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Arkansas House Bill HB1864

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1864 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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33 State of Arkansas 1
44 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
55 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1864 3
66 4
77 By: Representative Andrews 5
88 By: Senator J. English 6
99 7
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1111 AN ACT TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE TO 9
1212 IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN STUDENT INSTRUCTION; TO CREATE 10
1313 A STANDARDIZED FLEXIBLE SCHOOL CALENDAR SYSTEM FOR 11
1414 PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
1515 13
1616 14
1717 Subtitle 15
1818 TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE 16
1919 TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN STUDENT 17
2020 INSTRUCTION; AND TO CREATE A 18
2121 STANDARDIZED FLEXIBLE SCHOOL CALENDAR 19
2222 SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 20
2323 21
2424 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
2525 23
2626 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-106 is amended to read as follows: 24
2727 6-10-106. Uniform dates for beginning and end of school year — 25
2828 Definition School calendar — Definitions. 26
2929 (a)(1)(A) Each school year, each public school district board of 27
3030 directors and governing entity of an open -enrollment public charter school 28
3131 shall establish by policy the first day of the school year for student 29
3232 attendance in public elementary and secondary schools. 30
3333 (B) The first day of the school year for student 31
3434 attendance established under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section shall 32
3535 ensure compliance with the number of student teacher interaction days or 33
3636 hours required by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools 34
3737 and School Districts established by the State Board of Education. 35
3838 (2) Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, the first day of 36 HB1864
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4141 the school year for student attendance in public school districts and open -1
4242 enrollment public charter schools shall: 2
4343 (A) Be on or after July 1; and 3
4444 (B) Comply with the number of student -teacher interaction 4
4545 days or hours required by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public 5
4646 Schools and School Districts established by the State Board of Education. 6
4747 (3) The last day of the school year for student attendance in 7
4848 public school districts and open -enrollment public charter schools shall not 8
4949 be after June 30. 9
5050 (2)(4) Labor Day shall be celebrated as a school holiday in all 10
5151 the school districts of the state, and school shall not be held on that date. 11
5252 (3) As used in this section, “week” means a seven -day period 12
5353 that begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. 13
5454 (b) Contracts of employment for employees in licensed personnel 14
5555 positions and employees in nonlicensed personnel positions of school 15
5656 districts may require school district employees to begin performance under 16
5757 their contract of employment before the first day of student attendance. 17
5858 (c)(1) If the school year in any public school district extends beyond 18
5959 the date observed as Memorial Day, such date shall be a holiday in the school 19
6060 district. 20
6161 (2) Provided, upon approval of the Division of Elementary and 21
6262 Secondary Education, this date may be used as a make -up day in any school 22
6363 district which has unavoidably lost more than five (5) scheduled days of 23
6464 student attendance during the course of the school year due to contagious 24
6565 disease outbreaks, inclement weather, or other acts of God. 25
6666 (d)(1) A public school district or an open-enrollment public charter 26
6767 school that provides a week -long holiday for spring break shall schedule the 27
6868 spring break holiday for five (5) consecutive school days beginning on the 28
6969 Monday of the thirty -eighth week of the school year. 29
7070 (2) The thirty-eighth week of the school year shall be 30
7171 calculated by counting as week one the first week in July that begins on a 31
7272 Sunday. 32
7373 (3) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a public school 33
7474 district or an open-enrollment public charter school from providing fewer 34
7575 than five (5) consecutive school days for the spring break holiday to comply 35
7676 with the division's requirement for a minimum number of days for student 36 HB1864
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7979 attendance under the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools 1
8080 and School Districts. 2
8181 (e) The division shall not grant a waiver from the requirements of 3
8282 this section unless this section specifically authorizes the waiver. 4
8383 (f) Except as provided under subsection (g) of this section, a school 5
8484 district shall adopt an academic calendar that includes five (5) make -up 6
8585 days, in addition to the number of student -teacher interaction days required 7
8686 by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School 8
8787 Districts established by the state board, for days unavoidably lost due to 9
8888 exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from a contagious disease 10
