Arkansas Universities & Ten Commandments Posters: New Law Explained

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock law school received 19 posters this week and “plans to comply” with a state law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public institutions, according to Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Carrie Phillips.

The deliveries are occurring despite a federal judge’s recent ruling deeming the law unconstitutional. Act 573 of 2025 requires “a durable poster or framed copy of a historical representation of the Ten Commandments” to be “prominently” displayed in public school classrooms and libraries, public institutions of higher education, and public buildings and facilities maintained by taxpayer funds.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks blocked the law’s implementation in six Arkansas public school districts – Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, Lakeside, Springdale and Siloam Springs – following a lawsuit filed last June by thirteen parents. The suit argued the law violated both the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise rights of the First Amendment.

Arkansas State University confirmed that Jonesboro Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan recently delivered approximately 50 posters to the school, which has an enrollment of 8,141 students. The university is coordinating installation through its Facilities Management team and developing a communication plan to provide context for students, faculty, and staff, according to spokesperson Todd Clark.

The legal challenge in Arkansas mirrors similar disputes in Louisiana and Texas, where laws requiring the display of the Ten Commandments have similarly faced legal opposition. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has stated her intention to appeal the federal judge’s ruling, asserting that the Ten Commandments represent “the basis of all Western law and morality.”

The Arkansas law is part of a broader national trend among Republicans to incorporate religious displays into public schools, a move critics argue violates the separation of church and state. The ruling is expected to be among those eventually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.