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 1864 3
4
By: Representative Andrews 5
By: Senator J. English 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE TO 9
IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN STUDENT INSTRUCTION; TO CREATE 10
A STANDARDIZED FLEXIBLE SCHOOL CALENDAR SYSTEM FOR 11
PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
13
14
Subtitle 15
TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE 16
TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN STUDENT 17
INSTRUCTION; AND TO CREATE A 18
STANDARDIZED FLEXIBLE SCHOOL CALENDAR 19
SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 20
21
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
23
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-106 is amended to read as follows: 24
6-10-106. Uniform dates for beginning and end of school year — 25
Definition School calendar — Definitions. 26
(a)(1)(A) Each school year, each public school district board of 27
directors and governing entity of an open -enrollment public charter school 28
shall establish by policy the first day of the school year for student 29
attendance in public elementary and secondary schools. 30
(B) The first day of the school year for student 31
attendance established under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section shall 32
ensure compliance with the number of student teacher interaction days or 33
hours required by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools 34
and School Districts established by the State Board of Education. 35
(2) Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, the first day of 36 HB1864
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the school year for student attendance in public school districts and open -1
enrollment public charter schools shall: 2
(A) Be on or after July 1; and 3
(B) Comply with the number of student -teacher interaction 4
days or hours required by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public 5
Schools and School Districts established by the State Board of Education. 6
(3) The last day of the school year for student attendance in 7
public school districts and open -enrollment public charter schools shall not 8
be after June 30. 9
(2)(4) Labor Day shall be celebrated as a school holiday in all 10
the school districts of the state, and school shall not be held on that date. 11
(3) As used in this section, “week” means a seven -day period 12
that begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. 13
(b) Contracts of employment for employees in licensed personnel 14
positions and employees in nonlicensed personnel positions of school 15
districts may require school district employees to begin performance under 16
their contract of employment before the first day of student attendance. 17
(c)(1) If the school year in any public school district extends beyond 18
the date observed as Memorial Day, such date shall be a holiday in the school 19
district. 20
(2) Provided, upon approval of the Division of Elementary and 21
Secondary Education, this date may be used as a make -up day in any school 22
district which has unavoidably lost more than five (5) scheduled days of 23
student attendance during the course of the school year due to contagious 24
disease outbreaks, inclement weather, or other acts of God. 25
(d)(1) A public school district or an open-enrollment public charter 26
school that provides a week -long holiday for spring break shall schedule the 27
spring break holiday for five (5) consecutive school days beginning on the 28
Monday of the thirty -eighth week of the school year. 29
(2) The thirty-eighth week of the school year shall be 30
calculated by counting as week one the first week in July that begins on a 31
Sunday. 32
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a public school 33
district or an open-enrollment public charter school from providing fewer 34
than five (5) consecutive school days for the spring break holiday to comply 35
with the division's requirement for a minimum number of days for student 36 HB1864
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attendance under the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools 1
and School Districts. 2
(e) The division shall not grant a waiver from the requirements of 3
this section unless this section specifically authorizes the waiver. 4
(f) Except as provided under subsection (g) of this section, a school 5
district shall adopt an academic calendar that includes five (5) make -up 6
days, in addition to the number of student -teacher interaction days required 7
by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School 8
Districts established by the state board, for days unavoidably lost due to 9
exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from a contagious disease 10
outbreak, inclement weather, or other acts of God. 11
(g)(1) Beginning with the 2022 -2023 school year, a public school 12
district board of directors may elect to implement an alternate school 13
calendar. 14
(2)(A) An alternate school calendar implemented under 15
subdivision (g)(1) of this section shall consist of: 16
(i) At least one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) hours 17
of instructional time; and 18
(ii)(a) At least thirty (30) make -up hours, in 19
addition to the number of hours required of instructional time, for days 20
unavoidably lost due to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from 21
inclement weather. 22
(b) If additional make -up hours are needed, 23
the public school district board of directors shall modify its alternate 24
school calendar to include make -up hours for the additional hours needed. 25
(B) However, there shall not be a minimum number of school 26
days required to meet the required one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) hours of 27
instructional time. 28
(3)(A) A public school district board of directors that elects 29
to implement an alternate school calendar under subdivision (g)(1) of this 30
section shall: 31
(i) Notify the division by July 1 of each year that 32
the public school district intends to implement the alternate school 33
calendar; 34
(ii) Post the alternate school calendar on the 35
