Title 6, Education

(a) (1) (A) An account owner or contributor may establish an account by making an initial contribution to the Arkansas Brighter Future Fund Plan, signing an application form approved by the Section 529 Plan Review Committee, and naming the account owner and the designated benefic…

(a) An account owner shall have the right to name the designated beneficiary of an account and at any time to change the designated beneficiary of an account to another individual who is a member of the family of the former designated beneficiary. (b) At the direction of an accou…

(a) Withdrawal from an account may be made on thirty (30) days' written notice by the account owner to the Section 529 Plan Review Committee or on shorter notice as the committee may by rule provide. (b) (1) An account withdrawal paid to or for the benefit of any person during an…

(a) (1) Total contributions to all accounts established on behalf of a particular designated beneficiary in excess of those reasonably necessary to meet the designated beneficiary's qualified higher education expenses are prohibited.(2) An employer matching contribution to the ac…

(a) (1) Except as otherwise indicated in this chapter, interest, dividends, and capital gains from funds invested in the Arkansas Brighter Future Fund Plan or a tax-deferred tuition savings program established by another state under 26 U.S.C. § 529, as in effect on January 1, 202…

Neither the Arkansas Brighter Future Fund Plan, the Section 529 Plan Review Committee and each of its members, nor the state shall insure any account or guarantee any rate of return or any interest rate on any contribution, nor shall they or any one of them be liable for any loss…

This chapter shall be liberally construed to comply with the requirements of 26 U.S.C. § 529, as in effect on January 1, 2024.

(a) The Section 529 Plan Review Committee shall develop and implement a pilot program to be known as the “Aspiring Scholars Matching Grant Program” that uses available administrative funds to match a contribution made into an account for a designated beneficiary under this chapte…

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) In approving Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 87, the citizens of this state provided an opportunity to increase the resources provided for higher education scholarships and grants through a state lottery;(2) The net proceeds from the state…

The Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program is hereby created and established.

(a) Recipients of Arkansas Governor's Distinguished Scholarships may receive an Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship under this subchapter. (b) The amount of an Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship awarded to a recipient of an Arkansas Governor's Distinguished Scholarship s…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “ACT” means the ACT administered by ACT, Inc.;(2) “ACT equivalent” means the SAT, COMPASS, ACCUPLACER, or other nationally normed test that is correlated with the ACT and approved by the Division of Higher Education for use by institutions of hi…

(a) The Division of Higher Education shall develop and promulgate rules for the administration of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program consistent with the purposes and requirements of this subchapter. (b) The rules developed and promulgated by the Division of Highe…

(1) The basic requirements for an applicant to be eligible for an award from the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program are:(1) (A) The applicant has been an Arkansas resident for at least the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date the applicant will enroll in…

(1) In addition to the basic eligibility requirements of § 6-85-206, an applicant is eligible as a traditional student if the applicant either:(1) (A) Graduated from an Arkansas public high school and has a minimum superscore of nineteen (19) on the ACT or the equivalent score on…

(1) An applicant is eligible as a nontraditional student if, in addition to the basic eligibility requirements of § 6-85-206, the applicant meets one (1) of the following requirements:(1) If the applicant has not been enrolled in an approved institution of higher education, has g…

(a) (1) (A) A recipient who meets continuing eligibility criteria under this subchapter shall receive a scholarship for one (1) academic year renewable annually until the recipient has earned one hundred twenty (120) semester credit hours.(B) A recipient may continue to receive a…

(a) The General Assembly may use net proceeds from the state lottery to fund the scholarships awarded under this subchapter and to supplement the state-supported student financial assistance that the General Assembly determines is necessary to meet the state's objective for broad…

(a) (1) The General Assembly recognizes that the State of Arkansas is experiencing a critical shortage of nurses.(2) It is the intent of this section to allow the Division of Higher Education the opportunity, under specific circumstances, to include an approved school of nursing …

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) The continual evaluation of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program and of all state-supported scholarship and grant programs by the General Assembly is critical for maximizing the benefits to the state and its citizens of state…

(a) (1) (A) An approved institution of higher education that enrolls students receiving scholarships under this subchapter annually shall provide information and semiannually shall provide updated information to the Division of Higher Education regarding all state-supported stude…

