A federal court on Friday issued a temporary restraining order blocking Lakeside School District No. 9 from displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. This marks the third time the court has blocked school districts from implementing Arkansas’ Act 573, the law requiring schools to post a government-chosen version of the Ten Commandments.

The court previously stopped four Northwest Arkansas school districts from complying with Act 573 by posting Ten Commandments displays. The court later enjoined the Conway School District, requiring it to remove Ten Commandments displays that it had posted despite the earlier order.

Friday’s order, issued by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks, follows a supplemental complaint filed by the plaintiffs in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 — represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the ACLU of Arkansas, ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP — to add Lakeside School District and new plaintiffs to the ongoing litigation.

The court issued the temporary restraining order less than 24 hours after plaintiffs requested it. The court’s swift action requires Lakeside to remove all Ten Commandments displays from classrooms and libraries immediately, reaffirming that Act 573 and its enforcement violate the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious freedom and church-state separation.

“This order is yet another reminder that public schools cannot impose religion on students,” said John Williams, legal director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “Even after repeated rulings, the state continues to look the other way and some school districts continue to violate students’ rights. We’re proud to stand with Arkansas families defending their right to a public education free from government-sponsored religion and will continue to do so.”

“Today’s decision should make it abundantly clear to all Arkansas public schools that pushing bible edicts on a captive audience of students will not be tolerated,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“Today’s order ensures that our client, and all Lakeside students, will no longer be forced to submit to government-imposed scriptural displays as a condition of attending public school,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they must comply with the First Amendment.”

“All Arkansas public school districts should heed the court’s clear warning: Displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is ‘obviously unconstitutional,’” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Families in Lakeside School District, throughout Arkansas, and across the country decide how and when their children engage with religion – not politicians or public school officials.”

“We appreciate the court’s well-reasoned decision granting this temporary restraining order,” said Jon Youngwood, global co-chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher. “The ruling reaffirms a fundamental constitutional principle: that public schools should not advance or endorse any particular faith. Families — not the government—must have the freedom to decide how and when their children engage with religion.”

Families in Lakeside and across Arkansas who encounter Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms are encouraged to contact FFRF’s coalition partners at www.acluarkansas.org/get-help.

A copy of the court’s order can be found here.

Background

The lawsuit, Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, challenges provisions of Act 573 of 2025 mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in every Arkansas public school classroom and library. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.

Since the case was filed, the federal district court has issued multiple injunctions protecting students and families’ First Amendment rights — first against the original four districts (Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Siloam Springs), followed by Conway, and now Lakeside.

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