public school district's website by August 1 of each year that the public 36 HB1864
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school district intends to implement the alternate school calendar; and 1
(iii) Input into eSchool, eFinance, or the Arkansas 2
Public School Computer Network all data that: 3
(a) Affects the average daily membership of 4
the public school district; and 5
(b) Ensures compliance with the required 6
minimum number of school instructional hours under subdivision (g)(2)(A)(i) 7
of this section. 8
(B) A public school district that implements an alternate 9
school calendar under subdivision (g)(1) of this section may submit an 10
application to operate a virtual learning option. 11
(4) The total number of instructional hours under an alternate 12
school calendar shall be converted to school days for purposes of the: 13
(A) Number of days required in a teacher employment basic 14
contract under § 6-17-2402(1); 15
(B) Number of days counted during the official reporting 16
period for attendance under § 6 -18-213(b)(1); and 17
(C) Average daily membership calculated under § 6 -20-18
2303(3). 19
(5) The division may promulgate rules as necessary to administer 20
this section. 21
(f) Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, each public school 22
district board of directors and open -enrollment public charter school 23
governing body shall adopt a school calendar that includes: 24
(1) On-site, in-person instruction for a minimum of: 25
(A) One hundred seventy -eight (178) school days; and 26
(B) One thousand sixty -eight (1,068) instructional hours; 27
(2) A minimum of one hundred ninety (190) teacher contract days; 28
and 29
(3) At least thirty (30) make -up instructional hours in addition 30
to the number of on-site, in-person instruction time required under 31
subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section, which shall be used to make up school 32
days missed due to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from: 33
(A) A contagious disease outbreak; 34
(B) Inclement weather; 35
(C) A utility outage; 36 HB1864
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(D) A reasonable and substantial threat to the safety and 1
security of the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 2
school; or 3
(E) Other acts of God. 4
(g)(1) Each public school district and open -enrollment public charter 5
school shall remain open for on -site, in-person instruction for a minimum of 6
one hundred seventy-eight (178) days and one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) 7
hours, as required under subdivision (f)(1) of this section, unless the 8
public school district or open -enrollment public charter school is closed for 9
a reason under subdivision (f)(3) of this section. 10
(2) If a public school district or an open -enrollment public 11
charter school closes due to a reason under subdivision (f)(3) of this 12
section, then the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 13
school shall be required to make up only the missed instructional time in 14
order to meet the requirements under subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section. 15
(3) The requirement that a public school district or an open -16
enrollment public charter school be open for on -site, in-person instruction 17
under subdivision (g)(1) of this section does not apply to an approved 18
virtual school. 19
(h)(1) A public school district superintendent or director of an open -20
enrollment public charter school may close school, delay the school day start 21
time, or release students early during a regularly scheduled school day due 22
to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from: 23
(A) A contagious disease outbreak; 24
(B) Inclement weather; 25
(C) A utility outage; 26
(D) A reasonable and substantial threat to the safety and 27
security of the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 28
school; or 29
(E) Other acts of God. 30
(2) If a public school district superintendent or director of an 31
open-enrollment public charter school closes school, delays the school day 32
start time, or releases students early during a regularly scheduled school 33
day under subdivision (h)(1) of this section, then the public school district 34
or open-enrollment public charter school shall make up the missed 35
instructional time in order to meet the on -site, in-person instruction time 36 HB1864
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requirements under subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section by: 1
(A) Utilizing the thirty (30) make -up instructional hours 2
built into the school calendar as required under subdivision (f)(3) of this 3
section; or 4
(B) Otherwise modifying the school calendar to include 5
make-up instructional time for the additional instructional time that is 6
needed. 7
(i)(1) For purposes of a school day, at least forty (40) minutes of 8
instructional time per school day shall be used for recess during the school 9
day for students attending public elementary schools. 10
(2) Recess shall: 11
(A) Consist of supervised social time during which public 12
school students may communicate with each other; 13
(B) Occur outdoors when weather and other relevant 14
conditions permit; and 15
(C) Include without limitation opportunities for free play 16
and vigorous physical activity, regardless of whether recess occurs indoors 17
or outdoors. 18
(3) A public elementary school may seek approval from the 19
division to provide recess in an alternative method by submitting a request 20
to the division. 21
(j) Each public school district and open -enrollment public charter 22
school shall: 23
(1) Post the school calendar on the website of the public school 24
district or open-enrollment public charter school by July 1 each year; and 25
(2) Provide to the division, in the format prescribed by the 26
division, all data that: 27
(A) Affects the average daily membership of the public 28
school district or open -enrollment public charter school; and 29
(B) Ensures compliance with this section. 30
(k) The division may promulgate rules to implement this section. 31
(l) As used in this section: 32
(1)(A) "School day" means a day on which classes are in session 33