8989 outbreak, inclement weather, or other acts of God. 11
9090 (g)(1) Beginning with the 2022 -2023 school year, a public school 12
9191 district board of directors may elect to implement an alternate school 13
9292 calendar. 14
9393 (2)(A) An alternate school calendar implemented under 15
9494 subdivision (g)(1) of this section shall consist of: 16
9595 (i) At least one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) hours 17
9696 of instructional time; and 18
9797 (ii)(a) At least thirty (30) make -up hours, in 19
9898 addition to the number of hours required of instructional time, for days 20
9999 unavoidably lost due to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from 21
100100 inclement weather. 22
101101 (b) If additional make -up hours are needed, 23
102102 the public school district board of directors shall modify its alternate 24
103103 school calendar to include make -up hours for the additional hours needed. 25
104104 (B) However, there shall not be a minimum number of school 26
105105 days required to meet the required one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) hours of 27
106106 instructional time. 28
107107 (3)(A) A public school district board of directors that elects 29
108108 to implement an alternate school calendar under subdivision (g)(1) of this 30
109109 section shall: 31
110110 (i) Notify the division by July 1 of each year that 32
111111 the public school district intends to implement the alternate school 33
112112 calendar; 34
113113 (ii) Post the alternate school calendar on the 35
114114 public school district's website by August 1 of each year that the public 36 HB1864
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117117 school district intends to implement the alternate school calendar; and 1
118118 (iii) Input into eSchool, eFinance, or the Arkansas 2
119119 Public School Computer Network all data that: 3
120120 (a) Affects the average daily membership of 4
121121 the public school district; and 5
122122 (b) Ensures compliance with the required 6
123123 minimum number of school instructional hours under subdivision (g)(2)(A)(i) 7
124124 of this section. 8
125125 (B) A public school district that implements an alternate 9
126126 school calendar under subdivision (g)(1) of this section may submit an 10
127127 application to operate a virtual learning option. 11
128128 (4) The total number of instructional hours under an alternate 12
129129 school calendar shall be converted to school days for purposes of the: 13
130130 (A) Number of days required in a teacher employment basic 14
131131 contract under § 6-17-2402(1); 15
132132 (B) Number of days counted during the official reporting 16
133133 period for attendance under § 6 -18-213(b)(1); and 17
134134 (C) Average daily membership calculated under § 6 -20-18
135135 2303(3). 19
136136 (5) The division may promulgate rules as necessary to administer 20
137137 this section. 21
138138 (f) Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, each public school 22
139139 district board of directors and open -enrollment public charter school 23
140140 governing body shall adopt a school calendar that includes: 24
141141 (1) On-site, in-person instruction for a minimum of: 25
142142 (A) One hundred seventy -eight (178) school days; and 26
143143 (B) One thousand sixty -eight (1,068) instructional hours; 27
144144 (2) A minimum of one hundred ninety (190) teacher contract days; 28
145145 and 29
146146 (3) At least thirty (30) make -up instructional hours in addition 30
147147 to the number of on-site, in-person instruction time required under 31
148148 subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section, which shall be used to make up school 32
149149 days missed due to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from: 33
150150 (A) A contagious disease outbreak; 34
151151 (B) Inclement weather; 35
152152 (C) A utility outage; 36 HB1864
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155155 (D) A reasonable and substantial threat to the safety and 1
156156 security of the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 2
157157 school; or 3
158158 (E) Other acts of God. 4
159159 (g)(1) Each public school district and open -enrollment public charter 5
160160 school shall remain open for on -site, in-person instruction for a minimum of 6
161161 one hundred seventy-eight (178) days and one thousand sixty -eight (1,068) 7
162162 hours, as required under subdivision (f)(1) of this section, unless the 8
163163 public school district or open -enrollment public charter school is closed for 9
164164 a reason under subdivision (f)(3) of this section. 10
165165 (2) If a public school district or an open -enrollment public 11
166166 charter school closes due to a reason under subdivision (f)(3) of this 12
167167 section, then the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 13
168168 school shall be required to make up only the missed instructional time in 14
169169 order to meet the requirements under subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section. 15
170170 (3) The requirement that a public school district or an open -16
171171 enrollment public charter school be open for on -site, in-person instruction 17
172172 under subdivision (g)(1) of this section does not apply to an approved 18
173173 virtual school. 19
174174 (h)(1) A public school district superintendent or director of an open -20
175175 enrollment public charter school may close school, delay the school day start 21
176176 time, or release students early during a regularly scheduled school day due 22
177177 to exceptional or emergency circumstances resulting from: 23
178178 (A) A contagious disease outbreak; 24
179179 (B) Inclement weather; 25
180180 (C) A utility outage; 26
181181 (D) A reasonable and substantial threat to the safety and 27
182182 security of the public school district or open -enrollment public charter 28
183183 school; or 29
184184 (E) Other acts of God. 30
185185 (2) If a public school district superintendent or director of an 31
186186 open-enrollment public charter school closes school, delays the school day 32
187187 start time, or releases students early during a regularly scheduled school 33
188188 day under subdivision (h)(1) of this section, then the public school district 34
189189 or open-enrollment public charter school shall make up the missed 35
190190 instructional time in order to meet the on -site, in-person instruction time 36 HB1864
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193193 requirements under subdivision (f)(1)(B) of this section by: 1
194194 (A) Utilizing the thirty (30) make -up instructional hours 2
195195 built into the school calendar as required under subdivision (f)(3) of this 3
196196 section; or 4
197197 (B) Otherwise modifying the school calendar to include 5
198198 make-up instructional time for the additional instructional time that is 6
199199 needed. 7
200200 (i)(1) For purposes of a school day, at least forty (40) minutes of 8
201201 instructional time per school day shall be used for recess during the school 9
202202 day for students attending public elementary schools. 10
203203 (2) Recess shall: 11
204204 (A) Consist of supervised social time during which public 12
205205 school students may communicate with each other; 13
206206 (B) Occur outdoors when weather and other relevant 14
207207 conditions permit; and 15
208208 (C) Include without limitation opportunities for free play 16
209209 and vigorous physical activity, regardless of whether recess occurs indoors 17
210210 or outdoors. 18
211211 (3) A public elementary school may seek approval from the 19
212212 division to provide recess in an alternative method by submitting a request 20
213213 to the division. 21
214214 (j) Each public school district and open -enrollment public charter 22
215215 school shall: 23
216216 (1) Post the school calendar on the website of the public school 24
217217 district or open-enrollment public charter school by July 1 each year; and 25
218218 (2) Provide to the division, in the format prescribed by the 26
219219 division, all data that: 27
220220 (A) Affects the average daily membership of the public 28
221221 school district or open -enrollment public charter school; and 29
222222 (B) Ensures compliance with this section. 30
223223 (k) The division may promulgate rules to implement this section. 31
224224 (l) As used in this section: 32
225225 (1)(A) "School day" means a day on which classes are in session 33
226226 and students are on-site, in-person, and receiving instruction at a public 34
227227 school district or open -enrollment public charter school. 35
228228 (B)(i) Any day during which less than six (6) hours of 36 HB1864
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231231 instructional time are provided to students shall be counted as one -half 1
232232 (1/2) of a school day if at least three (3) hours of instructional time are 2
233233 provided to students. 3
234234 (ii) A day in which less than three (3) hours of 4
235235 instructional time are provided to students shall not be counted as any part 5
236236 of a school day; and 6
237237 (2) "Week" means a seven -day period that begins on a Sunday and 7
238238 ends on a Saturday. 8
239239 9
240240 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-108 is repealed. 10
241241 6-10-108. Twelve-month school year — Definition. 11
242242 (a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that public 12
243243 school facilities in the state are now effectively utilized only nine (9) or 13
244244 ten (10) months each year and that such facilities could be more efficiently 14
245245 utilized and educational opportunities in the various school districts could 15
246246 be enhanced by the establishment and operation of educational programs on a 16
247247 twelve (12) month per year basis. It is therefore the intent and purpose of 17
248248 this section to authorize public schools to initiate and maintain public 18
249249 school educational programs on a twelve -month basis. 19
250250 (b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, 20
251251 “twelve-month year-round educational program” means an educational program in 21
252252 which all students attend school no less than the number of days required by 22
253253 the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School 23
254254 Districts between July 1 and June 30 of each school year and in which no 24
255255 vacation, including summer, lasts more than seven (7) weeks. 25
256256 (c)(1) The board of directors of any school district is authorized to 26
257257 initiate and maintain a twelve -month year-round educational program in any or 27
258258 all of the public schools in the school district. 28
259259 (2) However, any school district which does not elect to operate 29
260260 on a twelve-month basis must start school in accordance with the provisions 30
261261 of § 6-10-106. 31
262262 (d)(1) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish 32
263263 appropriate standards, guidelines, and rules for the determination of average 33
264264 daily membership of school districts and for the distribution of state 34
265265 foundation funding and other forms of state aid and financial assistance to 35
266266 each local school district that elects to operate the public schools of the 36 HB1864
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269269 school district on a twelve -month basis, in order to provide the school 1
270270 district with an equitable share of the state foundation funds designated to 2
271271 equate a twelve-month school operation by the school district to the 3
272272 educational opportunities provided by a school district offering nine (9) 4
273273 months of public school instruction. 5
274274 (2) However, the school district shall not receive any more 6
275275 state foundation funding for offering twelve (12) months of public school 7
276276 instruction than it would have received for offering nine (9) months of 8
277277 public school instruction. 9
278278 10
279279 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-117 is repealed. 11
280280 6-10-117. Four-day school week — Definition. 12
281281 (a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that granting 13
282282 local school districts greater flexibility in scheduling instructional time 14
283283 can reap educational benefits for the students and financial rewards for the 15
284284 school district. It is the intent of this section to authorize local school 16
285285 districts to initiate and maintain public school educational programs on a 17
286286 four-day school-week basis, so long as planned instructional time is in 18
287287 accord with requirements established by the State Board of Education. 19
288288 (b) As used in this section, “four -day school week” means an 20
289289 educational program in which all students attend school for four (4) days a 21
290290 week but no fewer than the total number of hours required by the Standards 22
291291 for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts in a five -23
292292 day school week. 24
293293 (c) The board of directors of any school district is authorized to 25
294294 initiate and maintain a four -day school week in any or all of the public 26
295295 schools in the school district. 27
296296 (d)(1) The State Board of Education shall establish appropriate 28
297297 standards, guidelines, and rules for the determination of average daily 29
298298 membership of school districts and for the distribution of state aid to each 30
299299 local school district that elects to operate any or all of the public schools 31
300300 of its school district on a four -day school-week basis, to provide the school 32
301301 district with an equitable share of aid funds designated to equate a four -day 33
302302 school-week operation by the school district to the educational opportunities 34
303303 provided by a school district offering a five -day school week. 35
304304 (2) Provided, however, that a school district shall not receive 36 HB1864
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307307 any more state financial aid for offering a four -day school week of 1
308308 instruction than it would have received for offering a five -day school week 2
309309 of instruction. 3
310310 4
311311 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-126 is repealed. 5
312312 6-10-126. Delay or early release of school due to emergency 6
313313 circumstances. 7
314314 (a) A superintendent may delay the start time or release early a 8
315315 school or schools in the school district due to any of the following 9
316316 emergency circumstances: 10
317317 (1) Inclement weather; 11
318318 (2) Contagious disease outbreak; or 12
319319 (3) Utility outage. 13
320320 (b)(1) For no more than five (5) school days total per year, a 14
321321 superintendent may, due to emergency circumstances under subsection (a) of 15
322322 this section, either: 16
323323 (A) Delay the start of the school day until as late as 17
324324 10:00 a.m.; or 18
325325 (B) Release students from school no earlier than 1:00 p.m. 19
326326 (2) A school day that is delayed or released early under 20
327327 subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall count as a credited school day, with 21
328328 no requirement for additional days to be added to the school calendar. 22
329329 23
330330 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -10-127 is repealed. 24
331331 6-10-127. Making up missed school days. 25
332332 (a) If a superintendent closes school for a regularly scheduled school 26
333333 day due to exceptional or emergency circumstances such as a contagious 27
334334 disease outbreak, inclement weather, or other acts of God, the superintendent 28
335335 may make up missed school days by adding time to the beginning or ending of a 29
336336 regular school day for a minimum of sixty (60) minutes. 30
337337 (b)(1) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education may 31
338338 grant up to the equivalent of ten (10) student attendance days for public 32
339339 school districts that have an alternative instruction plan approved by the 33
340340 commissioner for the use of alternative methods of instruction, including 34
341341 without limitation virtual learning, on days when the public school district 35
342342 is closed due to exceptional or emergency circumstances such as: 36 HB1864
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345345 (A) A contagious disease outbreak, inclement weather, or 1
346346 other acts of God; or 2
347347 (B) A utility outage. 3
348348 (2) The public school district's alternative instruction plan 4
349349 shall demonstrate how teaching and learning in the public school district 5
350350 will not be negatively impacted by the use of alternative methods of 6
351351 instruction under subdivision (b)(1) of this section. 7
352352 8
353353 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -15-202(f)(15), concerning written 9
354354 statements from school districts to the Commissioner of Elementary and 10
355355 Secondary Education that confirm compliance with certain statutory 11
356356 requirements, is amended to read as follows: 12
357357 (15) Section 6-16-102 6-10-106 concerning school day; 13
358358 14
359359 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6 -16-102 is repealed. 15
360360 6-16-102. School day — Definition. 16
361361 (a)(1)(A) Except as provided under subdivision (a)(1)(B) of this 17
362362 section, as used in this section, “school day” shall mean a day in which 18
363363 classes are in session and students receive at least six (6) hours of 19
364364 instructional time. 20
365365 (B) However, “school day” for purposes of a public school 21
366366 district that implements an alternate school calendar under § 6 -10-106(g) 22
367367 means a day in which classes are in session and students are under the 23
368368 guidance and direction of a teacher or public school employee. 24
369369 (2)(A) Any day in which less than six (6) hours of instructional 25
370370 time are provided to students shall be counted as one -half (½) of a school 26
371371 day if at least three (3) hours of instructional time are provided to 27
372372 students. 28
373373 (B) However, subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section shall 29
374374 not apply to a public school district that implements an alternate school 30
375375 calendar under § 6-10-106(g). 31
376376 (3)(A) Any day in which less than three (3) hours of 32
377377 instructional time are provided to students shall not be counted as any part 33
378378 of a school day. 34
379379 (B) However, subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section shall 35
380380 not apply to a public school district that implements an alternate school 36 HB1864
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383383 calendar under § 6-10-106(g). 1
384384 (4) A school district may include as part of the school day the 2
385385 travel time between public schools or other educational programs of those 3
386386 students attending classes or programs authorized by law. 4
387387 (5)(A) At least forty (40) minutes of instructional time per 5
388388 school day shall be used for recess during the school day for students 6
389389 attending public elementary schools. 7
390390 (B) Recess shall: 8
391391 (i) Consist of supervised, unstructured social time 9
392392 during which public school students may communicate with each other; 10
393393 (ii) Occur outdoors when weather and other relevant 11
394394 conditions permit; and 12
395395 (iii) Include without limitation opportunities for 13
396396 free play and vigorous physical activity, regardless of whether recess occurs 14
397397 indoors or outdoors. 15
398398 (C) The remaining instructional hours required under this 16
399399 section shall be distributed across academic content areas as determined by a 17
400400 public school district's board of directors. 18
401401 (D) A public school principal may use discretion to adjust 19
402402 recess time required under this section due to special circumstances or 20
403403 programs that interrupt a regular school day. 21
404404 (E)(i) A public elementary school may seek a waiver from 22
405405 the requirements under this subdivision (a)(5) if the public elementary 23
406406 school: 24
407407 (a) Submits to the Division of Elementary and 25
408408 Secondary Education for approval an alternative plan for recess that: 26
409409 (1) Exceeds the required minimum amount 27
410410 of minutes combined for physical activity under § 6 -16-132 and recess under 28
411411 this section; and 29
412412 (2) Provides for both structured and 30
413413 unstructured social time; or 31
414414 (b) Is approved by the division to operate as 32
415415 a virtual school. 33
416416 (ii) Beginning with the 2019 -2020 school year, the 34
417417 division shall provide to the House Committee on Education and the Senate 35
418418 Committee on Education each year for three (3) years a report that details 36 HB1864
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421421 the following: 1
422422 (a) Which public elementary schools have been 2
423423 granted a waiver under subdivision (a)(5)(E)(i) of this section; and 3
424424 (b) How many waivers have been granted by the 4
425425 division under subdivision (a)(5)(E)(i) of this section. 5
426426 (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the State Board of 6
427427 Education shall promulgate rules to prescribe the credit to be given students 7
428428 for attending school for only a portion of a school day because the school is 8
429429 closed due to emergency circumstances which would be hazardous to the health 9
430430 of the students. The state board shall also identify the emergency 10
431431 circumstances. 11
432432 (c)(1) A school district is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements 12
433433 of subsection (a) of this section if the planned instructional time in each 13
434434 school day does not average less than six (6) hours each day or thirty (30) 14
435435 hours each week. 15
436436 (2) However, subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall not apply 16
437437 to a public school district that implements an alternate school calendar 17
438438 under § 6-10-106(g). 18
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