Arkansas families sue to keep 10 Commandments out of classroom before new law takes effect
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill into law in April requiring the Ten Commandments and the 'national motto, 'In God We Trust'' to be 'prominently' displayed on posters in Arkansas classrooms and public buildings.
Advertisement
The school mandate takes effect in August.
The posters, which must meet a certain size requirement, must be donated or funded through private donations, the law states.
Schools are allowed to use public funds or donations to replace any noncompliant display with a compliant display.
A coalition of multi-faith families argued in their legal challenge that the religious display requirement violates their religious freedom and parental rights.
Advertisement
'Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library — rendering them unavoidable — unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture,' the lawsuit states.
'It also sends the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments—or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that Act 573 requires schools to display—do not belong in their own school community and pressures them to refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state's religious preferences.'
3 Families in the state of Arkansas have filed a lawsuit to prevent the display of the 10 Commandments in public schools across the state, citing a new law that is set to take effect.
Getty Images
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the families by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
Advertisement
'As American Jews, my husband and I deeply value the ability to raise our children in our faith, without interference from the government,' Plaintiff Samantha Stinson said in a press release.
'By imposing a Christian-centric translation of the Ten Commandments on our children for nearly every hour of every day of their public-school education, this law will infringe on our rights as parents and create an unwelcoming and religiously coercive school environment for our children.'
3 The bill, which was signed by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will take effect in August.
AP
It names four school districts in northwest Arkansas — Fayetteville, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and Springdale — as defendants.
Advertisement
The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction to pause the implementation of the law while the lawsuit is pending, according to the ACLU.
Fayetteville Public Schools, Bentonville Schools and Siloam Springs School District told Fox News Digital they do not comment on pending litigation but 'it appears after reviewing the court filing, that the lawsuit aims to challenge the constitutionality of a new Arkansas law that will take effect in August rather than challenging any action taken by [the school districts named in the lawsuit].'
3 The families who filed the suit claim that the new law violates their religious freedom.
AP
Springdale Schools did not immediately return a request for comment.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a similar bill into law last year which has also faced legal challenges.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the measure before it was to take effect in January, calling it 'unconstitutional on its face.'
Louisiana defended the religious display in a federal appeals court in January.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Pete Buttigieg's DOT spent $80 billion on DEI grants, delayed air-traffic-control upgrades: records, industry insiders
WASHINGTON — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg failed to replace outdated air-traffic-control systems while in office — with his agency instead shelling out tens of billions of dollars on a DEI agenda, according to federal spending records and airline-industry insiders. In one meeting, Buttigieg — who is said to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run — told industry executives that air-traffic-control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes, 'and so why would that be in his interest?' sources said. 11 Buttigieg told industry executives that air-traffic-control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes. Getty Images What his department was really interested in was handing out hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years — at least half of the DOT's entire budget for a typical fiscal year, records show. 'He was definitely pushing an agenda,' an air-industry official said, noting the transportation secretary had 'little to no interest' and took 'definitely zero action' toward air traffic control modernization. Buttigieg spent his time in Biden's cabinet blaming the airlines for their delays and 'vilifying' the industry as a whole while denying his department's DEI agenda led to any air-traffic-control staffing shortages or was maintaining an ailing safety system that hasn't been updated since the Carter administration, sources told The Post. 11 'He was definitely pushing an agenda,' an air-industry official said. AFP via Getty Images The flying public paid the price, insiders said. 'At first, [the Department of Transportation] and he were reluctant to say there was an air-traffic-controller shortage or that the shortage had anything to do with flight delays or flight cancellations,' the air-industry official said. Chris Meagher, a spokesman for Buttigieg, rejected both claims and pointed to increased air-traffic-controller hiring under the former transportation big, as well as software changes to improve efficiency at airport runways, new flight routes projected to cut up to 100 hours off travel time annually and the development of communications technology to decrease flight delays. 11 Buttigieg spent his time in Biden's cabinet blaming the airlines for their delays and 'vilifying' the industry as a whole. Getty Images Former President Joe Biden's infrastructure law also provided $5 billion to improve air-traffic facilities' towers and power systems, he noted. 'Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd,' said Meagher, adding that Biden's budget request for fiscal year 2025 included another $8 billion in funding that congressional Republicans blocked. 'Secretary Buttigieg's focus was always on safety — not just in aviation, but also on roads and bridges, where 40,000 Americans die on our country's roads each year. Fixing issues with air traffic control was a priority.' 11 Chris Meagher, a spokesman for Buttigieg, rejected both claims and pointed to increased air-traffic-controller hiring under the former transportation big. Getty Images The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that most flight cancellations (54.3%) were caused by weather during Buttigieg's term, whereas a little more than one-third (34.7%) were attributable to air carriers. Just 10.6% were due to failures in the National Aviation System. Nearly 80% of flights were on time between January 2021 and 2025. Almost 7% of delays were due to air carriers, another 7% for late-arriving aircraft, and 5% was attributable to the aviation system. Fewer than 1% were attributable to weather. Airline-industry officials acknowledged that carrier delays persisted coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic but argued much of the infrastructure law's funding 'went to maintenance' of facilities and equipment, which is roughly $3.5 billion annually, not 'modernization.' 