and students are on-site, in-person, and receiving instruction at a public 34
school district or open -enrollment public charter school. 35
(B)(i) Any day during which less than six (6) hours of 36 HB1864
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instructional time are provided to students shall be counted as one -half 1
(1/2) of a school day if at least three (3) hours of instructional time are 2
provided to students. 3
(ii) A day in which less than three (3) hours of 4
instructional time are provided to students shall not be counted as any part 5
of a school day; and 6
(2) "Week" means a seven -day period that begins on a Sunday and 7
ends on a Saturday. 8
9
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-108 is repealed. 10
6-10-108. Twelve-month school year — Definition. 11
(a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that public 12
school facilities in the state are now effectively utilized only nine (9) or 13
ten (10) months each year and that such facilities could be more efficiently 14
utilized and educational opportunities in the various school districts could 15
be enhanced by the establishment and operation of educational programs on a 16
twelve (12) month per year basis. It is therefore the intent and purpose of 17
this section to authorize public schools to initiate and maintain public 18
school educational programs on a twelve -month basis. 19
(b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, 20
“twelve-month year-round educational program” means an educational program in 21
which all students attend school no less than the number of days required by 22
the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School 23
Districts between July 1 and June 30 of each school year and in which no 24
vacation, including summer, lasts more than seven (7) weeks. 25
(c)(1) The board of directors of any school district is authorized to 26
initiate and maintain a twelve -month year-round educational program in any or 27
all of the public schools in the school district. 28
(2) However, any school district which does not elect to operate 29
on a twelve-month basis must start school in accordance with the provisions 30
of § 6-10-106. 31
(d)(1) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish 32
appropriate standards, guidelines, and rules for the determination of average 33
daily membership of school districts and for the distribution of state 34
foundation funding and other forms of state aid and financial assistance to 35
each local school district that elects to operate the public schools of the 36 HB1864
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school district on a twelve -month basis, in order to provide the school 1
district with an equitable share of the state foundation funds designated to 2
equate a twelve-month school operation by the school district to the 3
educational opportunities provided by a school district offering nine (9) 4
months of public school instruction. 5
(2) However, the school district shall not receive any more 6
state foundation funding for offering twelve (12) months of public school 7
instruction than it would have received for offering nine (9) months of 8
public school instruction. 9
10
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-117 is repealed. 11
6-10-117. Four-day school week — Definition. 12
(a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that granting 13
local school districts greater flexibility in scheduling instructional time 14
can reap educational benefits for the students and financial rewards for the 15
school district. It is the intent of this section to authorize local school 16
districts to initiate and maintain public school educational programs on a 17
four-day school-week basis, so long as planned instructional time is in 18
accord with requirements established by the State Board of Education. 19
(b) As used in this section, “four -day school week” means an 20
educational program in which all students attend school for four (4) days a 21
week but no fewer than the total number of hours required by the Standards 22
for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts in a five -23
day school week. 24
(c) The board of directors of any school district is authorized to 25
initiate and maintain a four -day school week in any or all of the public 26
schools in the school district. 27
(d)(1) The State Board of Education shall establish appropriate 28
standards, guidelines, and rules for the determination of average daily 29
membership of school districts and for the distribution of state aid to each 30
local school district that elects to operate any or all of the public schools 31
of its school district on a four -day school-week basis, to provide the school 32
district with an equitable share of aid funds designated to equate a four -day 33
school-week operation by the school district to the educational opportunities 34
provided by a school district offering a five -day school week. 35
(2) Provided, however, that a school district shall not receive 36 HB1864
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any more state financial aid for offering a four -day school week of 1
instruction than it would have received for offering a five -day school week 2
of instruction. 3
4
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-126 is repealed. 5
6-10-126. Delay or early release of school due to emergency 6
circumstances. 7
(a) A superintendent may delay the start time or release early a 8
school or schools in the school district due to any of the following 9
emergency circumstances: 10
(1) Inclement weather; 11
(2) Contagious disease outbreak; or 12
(3) Utility outage. 13
(b)(1) For no more than five (5) school days total per year, a 14
superintendent may, due to emergency circumstances under subsection (a) of 15
this section, either: 16
(A) Delay the start of the school day until as late as 17
10:00 a.m.; or 18
(B) Release students from school no earlier than 1:00 p.m. 19
(2) A school day that is delayed or released early under 20
subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall count as a credited school day, with 21
no requirement for additional days to be added to the school calendar. 22
23
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-127 is repealed. 24
