Overview

• U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks granted a preliminary injunction on August 4 that bars Bentonville, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Springdale districts from enforcing Act 573.
• Brooks ruled the law “plainly unconstitutional” under binding Supreme Court precedent that struck down nearly identical Ten Commandments mandates in public schools.
• Act 573, signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, required 16×20-inch posters of a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.
• Attorney General Tim Griffin said he is reviewing the ruling and assessing legal options, including a likely appeal to a higher court.
• Nearly identical laws in Louisiana and Texas face federal challenges, with Louisiana’s requirement already ruled unconstitutional and Texas’s pending before the courts.