(1) The Division of Higher Education shall provide the following data to the Bureau of Legislative Research through the Arkansas Higher Education Information System under § 6-60-901 et seq., for the purpose of assisting the General Assembly with evaluation and analysis under this…

(a) (1) Annually by November 1, the Division of Higher Education shall report to the Legislative Council in the manner and format that the Legislative Council requires on all state-supported student financial assistance awarded by the division and awarded by approved institutions…

(a) The Legislative Council shall:(1) Oversee the development and implementation of Arkansas Code requirements with regard to the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program;(2) Review whether and how the use of net state lottery proceeds helps to accomplish state objectives …

(a) The Division of Higher Education may approve a scholarship hold or a leave of absence for a traditional student for a period of twenty-four (24) months or less. (b) The reasons for a scholarship hold or a leave of absence may include without limitation:(1) A medical condition…

(a) An applicant for a scholarship under this subchapter who has applied to or is currently enrolled in a public or private vocational-technical school or a public or private technical institute shall, in addition to the relevant eligibility requirements under this subchapter, be…

There is created the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Academic year” means a measure of the academic work to be accomplished by a student through the fall, spring, and summer semesters, or the equivalent of the fall, spring, and summer semesters, in that order;(2) “Approved institution of higher e…

(a) For an academic year, the following shall be used to fund Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarships under this subchapter:(1) Excess funding returned to the Office of the Arkansas Lottery under § 6-85-212(d)(2)(B)(i) from the previous academic year; and(2) Net proceeds remain…

(a) A student is eligible to receive an Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship for an academic year if the student applies to an approved institution of higher education by a date determined by the Division of Higher Education preceding the academic year and:(1) Is a legal Arka…

(a) (1) If funds are available, the Division of Higher Education shall distribute Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarships to all students who meet the requirements under § 6-85-302(2).(2) Up to five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be allocated for students eligible under § 6…

An approved institution of higher education may enter into agreements with other institutions of higher education, including without limitation technical institutes, to allow students enrolled in the approved institution of higher education under this subchapter to take courses a…

The Division of Higher Education shall promulgate rules to implement this subchapter.

(a) An approved institution of higher education accepting funds under this subchapter shall submit an annual report to the Division of Higher Education that includes without limitation the following:(1) Individual student program completer information as defined by the division; …

(a) The following proposed legislation to be considered by the General Assembly at a regular session shall be introduced in the General Assembly during the first thirty-one (31) calendar days of a regular session:(1) A bill that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net pro…

(a) Any bill filed with the Senate or the House of Representatives that creates a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds from the state lottery or the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, as applicable, or affects an existing scholarship that is funded with net proceeds …

(a) The House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education shall meet jointly during a regular session, extraordinary session, or fiscal session, as applicable, to consider any bill:(1) Creating a new scholarship to be funded with net proceeds from the state lotte…

There is created and established the Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship Program.

(1) A student is eligible to receive an Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship under this subchapter for an academic semester or academic year if the student:(1) Applies for and maintains eligibility for a scholarship under the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program; and(2)…

(a) An Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship under this subchapter shall be awarded to eligible applicants:(1) In addition to a scholarship awarded under the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program;(2) Based on the amount of financial need as determined by the Free Applicat…

(a) The Division of Higher Education shall administer the Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship Program under this subchapter. (b) The division may promulgate rules to administer the program under this subchapter.

There is created the ACCESS to Acceleration Scholarship Program.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Approved institution of higher education” means an institution of higher education that:(A) Is approved by the Division of Higher Education to participate in the ACCESS to Acceleration Scholarship Program; and(B) Is a:(i) State-supported two-ye…

(a) A student is eligible to be awarded a scholarship under this subchapter for an academic semester or academic year during which the student is enrolled in a concurrent credit course if the student is eligible to enroll in the concurrent credit course under § 6-16-1204(a)(5). (…

(a) For an academic year, the following shall be used to fund scholarships under this subchapter:(1) Excess funding returned to the Office of the Arkansas Lottery under § 6-85-212(d)(2)(B)(i) from the previous academic year; and(2) Net proceeds remaining from the previous academi…

(a) If funds are available, the Division of Higher Education shall award an ACCESS to Acceleration Scholarship to all eligible students who meet the requirements under this subchapter. (b) (1) The division shall distribute scholarships from the funds available in an equal amount …