Title 6 — Education

(a) (1) This section may be referred to and cited as the “Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act”.(2) (A) The purpose of this section is to provide enhanced opportunity for students in this state to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for postsecondary education, a tec…

Any student who is enrolled in a public school in a school district that is administratively consolidated by § 6-13-1601 et seq., § 6-13-1405(a)(5) [repealed], and § 6-20-602 [repealed] may be eligible, at the discretion of the local school district board of directors, to attend …

If a student is invited by a member of the General Assembly to serve as a page for the General Assembly during a legislative session, the student shall be considered on instructional assignment and shall not be considered absent from school for the one (1) day the student is serv…

(a) (1) A child may enter a prekindergarten program for children three (3) years of age if the child will attain three (3) years of age on or before August 1 immediately preceding the beginning of the school year.(2) A child may enter a prekindergarten program for children four (…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Educational scholarship” means a grant to a qualified student that covers all or part of the tuition and fees at a private school;(2) “Eligible contribution” means a monetary contribution from a taxpayer to a scholarship-granting organization o…

There is created the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program.

(a) (1) For tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2022, a taxpayer may claim a state income tax credit against the taxes imposed by the Income Tax Act of 1929, § 26-51-101 et seq., for one hundred percent (100%) of eligible contributions made to a scholarship-granting organ…

(1) The average amount of all educational scholarships awarded by a scholarship-granting organization to qualified students under this subchapter shall not exceed:(1) Eighty percent (80%) of the previous school year's foundation funding amount under § 6-20-2305(a)(2) for qualifie…

(1) Each scholarship-granting organization shall:(1) Notify the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education of its intent to provide educational scholarships to qualified students attending private schools;(2) Demonstrate proof of exemption from federal income tax under 26 U.S…

(a) (1) The Department of Finance and Administration, in consultation with the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, shall create and provide a standardized form of receipt to be issued by a scholarship-granting organization to a taxpayer who makes an eligible contribut…

A taxpayer may instruct his or her employer to divert a prorated amount of after-tax earnings to one (1) or more scholarship-granting organizations of the taxpayer's choice.

A student who joins the Arkansas National Guard at seventeen (17) years of age while in grade eleven (11) shall be granted additional absences at the discretion of the school district superintendent in order to complete basic combat training between grades eleven (11) and twelve …

(a) Except as provided under subsection (d) of this section, a public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school shall adopt a policy that allows a student who attends a private school or a home school to enroll in an academic course at a public school or an open…

(a) As used in this section, “foster parent” means the person or entity having custody or charge of a foster child. (b) (1) (A) A foster parent or the foster child, if the foster child is over eighteen (18) years of age, may request the Department of Human Services to approve the…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Support for Pregnant and Parenting Students Act”. (b) Each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school shall include in its attendance policy the requirement that the public school district or open-enro…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Host family” means the individual or family with whom an international exchange student is placed by an international student exchange visitor placement organization under the International Student Exchange Visitor Placement Organization Registrat…

(a) (1) A student enrolled in a school shall not be considered absent from the school in which the student is enrolled for the time during which the student accompanies the student's parent when the parent is exercising his or her right to vote in a scheduled election.(2) A stude…

(a) A public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school shall not grant excused absences for purposes of political protest. (b) A public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school may grant an excused absence for the following purposes with writt…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Athletic activity” means a varsity sport or another competitive sports-related contest, game, event, or exhibition that involves an individual student or teams of students either among schools within a resident school district or between schools o…

(a) A student who meets one (1) of the following qualifications shall not be considered absent from his or her public school for the time during which he or she is absent from school due to a mental health concern or to attend an event from a sponsoring organization that provides…

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) It is the responsibility of each school district in Arkansas to ensure the safety of all students and school personnel;(2) It is the responsibility of each school district in Arkansas to ensure that every student in Arkansas is safe and pro…

(a) This subchapter applies to any school-aged and enrolled student regardless of whether the student has an identified disability. (b) (1) This subchapter does not supersede federal or state law.(2) A school district shall follow all relevant federal and state law, including wit…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Aversive behavioral intervention” means a physical or sensory intervention program that is intended to modify behavior through the use of a substance or stimulus that the intervention implementer knows will cause physical trauma, emotional …

