Overview

• U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks granted a preliminary injunction late Monday to stop Act 573 from taking effect in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Springdale school districts.
• The law, signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, would have required a specific Protestant version of the Ten Commandments to be prominently displayed in all public school classrooms and libraries.
• Seven families represented by the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued, arguing the mandate violates the First Amendment.
• Brooks invoked the Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision to find the statute likely breaches the Establishment Clause and reflects a coordinated multi-state effort.
• Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is reviewing the court order and considering appeals, while similar mandates in Texas and Louisiana remain tied up in federal litigation.