Siloam Springs district named in lawsuit over Ten Commandments posting; lawyer files motion to dismiss

The Siloam Springs School District has been named as one of four northwest Arkansas districts in a lawsuit challenging a state law that would require posting the Ten Commandments across school classrooms, Superintendent Dr. McClung told the school board.

"As it's been well publicized, we were named one of four school districts in Northwest Arkansas in a lawsuit over a new law that's gone into place over the Ten Commandments," Dr. McClung said. He told the board the district's attorney has filed a brief and a motion to dismiss and that the attorney general's office is expected to take over the defense once that procedural step is complete.

The superintendent said the lawsuit challenges the statute itself rather than specific conduct by the districts named. "We really hadn't — we haven't done anything at all," Dr. McClung said, stressing that the districts had not posted the Ten Commandments districtwide as the law would require. He said the districts are sharing counsel to reduce legal costs.

Board members were given the update during the superintendent's report. No board action was recorded during the meeting.

Why this matters: If the law takes effect as written, schools could face new posting requirements; litigation could shape whether the districts must comply and whether they will bear legal costs. Dr. McClung said the consolidated legal approach will allow the named districts to share counsel fees.

The district did not identify the plaintiff or the bill number for the challenged law during the update. The superintendent said the attorney general's office will assume defense duties after the court rules on the motion to dismiss.

The board did not vote or adopt a formal resolution at the meeting, and no timeline for a court ruling was provided.