Legislative Update
Volume 2025, No. 10 (January 20, 2025)
Late last week some other bills related to retirement issues were introduced. Representative Warren (R, Hot Springs, 84) has sponsored a number of bills amending various eligibility, waiver, and other issues: HB 1154, HB 1155, HB 1157, HB 1158, and HB 1160. For example, HB 1155 would establish that a presumption exists that a member is entitled to disability retirement benefits if that member has secured a letter from the Social Security Administration or a disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that a member has a 100% permanent and total disability. HB 1157 would amend applicable law to extend the dependent child annuity to children up to the age of 22. HB 1158 would provide that a member might cancel their original election and elect another distribution option under certain conditions. Finally, HB 1160 would establish, in lieu of the “gap year” language, a narrower “gap period” of one-quarter of a fiscal year.
In a sort of weird twist in the wake of recent local, state, and national elections, HB 1141 by Representative Richardson (R, Bentonville, 49) and Senator Bryant (R, Rogers, 32), would make the purposeful deception of an audience to “injure a candidate or influence the results of an election” by printing, publishing, or broadcasting political advertising that purports to emanating from a “source other than its true source” a criminal misdemeanor offense. This would include campaign communications or “deep fake” videos unless it includes a disclaimer that it was altered.
Finally, HB 1166 (Representative Johnson (R, Greenwood, 49) expands the allowable types of ephedrine to include nasal spray as part of “Alex’s Law.”
Your Under the Dome Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 9 (January 17, 2025)
The first week of the 2025 legislative session is now behind us. In the last week, dozens of new bills were filed and went through their first readings and were assigned to committees. There were some important bills filed.
HB 1144, by Representative Wooten (R, Beebe, HD 59), would require a new eligibility requirement for schools wishing to participate in the EFA Program that any private school receiving such funds would be required to comply with any reporting requirements within 30 days or be ineligible to participate in the program. The reporting requirements include data on academic performance, enrollment, staffing, finances, accreditation, and other issues. Such a requirement would include data and information from private schools which have never been open to the public or required in the past and would be particularly valuable in that it would shine a light on the demographics and academic achievement of students in those schools.
This issue was initially raised in the ballot issue which the AEA supported in 2024, the Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024. That Amendment, if passed at the ballot box, would have constitutionally required that any school – including private schools – receiving state and local funds in any form would be required to meet the identical academic standards and standards for accreditation. The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment has been re-filed and certified for the ballot in 2026. It will be significant to see the progress of HB 1144 given the pendency of the ballot issue in the next 18 months.
In another legislative twist, HB 1139, by Representative McKenzie (R, Rogers, HD 7) and Senator Bryant (R, Rogers, Senate District 32), would require any public school or open-enrollment public charter school, upon the request of a parent or guardian, to excuse the student to attend a released time course in “religious moral instruction” taught by an “independent entity.” Release time for students would be required to be at least one hour per week, or not more than five hours each week.
Your Under the Dome Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 8 (January 15, 2025)
We’re off and running for this session of the Arkansas Legislature. Many of the bills which have been filed have now been read into the record, and many have been assigned to the House Education Committee. Other bills we are interested in have been assigned to other committees. Your AEA team will be tracking and updating these bills, and when they have progressed a bit further or been amended, the AEA will be taking positions on them and sharing their progress.
We are currently studying a new bill, House Bill 1083 sponsored by Representative Collins and Representative Springer, which is titled the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act. This bill would provide online safety controls for children including what can be accessed children. It also provides for the creation and function of a “Kids Online Safety Council” through the Department of Commerce. The controls do not apply to public school libraries but may have an impact on the use of social media at school by children under the age of 12. We will continue to study this bill and its ramifications for educators.
Another bill of interest was filed this week, HB 1117, by Representative Richardson which would require firearm safety programs for students in public schools and open-enrollment charter schools. This training would be required starting in the 2025-2026 school year with “age-appropriate and grade-appropriate” instruction.
Keep watching the AEA website for updates and bill progress as the Session continues.
Your Under the Dome Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 7 (December 18, 2024)
Although no new bills have recently been pre-filed, we are expecting some potential legislative issues to arise during this legislative session, and we would like to give you a preview of what you might see which could be directly relevant to the profession and work of educators.
