Texas legislators challenge 10 commandments bills with “Sabath”
The Texas bill, which required public schools to post donated placards of 10 commandments, created a “sarcasm” moment of debate.
Seven Arkansas families have filed federal lawsuits to block new laws requiring 10 commandments labeling in classrooms in all state public schools, claiming that the law violates constitutional rights.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on June 11, the family challenged future state laws requiring that “stopping” orders be “stopping” in all public classrooms and libraries. The law, which came into effect in August, was signed in April by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of multifaceted family groups by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Unity for the Separation of Churches and States (AU), and American Associations (FFRF) for the Religious Foundation (FFRF). The defendants include four school districts in northwest Arkansas: Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Siloam Springs.
The lawyers for Jewish, Unitarian universalists or secular families said the law “violates the longstanding US Supreme Court precedent and the first amendment to the US Constitution.”
The lawyers are asking federal judges to declare state requirements unconstitutional. In addition to the complaints, the attorney plans to file preliminary and permanent injunction claims to block the implementation of the law while the lawsuit is pending.
“By impose a Christian-centric translation of the 10 commandments of children almost every hour of public schooling, this law violates our rights as parents and creates a welcome and religiously compulsory school environment for our children,” one of the plaintiffs said.
The lawsuit was published by the AU on June 11th and viewed by USA Today. The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on USA Today on June 11.
Litigation: The Ten Commandments Law obstructs religious freedom
According to the complaints, the labelling of 10 commandments in public classrooms and libraries interferes with the parents’ right to direct their children’s religious education and development. The lawsuit further argues that state requirements create a “religiously compulsory” school environment for children.
Under state law, each classroom and library must post the Ten Commandments “in prominent places,” the lawsuit states. The text should be printed in “typefaces that are at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and “easy to read by people with average visions from anywhere in the room.”
The law also requires schools and libraries to display specific versions of the 10 commandments. The lawsuit is linked to the conflict between Protestant faith and versions, and many Jews and Catholics relate to it.
“Preparing ten commandments forever in every classroom and library — an inevitable rendering — puts pressure on students to religious observance, respect, and adoption of the nation’s favourite religious Bible,” the complaint states.
“It also sends a harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not register with the 10 commandments do not belong to their school community, and pressure them to refrain from expressing faith practices and beliefs that are not consistent with the nation’s religious preferences,” the complaint added.
Republican-led states promote religion in public classrooms
Authorities in Republican-led states across the country are pushing for religious teaching to spread to public school classrooms, including incorporating the Bible into lessons and requiring schools to post 10 commandments in their chosen versions.
School administrators and civil rights advocates oppose the mandate, saying they violate the student’s constitutional rights.
“Our constitutional guarantee of segregation of church state means that families, not politicians, decide when and how public school children will be involved with religion,” AU president and CEO Rachel Laser said in a June 11 statement.
“This law is part of a national Christian nationalist scheme to gain favour for all other people and one of the religious views of secularism in a country that promises religious freedom. We are proud to defend the religious freedom of Arkansas schoolchildren and their families, not our watch,” continues Laser.
Arkansas laws are similar to the Louisiana requirements signed by Gov. Jeff Landry in June 2024. Louisiana’s law was later blocked by a federal judge who declared it unconstitutional. The case, currently appealing, is represented by the same lawyers as the Arkansas case, the lawyers said.
In November 2024, Texas officials proposed a curriculum that includes teachings from the Bible. The state legislature recently passed a bill requiring 10 commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. Gov. Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign the action that will take effect in September.
In July 2024, top education officials in Oklahoma ordered public schools to teach the Bible. Despite the state’s Republican-controlled Congress rejecting his $3 million request to fund the effort, state school principal Ryan Walters claimed that his classroom will have the Bible by fall 2025.
Contributions: Murray Evans, Oklahoman, part of the USA Today Network
