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1 State of Arkansas A Bill
2 95th General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1938
4
5 By: Representative Joey Carr
6 By: Senator J. English
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE
10 CONCERNING THE CREATION OF DISTRICT STRATEGIC PLANS
11 AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY
12 AND SECONDARY EDUCATION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
13
14
15 Subtitle
16 TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE
17 CONCERNING THE CREATION OF DISTRICT
18 STRATEGIC PLANS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY
19 OF THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND
20 SECONDARY EDUCATION.
21
22 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
23
24 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code � 6-15-1702(a), concerning the requirement
25 that each public school and public school district establish a parental
26 involvement plan, is amended to read as follows:
27 (a) Each public school district and each public school within its
28 boundaries, in collaboration with parents, shall establish a parental
29 involvement plan within its school-level improvement plan required under � 6-
30 15-2914, including programs and practices that enhance parent and family
31 engagement and reflect the specific needs of students and their families.
32
33 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 6-15-2904 is amended to read as follows:
34 6-15-2904. Responsibility of Division of Elementary and Secondary
35 Education.
36 The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop and
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1 implement a comprehensive accountability system for Arkansas public schools
2 and school districts that:
3 (1) Establishes clear academic standards that are periodically
4 reviewed and revised;
5 (2) Maintains a statewide student assessment system that
6 includes a variety of assessment measures;
7 (3) Assesses whether all students have equitable access to
8 excellent educators;
9 (4) Establishes levels of support for public school districts;
10 and
11 (5) Maintains information systems composed of performance
12 indicators that allow the division to identify levels of public school
13 district support and generate reports for the public.
14
15 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 6-15-2914 is amended to read as follows:
16 6-15-2914. School-level improvement plans -- School district support
17 plans.
18 (a) The General Assembly finds that it is the responsibility of:
19 (1) The state and educational service cooperatives to support
20 its their public school districts; and
21 (2) A public school district to support its schools.
22 (b)(1)(A) Beginning on May 1, 2018, and by By May 1 annually
23 thereafter of each school year, a public school shall submit to its public
24 school district a school-level improvement plan for approval by the public
25 school district and public school district board of directors for
26 implementation in the following school year.
27 (B)(i) A public school district and an open-enrollment
28 public charter school shall include a literacy plan in the annual school-
29 level improvement plan required under subdivision (b)(1)(A) of this section.
30 (ii) The literacy plan required under subdivision
31 (b)(1)(B)(i) of this section shall include without limitation a curriculum
32 program and a professional development program that are:
33 (a) Aligned with the literacy needs of the
34 public school district; and
35 (b) Based on the science of reading as defined
36 by � 6-17-429(k)(1) � 6-17-429.
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1 (C) A public school and an open-enrollment public charter
2 school shall include a parental involvement plan, as required under � 6-15-
3 1702, in its annual school-level improvement plan required under subdivision
4 (b)(1)(A) of this section.
5 (2) School-level improvement plans shall be posted on the public
6 school district's school's or open-enrollment public charter school's website
7 by August 1 of each year.
8 (c) School-level improvement plans shall be:
9 (1) Monitored by the public school district or open-enrollment
10 public charter school for implementation fidelity and progress throughout the
11 year; and
12 (2) Evaluated annually by the public school district or open-
13 enrollment public charter school for goal progress and accomplishment.
14 (d)(1) Annually by September 1, a public school district receiving
15 Level 2 -- Collaborative, Level 3 -- Coordinated, Level 4 -- Directed, or Level
16 5 -- Intensive support shall submit to the Division of Elementary and
17 Secondary Education a public school district support plan in accordance with
18 rules of the State Board of Education.
19 (2) A public school district's support plan shall be posted on
20 the public school district's website no later than ten (10) days after
21 submission to the division.
22 (3)(A) A public school district in which forty percent (40%) or
23 more of the public school district's students scored "in need of support" on
24 the state's prior year summative assessment for reading shall develop a
25 literacy plan as part of the public school district support plan required
26 under this section.
27 (B) The public school district literacy plan shall
28 include:
29 (i) Goals for improving reading achievement
30 throughout the public school district; and
31 (ii) Information regarding the prioritization of
32 funding, including without limitation Enhanced Student Achievement Funding
33 received under � 6-20-2305, for strategies to improve reading achievement
34 throughout the public school district.
35 (e) Public school district support plans shall include without
36 limitation the support the public school district will provide to public
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1 schools identified as in need of targeted or comprehensive support, or both,
2 pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No.
3 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No.
4 114-95.
5
6 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 15, Subchapter 29, is
7 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
8 6-15-2919. District strategic plans -- Unified application system.
