Arkansas School District Responses to Ten Commandments Law Mixed

by Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate

Implementation of a new state law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms varies across Arkansas as some district superintendents await the results of a lawsuit challenging the legislation.

Act 573 of 2025 requires that “a durable poster or framed copy of a historical representation of the Ten Commandments” be “prominently” displayed in public school classrooms and libraries, public institutions of higher education, and public buildings and facilities maintained by taxpayer funds.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks blocked four Northwest Arkansas districts involved in the lawsuit — Bentonville, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Springdale — from enforcing Act 573 on Aug. 4, hours before the law was set to take effect.

Brooks also issued a temporary restraining order against the Conway School District Thursday and ordered Ten Commandments posters be removed from Conway schools by 5 p.m. Friday.

Judge orders Central Arkansas district to remove Ten Commandments displays

The Arkansas Advocate last week emailed the state’s public school districts to see whether any had received monetary or poster donations. According to the law, posters must be donated or purchased with funds through voluntary contributions. Displays that don’t meet specifications required by the law may be replaced with public funds or private donations.

Of the 45 districts (43 traditional and two charter school districts) not involved in the ongoing litigation that responded to the Advocate’s survey by Friday, 39 said they had not received donations and five said they had — Farmington, Harrison, Lafayette County, Omaha and Rogers.

The Batesville School District did not specify in its response whether the district had received donations, but communications coordinator Candace Morrow said the district was monitoring the ongoing litigation and guidance from the Arkansas Department of Education.

“Any future decisions will be made carefully, always with the best interests and safety of our students at the center,” Morrow said.

The Brookland School District had not received donations, according to superintendent George Kennedy, who noted building principals have reported parents asking about the displays. However, no offers to purchase the posters have been made, Kennedy said.

Superintendent Lee Smith said the Mena School District also hadn’t received funds, but was contacted by a local congregation, Cherry Hill Baptist Church, about doing so. The district is awaiting a decision by the court, he said.

“We will comply with the law when/if the court rules in favor of the law requirement and the funds are provided to us,” Smith wrote in an email.

The Harrison School District received 150 posters, but they have not yet been hung up, according to superintendent Stewart Pratt, who noted the district was in its third week of school. The task is on their to-do list, he said.

Meanwhile, the Lafayette County School District reported being in the process of hanging up its donated posters, and the Omaha School District was making preparations to do the same.

“We had our 10 Commandment posters donated this past week, and we are in the process of flattening them out, laminat[ing] them and then get em up!” superintendent John McCleary wrote in an email.

The Rogers School District reported receiving some donated posters while the Farmington School District reported receiving 210. Both Northwest Arkansas districts said they were awaiting further legal clarification about next steps.

“We have not hung any posters,” Farmington superintendent Jon Laffoon said in an email. “We are awaiting further clarity following the recent preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on August 4, as well as the Attorney General’s appeal.”

Legal proceedings

Seven families with religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed a federal lawsuit in June that argues the law is unconstitutional because it violates their religious freedom rights. Supporters of the legislation and lawyers for the state have argued the tenets are a historical document that influenced the country’s founders in the creation of the nation’s laws and legal system.

Brooks disagreed and issued a preliminary injunction in early August that blocked the law from being applied at the four Northwest Arkansas school districts named as defendants in the case.

On Aug. 22, Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a notice of appeal and plaintiffs’ attorneys asked the court’s permission to add the Conway School District as a defendant and two families from the district as plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit. The Conway School District hung Ten Commandments displays in its schools, according to court filings.

Christian groups, Arkansas lawmakers defend Ten Commandments law

Brooks granted permission to add the new parties to the case Wednesday. Attorneys filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on behalf of two Conway district families, which Brooks granted Thursday.

Following Brooks’ preliminary injunction on Aug. 4, the ACLU of Arkansas warned districts not to implement the law. Backers of the legislation responded by encouraging people to donate to the campaign to place Ten Commandments displays in schools. Some followed the latter’s advice in Pine Bluff where ministers donated posters to the local school district, according to The Pine Bluff Commercial.

The Fayetteville School District reported receiving hundreds of donated posters prior to Brooks’ injunction, according to court filings. A Springdale School District spokesperson told the Advocate last week that his district had not received any donations. A Siloam Springs District spokesperson said they don’t comment on pending litigation. Bentonville, the other district named in the original lawsuit, did not respond to the Advocate’s questions about donations by publication.

Laws similar to Arkansas’ are being challenged in neighboring states. A federal appeals court blocked a Louisiana law in June. Meanwhile, a federal judge temporarily blocked a Texas law from taking full effect in nearly a dozen districts in August.

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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.