—rendering them unavoidable—unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture," the lawsuit said.
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Why It Matters
The lawsuit challenges a measure that Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law earlier this year, similar to one that was enacted by Louisiana but blocked by a federal judge before it took effect and another that is advancing in Texas.
The Arkansas law, which requires the Ten Commandments to be prominently displayed in public school classrooms and libraries, takes effect in August.
What To Know
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the families by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
The families, who are Jewish, Unitarian Universalist or non-religious, allege in their complaint that the law violates longstanding Supreme Court precedent and their First Amendment rights.
The law "also sends the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments—or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that Act 573 requires schools to display—do not belong in their own school community and pressures them to refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state's religious preferences," the complaint said.
Their complaint also says that in the Supreme Court's 1980 decision in Stone v. Graham, the court "struck down a Kentucky law mandating classroom displays of the Ten Commandments, holding that such displays would unconstitutionally 'induce [ ] schoolchildren to read, mediate upon, perhaps to venerate and objet, the Commandments.'"
The lawsuit names four school districts in northwest Arkansas—Fayetteville, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and Springdale—as defendants.
A spokesperson for Fayetteville Public Schools told Newsweek that the district "does not comment on pending litigation, as a matter of practice. However, it appears after reviewing the court filing, that the lawsuit aims to challenge the constitutionality of a new Arkansas law that will take effect in August rather than challenging any action taken by Fayetteville Public Schools or any other named school district."
A spokesperson for the Springdale School District said it would not comment on pending litigation. Newsweek has contacted the other districts for comment via email.
What People Are Saying
Samantha Stinson, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement: "As American Jews, my husband and I deeply value the ability to raise our children in our faith, without interference from the government.
"By imposing a Christian-centric translation of the Ten Commandments on our children for nearly every hour of every day of their public-school education, this law will infringe on our rights as parents and create an unwelcoming and religiously coercive school environment for our children."
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said: "Our Constitution's guarantee of church-state separation means that families – not politicians – get to decide if, when and how public-school children engage with religion.
"This law is part of the nationwide Christian Nationalist scheme to win favor for one set of religious views over all others and nonreligion – in a country that promises religious freedom. Not on our watch. We're proud to defend the religious freedom of Arkansas schoolchildren and their families."
John Williams, legal director for the ACLU of Arkansas, said: "The right to decide which religious beliefs, if any, to follow belongs to families and faith communities, not the government. We will not allow Arkansas politicians to misuse our public schools to impose scripture on children."
What's Next
The plaintiffs also plan to file a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect while the lawsuit is pending.
Update 6/12/25, 10:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add a revised statement from Fayetteville Public Schools.
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