Judge orders Central Arkansas district to remove Ten Commandments displays

The Ten Commandments are on display in a classroom in the Conway School District in August 2025 in adherence to a state law requiring the religious display in taxpayer-funded public buildings, including school classrooms. (Screenshot from court documents)

By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate

A federal judge Thursday evening ordered the Conway School District to remove Ten Commandments posters from classrooms and libraries, less than 24 hours after the district was added to a lawsuit challenging a state law requiring the displays.

Act 573 of 2025 requires public schools to “prominently display” a 16”x20” poster or framed copy of a “historical representation” of the Ten Commandments. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a preliminary injunction earlier this month that blocked enforcement of the law at four Northwest Arkansas school districts — Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale and Siloam Springs.

Seven multi-faith families who filed the lawsuit against the four districts in June allege the new law violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” and its Free Exercise Clause, which guarantees that “Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].”

Supporters of the law argue the Ten Commandments are a historical document because they influenced the nation’s founders and their creation of the country’s legal system.

Brooks granted a request from plaintiffs’ attorneys Wednesday to add the Conway School District as a defendant to the case and families from the district who allege they’ve been injured by the district hanging Ten Commandments displays in their children’s schools.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a supplemental complaint adding the new parties to the case Thursday and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on behalf of two Conway School District families. Brooks granted the temporary restraining order later on Thursday and held the request for a preliminary injunction in abeyance.

“Conway Plaintiffs are identically situated to the original Plaintiffs: They advance the same legal arguments, assert the same constitutional injuries, and request the same relief,” Brooks wrote.

School districts named in the lawsuit and Arkansas attorney general’s office, who intervened in the case, may submit briefs no later than Sept. 8 to address why the current preliminary injunction should not be modified to include the Conway School District, according to the order.

Brooks also temporarily enjoined the Conway School District from enforcing the law and directed the district to remove all the Ten Commandments posters by 5 p.m. Friday.

“Conway School District had every opportunity to do the right thing and respect families’ constitutional rights, but instead chose to defy a clear federal ruling,” ACLU of Arkansas Legal Director John Williams said in a statement. “The court has now made it crystal clear: forcing the Ten Commandments into public school classrooms is unconstitutional. We stand ready to defend the rights of every Arkansan against this kind of government overreach.”

The ACLU of Arkansas is representing the plaintiffs along with the national American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is serving as pro bono counsel.

“I am disappointed in the ruling but will continue to vigorously defend Act 573,” Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.