Arkansas has become the second state to require displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms after Louisiana instituted a similar requirement last year.
Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 433 into law April 14. Sanders’ approval follows passage of the bill by Arkansas’ Republican-controlled legislature—a 27-4 vote in the state Senate and a 71-20 margin in the House.
The Senate vote mirrored party lines, with unanimous support for the measure coming from Republicans and opposition coming only from Democrats. In the House, two Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the legislation.
The bill mandates that all classrooms and libraries in all public elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools, as well as all buildings in the state maintained by taxpayer funds, display a poster or framed copy of the U.S. national motto “In God We Trust” and a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments. Additional requirements include displays of the U.S. and Arkansas flags.
Sanders’ approval of Senate Bill 433 follows her April 8 signing of House Bill 1705, which was passed by the House in a 76-19 vote and the Senate in a 28-5 vote and requires public school instruction on America’s founding ideals, including Judeo-Christian morality. The votes on HB 1705 in both chambers were cast along party lines, with support coming exclusively from Republicans and opposition coming only from Democrats.
HB 1705 requires the Arkansas Board of Education to incorporate “information that addresses the founding of the United States, including the Founding Fathers and their religious and moral beliefs and how their religious and moral beliefs influenced the founding documents of the United States.” The law applies to social studies classes for public school students in grades six through 12.
The curriculum will focus on the Declaration of Independence statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
It will also examine “the identity of the ‘Creator’ as viewed by the Founding Fathers” and the degree to which the Founding Fathers relied on the Ten Commandments, Mosaic Law and the New Testament when formulating American law and public policy.
In an April 17 statement provided to The Christian Post, Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver reacted to Sanders’ signing of both bills. “We commend Arkansas legislators for taking steps to display the Ten Commandments and give students a proper education on the Founders’ religious and moral convictions,” he said. “The Founders knew our inalienable rights come from God, not government, and that the role of government is to protect those rights.”
“In addition, the Ten Commandments have indelibly shaped American law and government. Understanding the historical context in which the nation was founded and the foundational principles of our laws is a key to preserving our nation,” he added.
In June, Louisiana became the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
While a federal judge issued a ruling in November blocking the law from taking effect—in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State—a federal appellate court limited the ruling to only apply to school districts where parents were challenging the measure.