11 Former President Joe Biden's infrastructure law also provided $5 billion to improve air-traffic facilities' towers and power systems. AFP via Getty Images They argued that while hiring improved in recent years, there was still a high dropout rate and surging retirements from veteran air-traffic controllers. 'If you start with a thunderstorm early in the day, and it ripples throughout the day, which is the way it usually works … by the time you get to the eighth flight … it's just tagged as a late-arriving aircraft,' an industry official said. 'No matter what the original cause of the delay was, that always gets tagged to us as our fault. So it's a complicated story.' Despite the requested changes to the air-traffic-control systems early in his term, Buttigieg seemed more interested in being 'good on TV' than fixing the archaic systems that were flying up to 182 million passengers per year, officials said. 11 Nearly 80% of flights were on time between January 2021 and 2025. The Washington Post via Getty Images The Federal Aviation Administration has been chronically understaffed for years, with the agency employing only around 80% of the target for certified professional controllers at least since fiscal year 2017, which airline officials argued was the main factor forcing delays and cancellations. In January 2023, the agency ordered the first nationwide grounding of flights since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that left thousands of passengers stranded. The 2023 grounding was due to an FAA system outage. In an urgent letter to Buttigieg's DOT in April 2024, air-industry trade association officials warned that at the current rate of hiring, it could take as many as 90 years for the FAA to reach its targeted staffing levels in some of the critical New York air-traffic-control centers. At the same time, the focus of the department under Buttigieg also shifted, with roughly 400 DEI-related grants approved, according to a review of federal spending between 2021 and 2024. 11 They argued that while hiring improved in recent years, there was still a high dropout rate and surging retirements from veteran air-traffic controllers. Bloomberg via Getty Images Just 60 grants for diversity, equity or inclusion initiatives were approved during the previous administration, totaling no more than a few billion dollars. Programs such as 'Justice40' ended up shelling out 55% of around $150 billion in infrastructure investments to 'disadvantaged communities,' pursuant to an executive order Biden signed to 'advance equitable outcomes.' Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure law in 2021 provided much of the funding, but some Democrats were critical of the outcomes — including a $5 billion equity effort to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations that resulted in just seven being built by June 2024. 'Internal White House polling showed that airline issues and airline consumer issues were' key polling successes, an industry official said. 'At this point that White House didn't have a lot to sink their teeth into from a PR standpoint.' 11 In January 2023, the agency ordered the first nationwide grounding of flights since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that left thousands of passengers stranded. Getty Images Meagher said the department's DEI grants didn't delay 'the work of the FAA' and were 'a separate, siloed transportation mode.' 'You can walk and chew gum at the same time,' he responded. 'FAA operates completely separately than other modal administrations. So what happens at FHWA doesn't have a meaningful effect on FAA or NHTSA because they operate independently. It's separate staff, separate budgets, separate programs.' Buttigieg often lashed out at the airlines, blaming the industry — not the FAA which controls airspace nationwide — for canceling flights and bilking passengers for 'junk fees.' Just 12 days before the election, Buttigieg's DOT moved to implement a federal rule giving passengers compensation for every delay and cancellation of up to $1,000, even if it was higher than the original fare, prompting a blistering statement from a top airline trade association calling it a political stunt. 11 Meagher said the department's DEI grants didn't delay 'the work of the FAA' and were 'a separate, siloed transportation mode.' AP 'Secretary Buttigieg is proud of the work he did to improve the rights and protections of consumers – like making refunds automatic when airlines cancel a flight, proposing a rule to ensure parents can sit with their children for no charge when they fly, and ensuring individuals that fly with wheelchairs are compensated if airlines damage them,' Meagher said. 'USDOT also ensured nearly $4 billion in refunds to consumers as a result of investigations into consumer complaints.' David Grizzle, who served under former President Barack Obama as the FAA's chief counsel, acting deputy administrator and chief operating officer of its Air Traffic Organization, pointed out that paying 'less attention to aviation than highways or bridges' wasn't abnormal for a transportation secretary. 11 Just 12 days before the election, Buttigieg's DOT moved to implement a federal rule giving passengers compensation for every delay and cancellation of up to $1,000. Getty Images It's 'a very big job, and it covers seven different modes,' Grizzle noted, while acknowledging, 'There certainly were no remarkable achievements in aviation during his [Buttigieg's] term. 'The shortfall in budget is something that really began in the [2010s] and has really gotten worse over time,' he added. As of last month, an Emerson College poll of registered voters found the former transportation secretary leading the 2028 Democratic presidential primary field with 16% support, followed by ex-Vice President Kamala Harris at 13%. 11 Buttigieg often lashed out at the airlines, blaming the industry — not the FAA which controls airspace nationwide — for canceling flights. An Echelon Insights in July showed him in second place for the potential primary, trailing former Harris by 15 percentage points, 26% to 11%, in support from Democrat and Democrat-leaning voters. With the passage of President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill earlier this month, Republicans have now approved $12.5 billion in additional spending for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to revamp the old Federal Aviation Administration systems. 'It's not so much that prior administrations have been especially indifferent; he's just been exceedingly attentive,' Grizzle said of Duffy. 'I've been on blue ribbon panels in Trump and Biden. … He will stand out for decades as one of the most engaged secretaries we've had.'