6-10-127. Making up missed school days. 25
(a) If a superintendent closes school for a regularly scheduled school 26
day due to exceptional or emergency circumstances such as a contagious 27
disease outbreak, inclement weather, or other acts of God, the superintendent 28
may make up missed school days by adding time to the beginning or ending of a 29
regular school day for a minimum of sixty (60) minutes. 30
(b)(1) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education may 31
grant up to the equivalent of ten (10) student attendance days for public 32
school districts that have an alternative instruction plan approved by the 33
commissioner for the use of alternative methods of instruction, including 34
without limitation virtual learning, on days when the public school district 35
is closed due to exceptional or emergency circumstances such as: 36 HB1864
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(A) A contagious disease outbreak, inclement weather, or 1
other acts of God; or 2
(B) A utility outage. 3
(2) The public school district's alternative instruction plan 4
shall demonstrate how teaching and learning in the public school district 5
will not be negatively impacted by the use of alternative methods of 6
instruction under subdivision (b)(1) of this section. 7
8
SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -15-202(f)(15), concerning written 9
statements from school districts to the Commissioner of Elementary and 10
Secondary Education that confirm compliance with certain statutory 11
requirements, is amended to read as follows: 12
(15) Section 6-16-102 6-10-106 concerning school day; 13
14
SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6 -16-102 is repealed. 15
6-16-102. School day — Definition. 16
(a)(1)(A) Except as provided under subdivision (a)(1)(B) of this 17
section, as used in this section, “school day” shall mean a day in which 18
classes are in session and students receive at least six (6) hours of 19
instructional time. 20
(B) However, “school day” for purposes of a public school 21
district that implements an alternate school calendar under § 6 -10-106(g) 22
means a day in which classes are in session and students are under the 23
guidance and direction of a teacher or public school employee. 24
(2)(A) Any day in which less than six (6) hours of instructional 25
time are provided to students shall be counted as one -half (½) of a school 26
day if at least three (3) hours of instructional time are provided to 27
students. 28
(B) However, subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section shall 29
not apply to a public school district that implements an alternate school 30
calendar under § 6-10-106(g). 31
(3)(A) Any day in which less than three (3) hours of 32
instructional time are provided to students shall not be counted as any part 33
of a school day. 34
(B) However, subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section shall 35
not apply to a public school district that implements an alternate school 36 HB1864
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calendar under § 6-10-106(g). 1
(4) A school district may include as part of the school day the 2
travel time between public schools or other educational programs of those 3
students attending classes or programs authorized by law. 4
(5)(A) At least forty (40) minutes of instructional time per 5
school day shall be used for recess during the school day for students 6
attending public elementary schools. 7
(B) Recess shall: 8
(i) Consist of supervised, unstructured social time 9
during which public school students may communicate with each other; 10
(ii) Occur outdoors when weather and other relevant 11
conditions permit; and 12
(iii) Include without limitation opportunities for 13
free play and vigorous physical activity, regardless of whether recess occurs 14
indoors or outdoors. 15
(C) The remaining instructional hours required under this 16
section shall be distributed across academic content areas as determined by a 17
public school district's board of directors. 18
(D) A public school principal may use discretion to adjust 19
recess time required under this section due to special circumstances or 20
programs that interrupt a regular school day. 21
(E)(i) A public elementary school may seek a waiver from 22
the requirements under this subdivision (a)(5) if the public elementary 23
school: 24
(a) Submits to the Division of Elementary and 25
Secondary Education for approval an alternative plan for recess that: 26
(1) Exceeds the required minimum amount 27
of minutes combined for physical activity under § 6 -16-132 and recess under 28
this section; and 29
(2) Provides for both structured and 30
unstructured social time; or 31
(b) Is approved by the division to operate as 32
a virtual school. 33
(ii) Beginning with the 2019 -2020 school year, the 34
division shall provide to the House Committee on Education and the Senate 35
Committee on Education each year for three (3) years a report that details 36 HB1864
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the following: 1
(a) Which public elementary schools have been 2
granted a waiver under subdivision (a)(5)(E)(i) of this section; and 3
(b) How many waivers have been granted by the 4
division under subdivision (a)(5)(E)(i) of this section. 5
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the State Board of 6
Education shall promulgate rules to prescribe the credit to be given students 7
for attending school for only a portion of a school day because the school is 8
closed due to emergency circumstances which would be hazardous to the health 9
of the students. The state board shall also identify the emergency 10
circumstances. 11
(c)(1) A school district is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements 12
of subsection (a) of this section if the planned instructional time in each 13
school day does not average less than six (6) hours each day or thirty (30) 14
hours each week. 15
(2) However, subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall not apply 16
to a public school district that implements an alternate school calendar 17
under § 6-10-106(g). 18
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