Representative Cozart (R-Hot Springs) has been leading a committee for the last year which has been exploring a new school funding formula for Arkansas school districts and schools. The committee has presented various iterations of this proposed funding formula, which is based upon the Tennessee school funding formula which was enacted in that state in 2022. The Tennessee funding formula (TISA) is based upon economically “weighted” system in which various types of funding are assigned to schools and school districts in categories such as poverty, special needs, and rural education. The current draft of this funding formula is very complex, and many questions remain unanswered about how it would be applied in Arkansas.
The AEA is actively working with coalition and state professional partners to assess, explore, and provide input as the State of Arkansas considers these important changes to the school funding scheme. If you are interested in how the school funding system works in Tennessee, you can read about it in the following article: Candelaria, Fazlul, Koedel, and Shores, “Weighting for Progressivity,” An Analysis of Implicit Tradeoffs Association with Weighted School Funding in Tennessee,” Annenberg Institute (October 2023). The work on this funding formula is not expected to conclude until this summer, however it will remain in discussion during this session.
The AEA also expects to see some changes to the LEARNS Act in regard to “contract returns,” and some potential changes regarding DEI policies at the higher education level.
Your “Under the Dome” Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 6 (December 11, 2024)
Today, a bill of interest to all educators in our state was pre-filed by Representative R. Scott Richardson (R-District 13). The bill is entitled "The Teacher and Student Protection Act of 2025". This bill underlines the national statistics compiled by the American Psychological Association which indicate that 80% of educators reported being victims of threats or violent acts at least once in their schools. We know that this is a serious and growing problem in the public schools of Arkansas. The goal of this bill is to provide a safe environment for students and teachers to work and learn. The bill requires that any student who is removed from a classroom due to violent or abusive behavior against a teacher or another student is prohibited from being placed in a classroom with that teacher or student, and that student is placed in an alternative learning environment until such time as the incident can be reviewed and a conference held. The bill also requires that if the student exhibits violent or abusive conduct due to a disability, that student’s conduct is subject to a “manifestation determination review” as outlined in the bill and that student will be placed in an appropriate interim alternative educational program within the public school district. Finally, the bill provides that repeated offenses will require that the student be permanently placed in an alternative education program.
Your “Under the Dome” Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 5 (December 4, 2024)
As pre-filing of bills for the 2025 Legislative Session continues, there are other bills of interest for AEA members regarding voting and voter registration which were pre-filed by Democratic legislators under the sponsorship of Andrew Collins (D-House District 73).
HB-1035 creates a system for online voter registration and proposes to amend the Arkansas Constitution to adjust the duties of the Secretary of State. Similarly, HB-1036 would amend the law to permit voter registration during early voting and on Election Day. HB-1037 would amend Arkansas law and the Arkansas Constitution to permit 16-year-olds and older votes to register to vote and vote pursuant to applicable law. Finally, HB-1039 seeks to amend state law in regard to absentee ballots by making it possible to file an application for such a ballot up to the day prior to Election Day.
The annual AEA legislative conference is scheduled for January 11, 2025. We are excited about this session and look forward to discussing these important issues with our members, legislators, and education stakeholders.
Your “Under the Dome” Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 4 (December 3, 2024)
There were other pre-filed bills issued by Representative Collins (D-House District 73) dealing with school health issues, conversion therapy, and voter registration reform.
HB-1028, seeks to repeal the current law regarding challenges to public library materials, repeal the criminal offense of furnishing a harmful item to a minor and amend the laws regarding obscenity, and requires libraries to have written policies prohibiting book bans and requirements of information disclosure.
HB-1030 provides that school resource officers would be required to obtain a certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Similarly, HB-1031 would establish the Arkansas Healthy Lifestyle Act, in part requiring school districts to adopt a health curriculum that that would require instruction on mental health issues, substance abuse and addiction issues, diet and obesity issues, tobacco use and prevention, and teenage pregnancy prevention.
HB-1032, an “Act to Ban Conversion Therapy,” provides that “conversion therapy” does not include counseling that does not seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and assists a person undergoing gender transition, provides acceptance, support, and understanding, or facilitates a person’s coping, social support, or identity exploration and development, including sexual-orientation neutral intervention to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices.” The bill, however, would subject healthcare professionals to potential disciplinary action concerning their license if they engage in conversation therapy with patients.
