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On Monday, a federal judge declared an Arkansas law that would require schools to post the Ten Commandments unconstitutional.Act 573, filed by Sen. Jim Dotson, was written to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom and in every public building in the state.Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas found that the law was unconstitutional.”Act 573 violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause rights of Arkansans as a matter of law,” Brooks wrote in his judgment. “It would also violate Plaintiff’s rights under the Free Exercise Clause because Act 573 is denominationally preferential and would substantially burden parent-Plaintiffs’ right to direct their children’s religious upbringing. The lawsuitLast year, a group of parents in Northwest Arkansas filed a lawsuit challenging Act 573.The plaintiffs are two Jewish families, a Unitarian Universalist family, and nonreligious families. The Jewish families took issue with the translation and paraphrasing of the commandments. All the families believe the displays would pressure their children to limit their expression of their own faiths at school.Follow this link to read the complaint. What is Act 573?The law was signed into law in April 2025, during the 95th General Assembly of the Arkansas State Legislature.Act 573 requires school districts and government buildings to display Ten Commandments posters and to use donated funds to purchase the posters. The law states the posters must “include the text of the Ten Commandments in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the room in which the durable poster or framed copy is displayed.”It also specifies the text of the commandments. It is an unnumbered paraphrase of the King James Version translation of Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.Follow this link to read the law for yourself.A poster or framed copy of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” must also be posted.
On Monday, a federal judge declared an Arkansas law that would require schools to post the Ten Commandments unconstitutional.
Act 573, filed by Sen. Jim Dotson, was written to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom and in every public building in the state.
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Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas found that the law was unconstitutional.
“Act 573 violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause rights of Arkansans as a matter of law,” Brooks wrote in his judgment. “It would also violate Plaintiff’s rights under the Free Exercise Clause because Act 573 is denominationally preferential and would substantially burden parent-Plaintiffs’ right to direct their children’s religious upbringing.
The lawsuit
Last year, a group of parents in Northwest Arkansas filed a lawsuit challenging Act 573.
The plaintiffs are two Jewish families, a Unitarian Universalist family, and nonreligious families. The Jewish families took issue with the translation and paraphrasing of the commandments. All the families believe the displays would pressure their children to limit their expression of their own faiths at school.
Follow this link to read the complaint.
What is Act 573?
The law was signed into law in April 2025, during the 95th General Assembly of the Arkansas State Legislature.
Act 573 requires school districts and government buildings to display Ten Commandments posters and to use donated funds to purchase the posters.
The law states the posters must “include the text of the Ten Commandments in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the room in which the durable poster or framed copy is displayed.”
It also specifies the text of the commandments. It is an unnumbered paraphrase of the King James Version translation of Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.
Follow this link to read the law for yourself.
A poster or framed copy of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” must also be posted.
