From the Arkansas Advocate:
A federal judge on Monday again converted a temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that requires displays of the Ten Commandments in public schools.
The injunction applies to the Lakeside School District. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks allowed the Garland County district to be added as a defendant in the lawsuit and ordered the displays to be removed from its schools last month.
Arkansas Attorney Tim Griffin immediately appealed the decision to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Seven families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed the original lawsuit against four Northwest Arkansas school districts. They argued that Act 573 of 2025, which requires public schools to “prominently” display a “historical representation” of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries, was unconstitutional because it violated their First Amendment rights.
Brooks agreed, and issued a preliminary injunction in August to block the law from being enforced in those four districts. The Conway School District was later added as a defendant in the case. Brooks issued a temporary restraining order against the Central Arkansas district, which he converted into a preliminary injunction in September.
In his two-page ruling Monday, Brooks noted that Lakeside was the only one of the school district defendants that filed a response opposing a motion for a preliminary injunction. The district adopted and incorporated arguments raised by the Conway School District, he said.
“The Court already explained why Conway’s arguments were either moot or nonsensical…and the same reasoning applies to Lakeside,” Brooks wrote.
The state, which is being represented by Griffin, also submitted a brief urging the court to reconsider its decision to block the districts’ compliance with the new state law. However, Brooks said the state offered no new law to support its request.
Additionally, Brooks said the Lakeside plaintiffs who were added to the case last month — Christine Benson and her minor child, B.B. — are similarly situated to all other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and the new state law is “likely to substantially interfere with her ability to direct the religious upbringing of her child and to violate their First Amendment rights.”
“The Court also rejects the State’s request for a more tailored ‘bubble injunction’ that would apply only to B.B.’s classrooms; such tailoring would be infeasible, unworkable, and inadequate to completely relieve the injury to Ms. Benson’s and B.B.’s religious rights,” Brooks wrote.
The converted preliminary injunction will remain effective “until this matter is decided on the merits,” according to Monday’s order.
