Arkansas Judge Rules Ten Commandments Law Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Arkansas ruled on Monday that a state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, issuing a permanent injunction against its enforcement in six school districts.

U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks, in a 26-page order from the Western District of Arkansas, declared Act 573 unconstitutional. The 2025 law mandated that every public elementary, secondary school classroom and library prominently display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments, at least 16 inches by 20 inches, in large, legible font. Brooks wrote that the law's purpose was solely to display a sacred religious text in every classroom, which he described as an effort to proselytize to children. "Nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments, with or without historical context, in a calculus, chemistry, French, or woodworking class, to name a few," Brooks stated. He added, "There is no need to strain our minds to imagine a constitutional display mandated by the 2025 law. One doesn't exist."

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed last June by seven families of various religious and...