Arkansas Ten Commandments law is ‘obviously unconstitutional’
A federal court has issued a second preliminary injunction blocking Arkansas’s Act 573, the law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
The ruling Sept. 10 by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks extends protections to families in the Conway School District, where the district placed Ten Commandments posters in classrooms even though the court had already made clear that Act 573 is unconstitutional. FFRF is representing the plaintiffs in the case as part of a coalition.
“We welcome the court’s injunction, which further protects the rights of students,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The judiciary is affirming the secular underpinnings of the U.S. Constitution.”
In issuing the temporary restraining order forcing removal, the court pointed to its Aug. 4 ruling in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 that Act 573 is “obviously unconstitutional.” On Aug. 5, the plaintiffs’ attorneys sent letters to every school superintendent in Arkansas, notifying them of the federal court’s ruling and warning districts not to implement Act 573.
Despite the court’s ruling and the letter from the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Conway School District placed Act 573 displays in all classrooms before the first day of school on Aug. 18, prompting swift legal action from families represented by FFRF, American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
“This decision is another important victory for Arkansas families and for the Constitution,” says John Williams, legal director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “The court saw through the state’s attempt to justify this unconstitutional law and reaffirmed that students have the right to attend public schools free from government-imposed religion. We are proud to stand with our clients and will continue fighting to ensure every child’s rights are protected.”
“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” says Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel at the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “This ruling affirms that school districts may not flout the First Amendment by posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.”
“All Arkansas public school districts should heed the court’s clear warning: Displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is ‘obviously unconstitutional,’” says Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Families in Conway School District, throughout Arkansas, and across the country get to decide how and when their children engage with religion — not politicians or public-school officials.”
“This latest decision underscores the duty of public schools to protect the constitutional rights of every student,” says Jon Youngwood, global co-chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher. “By issuing a second preliminary injunction prohibiting schools in the Conway School District from displaying the Ten Commandments, the ruling reinforces a fundamental truth: the First Amendment safeguards the rights of individuals to choose whether and how they engage with religion, and that protection extends to every classroom.”
Families in other districts who encounter Ten Commandments displays in classrooms are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Arkansas at acluarkansas.org/get-help. All public schools have a constitutional obligation to respect students’ and families’ First Amendment rights.