9 (a) Annually by June 30, each public school district and open-
10 enrollment public charter school shall submit a district strategic plan to
11 the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education for review for the
12 upcoming school year.
13 (b) A district strategic plan required by subsection (a) of this
14 section shall include without limitation:
15 (1) A literacy and mathematics plan that addresses student
16 supports and acceleration opportunities based on student data and outcomes;
17 (2) Information regarding the prioritization and intended use of
18 funding, including without limitation Enhanced Student Achievement Funding
19 received under � 6-20-2305; and
20 (3) The support the public school district and open-enrollment
21 public charter school will provide to public schools within the public school
22 district or the open-enrollment public charter school identified as in need
23 of targeted or comprehensive support, or both, pursuant to the Elementary and
24 Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the
25 Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, as it existed on
26 January 1, 2025.
27 (c)(1) An educational service cooperative shall annually review and
28 monitor the implementation of a district strategic plan for each public
29 school district and open-enrollment public charter school that is a member of
30 the educational service cooperative.
31 (2) The division shall collaborate with each educational service
32 cooperative to annually review each district strategic plan and approve the
33 proposed use of funding.
34 (d) Each public school district and open-enrollment public charter
35 school shall post its approved district strategic plan on its website by
36 October 1 of each year.
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1 (e)(1) To promote efficiency, eliminate duplication, and assist public
2 school districts and open-enrollment public charter schools in implementing
3 district strategic plans, the division shall create a unified application
4 system that includes required state plans and federal funding applications.
5 (2) The unified application system required under subdivision
6 (e)(1) of this section shall include without limitation the following program
7 components and applications:
8 (A) Federal title funds;
9 (B) The parent and family engagement plan required under �
10 6-15-1702;
11 (C) The health and wellness plan required under � 20-7-
12 135;
13 (D) Enhanced Student Achievement Funding requirements
14 under � 6-20-2305;
15 (E) Alternative learning environment funding requirements
16 under � 6-48-102; and
17 (F) Gifted and talented programs under � 6-42-109.
18
19 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 6-20-2305(b)(4)(C) and (D) are amended to
20 read as follows:
21 (C)(i)(a) A school district shall expend funds allocated
22 under this subdivision (b)(4) in accordance with the rules developed by the
23 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide the following
24 supports and resources:
25 (1) If the school district meets the
26 teacher compensation requirements according to the minimum salary schedule
27 under � 6-17-2403 for teachers serving in positions required by the Standards
28 for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts without
29 using funds provided under this subdivision (b)(4):
30 (A) The hiring of additional
31 teachers for core academic subject areas, as identified in the Division of
32 Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing the Arkansas Qualified
33 Teacher Requirements, that are not required by the Standards for
34 Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts;
35 (B) The enhancement of teacher
36 salaries for recruitment and retention purposes;
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1 (C) Obtaining additional
2 compensation for teachers who assume identified leadership roles; or
3 (D) Additional compensation for
4 teachers who assume additional responsibilities that support student academic
5 achievement;
6 (2) Academic supports and interventions,
7 including without limitation curriculum specialists, facilitators, tutors,
8 dyslexia interventions, and Response to Intervention;
9 (3) Social, emotional, and behavioral
10 supports;
11 (4) Physical and mental health
12 resources, including without limitation personnel;
13 (5) Early intervention resources,
14 including without limitation prekindergarten programs, school tutoring
15 programs that take place before or after school, and early literacy
16 interventions; and
17 (6) Access to postsecondary
18 opportunities, including without limitation access to career coaches,
19 concurrent credit courses, college-entrance support, and career-readiness
20 support.
21 (b)(1) By July 1, 2022, each public school
22 district shall submit a three-year enhanced student achievement plan to the
23 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education describing the school
24 district's intended and implemented strategies to enhance student achievement
25 and how enhanced student achievement funds will be used to support the
26 strategies of the school district as permitted by this subdivision (b)(4) and
27 rules promulgated by the State Board of Education.
28 (2) A school district shall review
29 annually the school district's enhanced student achievement plan and shall
30 review the progress of the school district's enhanced student achievement
31 plan.
32 (3) The enhanced student achievement
33 plan of a school district shall be updated as necessary by the school
34 district, and amendments to the enhanced student achievement plan shall be
35 submitted annually to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education with
36 the annual budget of the school district.
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1 (4) The Division of Elementary and
2 Secondary Education shall monitor the implementation and progress of the
3 enhanced student achievement plan of a school district.