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Russia launches drone, missile attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1
KYIV — Russia bombarded Ukraine's capital city with drones and missiles Sunday night, killing at least one person and striking the entrance to a subway station where hundreds were sheltering. The assault was the first heavy targeting of Kyiv in a week, breaking a weeklong streak of Moscow easing up pressure on the capital while Special Presidential Envoy retired Gen. Keith Kellogg was in town for talks with Ukrainian leadership. Ukrainian air defences deploy against Russian drones during a drone strike in Kyiv on July 18, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Ukraine's air defense systems were activated, repelling the attack – though explosions were still heard around the city. Throughout last week, Ukrainians jokingly referred to the envoy as 'St. Kellogg' for apparently triggering Russia's pause in heavy strikes for fear of wounding the general and enraging President Trump. Sunday night's attack caused multiple fires in Kyiv and damaged a subway station as well as a kindergarten, shops and houses, according to city officials. Videos surfaced on social media of the underground station filling with smoke as people sheltered inside. A handout photo made available by the State Emergency Service shows a fire at a residential building after it was hit in a drone strike in Odesa, South Ukraine, on July 19, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock With Post wires
New York Post
15 hours ago
- New York Post
GOP blasts ‘fearmongering' Ocasio-Cortez for mocking Stefanik at North Country stop: ‘AOC is beyond parody'
PLATTSBURGH, NY – Republicans are accusing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of 'fearmongering' during a stop in Rep. Elise Stefanik's upstate district — where she said the congresswoman is 'not welcome here anymore.' The lefty Big Apple pol quickly jumped into politics at a Plattsburgh town-hall event advertised as a response to President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' mocking Stefanik for taking a farewell tour of the district when she thought she was about to become the US ambassador to the United Nations. 4 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago at the United Center on August 19, 2024. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post Advertisement 'Elise did her farewell tour, and I think it's time to finish the job,' AOC yelled to a cheering crowd at the historic Strand Theater. 'Let's show her the door. She's not welcome here anymore,' AOC said on the stage nearly 300 miles away from her own district in The Bronx and Queens. Stefanik — whose ambassador nomination was yanked by President Trump because he was worried a Dem could fill her House seat — is now running for governor. Advertisement 4 Rep. Elise Stefanik leaving a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 'AOC and [Dem North Country Rep.] Paul Tonko may love trying to tax and spend their own constituents to death, but that doesn't mean they should come to the North Country and peddle the same, tired failing Democrat agenda,' Plattsburgh state Sen. Dan Stec (R-Warren) told The Post. 'Rather than continuing to spread disinformation and fearmongering over President Trump's historically significant legislative achievement, they should be telling Kathy Hochul and legislative Democrats to rein in Albany's bloated state budget,' he said. Other top GOPers laughed off Ocasio-Cortez's visit. Advertisement 4 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a House Committee meeting on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025. Getty Images 'As usual, AOC is beyond parody. Unlike AOC, a suburbanite cosplaying as a girl from The Bronx, Elise Stefanik is actually from her district,' a rep for the New York Republican Committee told The Post — taking a jab at Ocasio-Cortez for famously claiming to be a 'Bronx girl' in a recent spat with Trump even though she grew up in Westchester County. 'The North County is Elise Country, and it's Trump Country – and it'll stay that way,' the GOP representative said. AOC, dressed in a white button down shirt and black cuffed pants for the event, professed to love the Adirondacks and claimed she was an avid backpacker. Advertisement 4 Rep. Elise Stefanik speaking at a House Committee hearing at Capitol Hill on July 15, 2025. AP 'The Republican Party will never recover from this,' Erie County GOP Chair Michael Kracker quipped on X. A rep for Stefanik, asked by The Post if she had any response to AOC saying she's not welcome in her own district, said in a statement, 'Thank you for the political gift of a radical Far Left Socialist's visit to the North Country. 'It's like pouring jet fuel on Elise Stefanik's strong support in Upstate New York,' the statement read. The event was co-hosted by Tonko, who hailed his colleague 'Alex' as a figurehead of the Democratic party. 'They say, 'Well, she's the future of the party.' I say, 'She's the today of the party,' ' Tonko said.
