When a federal judge ruled on Monday that four Northwest Arkansas school districts should not post the Ten Commandments in classrooms as required by a new state law , several news outlets initially reported that the law itself had been blocked. The confusion was understandable, considering the opinion from U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks called the Arkansas law “obviously unconstitutional.”

In fact, Brooks did not block the law statewide. He halted its enforcement only in the four districts named in the lawsuit — Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Siloam Springs.

That leaves every other district with a choice as the 2025-26 school year kicks off next week: Follow Act 573, a state law that seems to violate the separation of church and state, or follow a federal court order t

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