FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a win for religious freedom and the separation of church and state, a federal district court issued a permanent injunction today in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, blocking school district defendants from enforcing an Arkansas law that requires all public schools to permanently display a government-selected, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks stated, “Act 573 must be permanently enjoined. Failing to do so would violate the Establishment Clause rights of all Arkansas public-school children and their parents and also violate Plaintiffs’ Free Exercise rights.”
The court found that the law would result in unconstitutional religious coercion of the child plaintiffs and interfere with parents’ rights to guide their children’s religious education. Brooks explained: “Act 573’s purpose is only to display a sacred, religious text in a prominent place in every public-school classroom. And the only reason to display a sacred, religious text in every classroom is to proselytize to children. The State has said the quiet part out loud.”
Brooks added: “Nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments—with or without historical context—in a calculus, chemistry, French, or woodworking class, to name a few. And the words ‘curriculum,’ ‘school board,’ ‘teacher,’ or ‘educate’ don’t appear anywhere in Act 573. Accordingly, there is no need to strain our minds to imagine a constitutional display mandated by Act 573. One doesn’t exist.”
“Act 573 directly infringes on our religious-freedom rights, and we’re pleased that the court ruled in our favor,” said Samantha Stinson, a plaintiff in the case alongside her husband, Jonathan Stinson. “The version of the Ten Commandments mandated by Act 573 conflicts with our family’s Jewish tenets and practice, and our belief that our children should receive their religious instruction at home and within our faith community, not from government officials.”
“Today’s ruling clearly affirms that public schools are not Sunday schools. The Constitution protects every student’s right to learn free from government-imposed religious doctrine,” said John C. Williams, legal director for ACLU of Arkansas. “Arkansas lawmakers cannot bypass the First Amendment by requiring a specific version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. As the court recognized, this law served no educational purpose and instead placed state authority behind a particular religious message. We’re thankful the court permanently blocked this unconstitutional law and safeguarded the religious freedom of Arkansas students and families of all beliefs and none.”
“Today’s decision ensures our clients’ classrooms remain spaces where all students, regardless of faith, feel welcome and can learn without concern that they don’t meet the state’s preferred religious beliefs,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
“Today’s decision upholds the Constitution’s promise of church-state separation and religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It ensures Arkansas families—not politicians or public-school officials—decide how and when their children engage with religion.”
“We are pleased that reason and our secular Constitution have prevailed, and that children will be protected from this unconstitutional proselytizing,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “Our public schools exist to educate, not to evangelize a captive audience.”
“Today’s well-reasoned decision reinforces a core principle of our constitutional system: the government cannot compel adherence to any religious doctrine,” said Jon Youngwood, co-chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department. “This ruling strongly affirms the First Amendment rights of students and families to choose whether—and how—they engage with religion.”
The injunction, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, permanently bars the school-district defendants—including Bentonville School District No. 6, Conway School District, Fayetteville School District No. 1, Lakeside School District No. 9, Siloam Springs School Dist. No. 21, and Springdale School District No. 50—from “complying with Act 573.” Last year, the court granted a preliminary injunction that temporarily prevented these districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries.
The plaintiffs in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1—a group of 10 multifaith and nonreligious Arkansas families with children in public schools—are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.