Lawsuit filed to halt Arkansas law putting 10 Commandments in classrooms
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A lawsuit filed on Wednesday seeks to halt the Arkansas law requiring the 10 Commandments in Arkansas classrooms.
Act 573 of 2025 required the Commandment and the motto 'In God we trust' to be in each elementary and secondary school classroom. The bill received broad support in both chambers, with a 27-4 vote in the Senate and a 71-20 vote in the House.
Ten Commandments, 'In God We Trust' in classrooms is now Arkansas law
Funding for the displays must be acquired through private donations, as mandated by law, which also details the specific wording and size of the display.
The law's requirements mean that students 'will be forcibly subjected to scriptural dictates, day in and day out,' the lawsuit states, adding that doing so violates the prohibition against public schools imposing religious doctrine.
The law 'unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture,' the suit states. 'It 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.'
Central Arkansas schools prepare for laws going into effect next year
The suit also notes that a similar law passed in Louisiana in 2024 was subsequently overturned.
The suit was filed in the Western District of Arkansas on behalf of six northwest Arkansas families with school-aged children, as well as four northwest Arkansas school districts. The suit states that the families who are atheist, Jewish, Unitarian Universalists, Humanists, agnostic and a household led by an atheist who is a former Mormon are being forced to observe religious doctrine they do not subscribe to or wish to force on their children.
The suit claims Act 573 violates the First Amendment's establishment and free exercise clauses. Plaintiffs request a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect before the court case is completed.
Arkansas legislature bills filed Tuesday include changes to the Arkansas Constitution, water bonds, human trafficking, more
Act 573 is scheduled to take effect on Aug. 5.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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