Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1428 3
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By: Representatives C. Cooper, McAlindon, Haak, Long 5
By: Senator M. McKee 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE EQUAL ACCESS TO COLL EGE AND 9
CAREER READINESS ASS ESSMENTS ACT; AND FO R OTHER 10
PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO CREATE THE EQUAL ACCESS TO COLLEGE AND 15
CAREER READINESS ASSESSMENTS ACT. 16
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 15, is amended to add an 21
additional subchapter to read as follows: 22
Subchapter 32 — Equal Access to College and Career Readiness Assessments Act 23
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6-15-3201. Title. 25
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Equal Access to 26
College and Career Readiness Assessments Act". 27
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6-15-3202. Legislative findings. 29
The General Assembly finds that: 30
(1) Access to postsecondary education can s ignificantly impact a 31
student’s personal and professional life as an adult; 32
(2) College or career readiness assessments play a vital role in 33
determining a student’s academic eligibility for admission to postsecondary 34
institutions; 35
(3) College or care er readiness assessments often are used to 36 HB1428
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determine academic eligibility for scholarships and financial aid resources 1
at postsecondary institutions; 2
(4) The State of Arkansas uses college or career readiness 3
assessments to determine academic eligibilit y for many of its publicly funded 4
scholarships; 5
(5) Scholarship eligibility may play an important role in 6
determining whether or not a student is able to afford postsecondary 7
education; 8
(6) Public schools in Arkansas often serve as test sites for the 9
administration of college or career readiness assessments outside of normal 10
school hours on specific dates throughout the year; 11
(7) Registration for college or career readiness assessments 12
often is open to students from the community regardless of whet her or not the 13
students are enrolled in that specific school; 14
(8) Not all students in Arkansas are enrolled in a public school 15
that serves as a test site for a college or career readiness assessment; and 16
(9) Arkansas law should clarify that students may access college 17
or career readiness assessments regardless of whether or not they are 18
enrolled at the public school or in the school district where the test is 19
administered. 20
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6-15-3203. Definitions. 22
As used in this subchapter: 23
(1) "Advanced Placement test" means a test offered by the 24
College Board for advanced placement courses; 25
(2)(A) "College and career readiness assessment" means: 26
(i) A nationally recognized norm -referenced test or 27
assessment administered outside of ordinary class times or outside the scope 28
of the regular curriculum of a public school; or 29
(ii) An Advanced Placement test. 30
(B) "College and career readiness assessment" includes 31
without limitation: 32
(i) The ACT test; 33
(ii) The SAT; 34
(iii) The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test; 35
(iv) The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; 36 HB1428
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and 1
(v) Other assessments commonly used for college 2
admission, college scholarships, or financial aid to attend college. 3
(C) "College and career readiness as sessment" does not 4
include a: 5
(i) Norm-referenced test or assessment administered 6
in accordance with state or federal law for the purpose of gauging the 7
academic proficiency or performance of a public school student or a public 8
school; or 9
(ii) Test administered during the course of ordinary 10
class time; and 11
(3) "Test site" means the location 12
where a college and career readiness assessment is provided, proctored, or 13
otherwise administered. 14
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6-15-3204. Equal access to college and career readines s assessments at 16
public schools. 17
(a) To ensure equal access to college and career readiness 18
assessments, a public school serving as a test site shall not: 19
(1) Impede, obstruct, or otherwise 20
prevent a student from registering for or accessing a college or career 21
readiness assessment based on the student's enrollment status at the public 22
school or in the public school district; 23
(2) Impose additional fees or 24
requirements based on a student's enrollment status; or 25
(3) Deny a student financial 26
assistance for purposes of paying for or reducing the costs of the college or 27
career readiness assessment based on the student's enrollment status. 28
(b) As approved or recommended by the organization responsible for the 29
administration of a college and career readiness assessment, a public school 30
serving as a test site shall provide appropriate accommodations for a student 31
with one (1) or more verifiable physical disabilities or learning 32
disabilities regardless of the student's enrollment status at the public 33
school or in the public school district. 34
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