Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1705 3
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By: Representatives Duke, R. Scott Richardson, Bentley, Breaux, A. Brown, K. Brown, Joey Carr, Cozart, 5
Long, McGrew, S. Meeks, Rye, Vaught 6
By: Senator J. Bryant 7
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For An Act To Be Entitled 9
AN ACT TO REQUIRE CERTAIN INFORMATION BE EMBEDDED 10
INTO EXISTING SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS; TO REQUIRE 11
INFORMATION CONCERNING HOW THE BELIEFS OF THE 12
FOUNDING FATHERS INFLUENCED THE FOUNDING OF THE 13
UNITED STATES TO BE EMBEDDED INTO EXISTING SOCIAL 14
STUDIES STANDARDS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 15
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Subtitle 18
TO REQUIRE INFORMATION CONCERNING HOW 19
THE BELIEFS OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS 20
INFLUENCED THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED 21
STATES TO BE EMBEDDED INTO EXISTING 22
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS. 23
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 16, Subchapter 1, is amended 27
to add an additional section to read as follows: 28
6-16-163. Social studies standards — Beliefs of Founding Fathers. 29
(a) Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, the State Board of 30
Education shall embed into existing social studies standards and courses for 31
grades six through twelve (6 -12) information that addresses the founding of 32
the United States, including the founding fathers and their religious beliefs 33
and how their religious beliefs influenced the founding documents of the 34
United States. 35
(b) The information required under subsection (a) of this section 36 HB1705
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shall emphasize the following without limitation: 1
(1) The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, including 2
the meaning behind and purpose of the quote, "We hold these truths to be 3
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their 4
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty 5
and the pursuit of Happiness"; 6
(2) The core political beliefs of the founding fathers, 7
including without limitation: 8
(A) Ordered liberty; 9
(B) Equality; 10
(C) Natural rights, including without limitation defense 11
of self, community, and nation; 12
(D) Freedom of speech and press; and 13
(E) The free exercise of religion; 14
(3) How the beliefs of the founding fathers influenced the 15
founding of the United States and documents and concepts relevant to the 16
founding fathers' beliefs, including without limitation: 17
(A) The identity of the "Creator" as viewed by the 18
founding fathers; 19
(B) The nature of mankind, or "human nature", as viewed by 20
the founding fathers; 21
(C) The constitutional requirement for a republican form 22
of government, including the separation of powers and federalism, and the 23
fatal tendency of democracy; 24
(D) The human origin beliefs held by the founding fathers, 25
whereby there is a Creator, and that man is endowed by that Creator with 26
inalienable rights; 27
(E) The definitions of "religion" held by the founding 28
fathers, particularly as found in Section 16 of the Virginia Declaration of 29
Rights; 30
(F) Why there was a demand for a Bill of Rights as a 31
condition for the adoption of the United States Constitution; 32
(G) To what extent the founding fathers recognized the Ten 33
Commandments, the Mosaic Law, the New Testament, and the experiences of the 34
ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, and these teachings as a basis for 35
American law and public policy; 36 HB1705
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(H) To what extent the founding fathers recognized the 1
English Common Law, the Magna Carta, and the English Bill of Rights as a 2
basis for American law and public policy; and 3
(I) How the recognition of inalienable rights in the 4
Declaration of Independence formed the framework for the abolition of slavery 5
in the United States; and 6
(4) How the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of the United 7
States can be traced to the beliefs of the founding fathers. 8
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