4 (5) A school district that does not
5 demonstrate progress toward the goals of the enhanced student achievement
6 plan of the school district for three (3) consecutive years may be subject to
7 one (1) or more of the following:
8 (A) Additional monitoring by the
9 Division of Secondary and Elementary Education;
10 (B) An increased level of support
11 as provided in � 6-15-2913; or
12 (C) A corrective action plan that
13 shall be developed in collaboration with the Division of Elementary and
14 Secondary Education.
15 (c) The list of approved programs established
16 before July 24, 2019, by the State Board of Education under subdivision
17 (b)(4)(C)(i)(a) of this section shall expire on June 30, 2022.
18 (d)(b) The State Board of Education shall
19 promulgate rules for the implementation of this subdivision (b)(4)(C)(i) that
20 shall include without limitation:
21 (1) The process for submitting an
22 enhanced student achievement plan;
23 (2) The process for monitoring the
24 expenditure of funds allocated under this subdivision (b)(4); and
25 (3) The specific requirements,
26 qualifications, and criteria for allowable supports and resources.
27 (ii)(a) A school district shall budget one hundred
28 percent (100%) of funds allocated under this subdivision (b)(4) each year to
29 provide the supports and resources described in subdivision (b)(4)(C)(i)(a)
30 of this section.
31 (b) If a school district intends to transfer
32 funds allocated under this subdivision (b)(4) to other programs, the school
33 district shall provide justification for the transfer of funds to the
34 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
35 (iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if
36 the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education determines that a school
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1 district's expenditure of funds allocated under this subdivision (b)(4) would
2 result in the school district's losing funding under any federal law, then
3 the funds allocated to a school district under this subdivision (b)(4) may be
4 expended for other academic programs or salaries.
5 (iv) The Division of Elementary and Secondary
6 Education may direct that a school district expend available funds on
7 specified programs under subdivision (b)(4)(C)(i) of this section.
8 (v) The Division of Elementary and Secondary
9 Education shall develop appropriate forms for use by school districts to
10 comply with this subdivision (b)(4)(C) and the rules of the State Board of
11 Education.
12 (D)(i) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education
13 shall provide a report on the progress of school districts in meeting plan
14 goals to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on
15 Education by October 1 of each odd-numbered year, beginning in 2023.
16 (ii) The report shall include information broken
17 down by category as described in subdivision (b)(4)(A) of this section on:
18 (a) How school districts are spending funds
19 provided under this subdivision (b)(4), including specific programs utilized
20 by school districts;
21 (b) The amount of funds transferred to another
22 categorical fund, including an explanation of why the funds were transferred;
23 and
24 (c) The analysis of student achievement data
25 evaluated in student achievement growth models as described in � 6-15-2908
26 shall be expanded to include the evaluation of the best estimates of
27 classroom, school, and school district effects on enhancing student
28 achievement, in addition to the examination of student progress based on
29 established value-added longitudinal calculations.
30 (iii) The report shall be included in the General
31 Assembly's biennial adequacy study to evaluate the adequacy of education in
32 the state.
33
34 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code � 20-7-135(e), concerning nutrition and
35 physical activity standards in public schools, is amended to read as follows:
36 (e) Every school district shall:
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1 (1) Convene a school nutrition and physical activity advisory
2 committee that shall include members from school district governing boards,
3 school administrators, food service personnel, teacher organizations,
4 parents, students, and professional groups such as nurses and community
5 members to include health and wellness goals as part of the school district's
6 district strategic plan required under � 6-15-2919, that address:
7 (A)(1) Help raise Raising awareness of the importance of
8 nutrition and physical activity; and
9 (B)(2) Assist Assisting in the development of local policies
10 that address issues and goals, including but not limited to without
11 limitation the following:
12 (i)(A) Assisting with the implementation of nutrition and
13 physical activity standards developed by the school nutrition and physical
14 activity advisory committee with the approval of the division and the State
15 Board of Health;
16 (ii)(B) Integrating nutrition and physical activity into
17 the overall curriculum;
18 (iii)(C) Ensuring that professional development for staff
19 includes nutrition and physical activity issues;
20 (iv)(D) Ensuring that students receive nutrition education
21 and engage in healthful levels of vigorous physical activity; and
22 (v)(E) Improving the quality of physical education
23 curricula and increasing training of physical education teachers;
24 (vi) Enforcing existing physical education
25 requirements; and
26 (vii) Pursuing contracts that both encourage healthy
27 eating by students and reduce school dependence on profits from the sale of
28 foods of minimal nutritional value;
29 (2) Begin the implementation of standards developed by the Child
30 Health Advisory Committee with the approval of the division and the State
31 Board of Health; and
32 (3) Require that goals and objectives for nutrition and physical
33 activity be incorporated into the annual school planning and reporting
34 process.
35
36
9 03/21/2025 2:04:13 PM TNL326Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.