Your “Under the Dome” Team:
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 3 (December 2, 2024)
In the words of Senator Greg Leding, speaking about the volume of pre-filed bills for 2025, “boy howdy.” The list of pre-filed bills originating from the Democrats in the House is lengthy and interesting. There are numerous bills which deal either directly or indirectly with issues of great importance to educators.
One of the bills, HB-1022, introduced by Representative Collins (D-House District 73) outlines a partial repeal of the performance-based incentive rewards, and amends the program to include public schools and open enrollment public charter schools. If the incentive funds are available, these schools will receive an incentive award in the amount of $100 for schools in the top 5% in student achievement, and $50 per student for schools in the top 10% of student achievement, as measured by the criteria set forth by the State Board of Education. HB 1023 would extend the eligibility requirements for loan forgiveness to increase the repayment amount. HB 1051 would provide flexibility for school start dates provided the minimum number of contact days is consistent with the requirements of State Board of Education regulations.
One of the more significant pre-filed bills for AEA members is HB-1024, which seeks to repeal the current prohibition on collective bargaining. The bill provides that nothing under state law can “interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employers and employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work.”
Your “Under the Dome” Team,
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 2 (November 27, 2024)
There were many bills of great interest to AEA educators during the first week of pre-filing, which began on November 15. These bills, taken together, outline the education priorities of the Democratic Party in the upcoming session. Representative Collins (D-House District 73) was the Democratic spokesperson for the pre-filing of these bills, on November 20.
HB-1020 seeks to repeal the Education Freedom Account, as well as to provide additional funding for students that receive special education services and to create a Community Schools Act Fund.
HB-1021 would create a tax credit for qualifying early childhood education program director, teachers, and instructional staff who are employed in a program that meets the Better Beginnings ratings standard and who earn less than the minimum K-12 annual salary for teachers.
HB-1025 seeks to create (or recreate) the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismiss Act, with some additional requirements. The bill would provide a right to a hearing for those licensed educators employed in a public school district in the state for at least three years (the probationary period). The standard of review for such a hearing would be changed from an “arbitrary and capricious” standard of review, which is very difficult to prove, to be “just and reasonable cause.” The bill also provides the creation of rights to educator evaluations, contract renewal, hearing procedures, the right to an appeal over the recommendation of termination, and other important rights of licensed educators.
Information regarding other important pre-filed bills will be forthcoming the days prior to the commencement of the Legislative Session. Also, please be advised that the AEA Legislative Conference is currently scheduled for January 11, 2025. More details, including the AEA Legislative Guide and information about digital, phone, written, and in-person lobbying of the respective legislators, will be available soon.
Your “Under the Dome” Team
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
Volume 2025, No. 1 (November 26, 2024)
The introductory pre-filing and hearing process is now underway for the 2025 Arkansas Legislative Session. There have already been some important developments of interest to AEA educators, including the presentation of the Governor’s proposed budget and the submission of some notable pre-filed bills.
The Pre-Session Budget Hearings recently concluded after the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) initiated them on October 8, 2024. On November 21, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders presented her proposed budget, which outlined an increase in spending of $182 million. This proposed budget also outlined efforts to fund the Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs) by an additional $90 million, as well as an additional $90 million in set-aside funding. Approximately half of the proposed budget increase under the Governor’s budget proposal is therefore earmarked to fund the EFA voucher program.
On November 20, Senator Dan Sullivan (R, Senate District 20) again introduced a bill to curtail initiatives to recruit minority educators by prohibiting “discrimination and preferential treatment,” which would, among other things, strip Arkansas of state requirements to adhere to a teacher and administrator recruitment plan as well as recruitment of minority candidates in higher education. SB-3 would create a requirement that the government would be prohibited from discriminating or granting “preferential treatment” to, an individual or group in public education. While the bill outlines some exceptions to that prohibition, it also provides an enforcement process by which any person may bring a lawsuit against a public institution for violation of the law.
On November 21, Representative Andrew Collins (D-House District 73) introduced a bill to provide those educators that have been employed for over one year paid maternity leave or leave for the placement of an adoptee or foster child for up to 12 weeks.
Your “Under the Dome” Team
April Reisma, President
Dr. Bradley Bartels, Executive Director
Summer Lollie, Director of Field Operations