(a) Each public school shall establish within its multi-tiered system of supports behavioral interventions for each student who exhibits social, emotional, or behavioral difficulty that may escalate, if not addressed, to potentially dangerous behavior. (b) A multi-tiered system o…

(a) (1) Physical restraint of a student shall be used only by a member of school personnel who is appropriately trained to administer physical restraint except in the case of a clearly unavoidable emergency situation in which a trained member of school personnel is not immediatel…

(1) A school district shall develop policies and procedures:(1) To ensure that school personnel are aware of how to access state and local policies and procedures regarding the use of physical restraint on a student;(2) To ensure that parents are notified of how to access state a…

(1) After the occurrence of an incident involving physical restraint of a student, school personnel involved in the incident shall:(1) (A) Document the incident in a written report within twenty-four (24) hours after the incident occurred.(B) A written report of the incident shal…

(a) A school district may conduct the following training for school personnel:(1) Training on the use of an array of positive behavior interventions, if the school district utilizes positive behavior interventions, behavioral intervention procedures, strategies, and supports to i…

(1) A program used by a school district to train school personnel on the use of physical restraint on a student shall:(1) Teach evidence-based techniques that are shown to be effective in the prevention and safe use of physical restraint;(2) Provide evidence-based skills training…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program”.

There is created the “Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Account” means an account that is comprised of funds deposited on behalf of a participating student to pay for qualifying educational expenses;(2) “Account funds” means the funds deposited into an account on behalf of a participating student; (…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall administer the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program under this subchapter, which shall be subject to the rules adopted by the State Board of Education. (b) The rules adopted by the state board under t…

(a) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall allocate annually to each participating student's account, from funds appropriated to the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Fund or otherwise made available for the Arkansas Children's Educational Free…

(a) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, a student is initially eligible for an account if the student:(1) Has a parent who is a resident of the State of Arkansas as defined by § 6-18-202; and(2) Is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school in this state.…

(a) To be eligible to participate in the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program, a private school shall:(1) (A) Either:(i) Meet accreditation requirements established by the State Board of Education, the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association, Inc., or…

(1) The Department of Education shall ensure that parents of students with disabilities identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2023, receive:(1) Notice that participation in the Arkansas Children’s E…

(a) (1) Each participating school and participating service provider shall provide for each participating student to annually take an assessment approved by the State Board of Education, which shall include: (A) An examination identified by the state board that is required for st…

(a) (1) Not later than September 30 of each year, the Department of Education shall submit a written report regarding the implementation of the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program to the:(A) Legislative Council, or if the General Assembly is in session, the Jo…

(a) There shall be no liability on the part of the Department of Education or the state or of any public school or public school district based on the award of or use of an account under this subchapter. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as a waiver of sovereign immu…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Student Data Vendor Security Act”.

The purpose of this subchapter is to increase security and transparency in the sharing and use of student data with and by third-party vendors.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Affiliate” means a legal entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another legal entity;(2) “Control” means:(A) Ownership of, or the power to vote, more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting securities…

(a) Each local education agency shall ensure that all contracts that disclose or make available student personally identifiable information to vendors, including school service contract providers, school service on-demand providers, and other third parties, including without limi…

(a) (1) Each school service contract provider shall provide clear information that is understandable by a layperson explaining:(A) The elements of student personally identifiable information that the school service contract provider collects;(B) The purpose for which the school s…

(a) (1) A school service contract provider may collect, use, and share student personally identifiable information only:(A) For the purposes authorized in the contract between the school service contract provider and a public education entity; or(B) With the consent of the studen…

(a) (1) A school service contract provider shall maintain a comprehensive information security program that is reasonably designed to protect the security, privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of student personally identifiable information.(2) The comprehensive information sec…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter to the contrary, this subchapter does not prohibit the use of student personally identifiable information to:(1) Use adaptive learning or design personalized or customized education;(2) Maintain, develop, support, improve, or d…

A.C.A. § 6-18-306Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved