Arkansas school districts blocked from displaying Ten Commandments [View all]
Source: USA Today
March 16, 2026 Updated March 17, 2026, 5:46 p.m. ET
A federal judge has permanently blocked several Arkansas school districts from implementing a state law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
Citing a landmark 1962 U.S. Supreme Court opinion over prayer in public schools, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks ruled March 16 that the state "may have lost sight of the fact that 'a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion'" in passing Arkansas Act 573.
The displays would violate students' and parents’ First Amendment rights, he said. The First Amendment bars the government from "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
"The law serves no educational purpose, as the State admits, and consequently deprives Plaintiffs of their rights," Brooks wrote.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/03/16/arkansas-school-districts-ten-commandments-lawsuit/89188310007/
Link to ACLU Arkansas PRESS RELEASE - Court Permanently Blocks Arkansas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Every Public School Classroom and Library
Link to ORDER (PDF viewer) - https://www.acluarkansas.org/cases/stinson-v-fayetteville-school-district-no-1/?document=Order-Granting-Summary-Judgment#documents
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.acluarkansas.org/app/uploads/2025/06/188-Order-granting-summary-judgment-to-plaintiffs.pdf
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