Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
*TNL378* 03/31/2025 11:37:22 AM TNL378
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1919 3
4
By: Representative McAlindon 5
By: Senator J. Dotson 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND 9
TRANSPARENCY ACT; TO REQUIRE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS TO 10
LEARNING MATERIALS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
12
13
Subtitle 14
TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND 15
TRANSPARENCY ACT; AND TO REQUIRE PUBLIC 16
ACCESS TO LEARNING MATERIALS. 17
18
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
20
SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title. 21
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Public School Access 22
and Transparency Act". 23
24
SECTION 2. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative intent. 25
The purpose of this act is to amend the Freedom of Information Act of 26
1967, § 25-19-101 et seq., to: 27
(1) Prevent the abuse of copyright claims by public records 28
custodians; and 29
(2) Guarantee access to school learning materials, thus ensuring 30
transparency and accountability in public education in the state. 31
32
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 25 -19-103(7), concerning the definition of 33
"public records" under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, is amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(7)(A) “Public records” means writings, recorded sounds, films, 36 HB1919
2 03/31/2025 11:37:22 AM TNL378
tapes, electronic or computer -based information, or data compilations in any 1
medium required by law to be kept or otherwise kept and that constitute a 2
record of the performance or lack of performance of official functions that 3
are or should be carried out by a public official or employee, a governmental 4
agency, or any other agency or improvement district that is wholly or 5
partially supported by public funds or expending public funds. All records 6
maintained in public offices or by public employees within the scope of their 7
employment shall be presumed to be public records , including without 8
limitation learning materials used in or maintained by a public school or 9
public school district . 10
(B) “Public records” does not mean software acquired by 11
purchase, lease, or license; 12
13
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 25 -19-103, concerning definitions under the 14
Freedom of Information Act of 1967, is amended to add an additional 15
subdivision to read as follows: 16
(10)(A) "Learning materials" means curricula, syllabi, lesson 17
plans, instructional materials, assignments, presentations, books, articles, 18
video recordings, audio recordings, digital resources, or other resources 19
that are used for classroom instruction, regardless of format or medium. 20
(B) "Learning materials" does not include tests or other 21
student assessments used by public schools or public school districts. 22
23
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 25 -19-105, concerning the examination and 24
copying of public records under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, is 25
amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 26
(i)(1) Access to learning materials shall not be denied to any 27
resident on the grounds that disclosure, inspection, or copying of the 28
learning materials would constitute an infringement of copyright under 29
federal law. 30
(2) A custodian of learning materials, including without 31
limitation a public school, public school district, public school official, 32
or public school employee, shall not enter into an agreement or contract that 33
purports to restrict public access to learning materials based on copyright, 34
intellectual property rights, or any similar legal theory. 35
(3)(A) Consistent with subsection (g) of this section, access 36 HB1919
3 03/31/2025 11:37:22 AM TNL378
shall not be denied to digital learning materials, including without 1
limitation subscription -based services or other programs that can be accessed 2
with personal electronic devices. 3
(B) To the extent that copying digital learning materials 4
under subdivision (i)(3)(A) of this section is impractical, a resident 5
requesting to copy the digital learning materials shall be provided the 6
opportunity to physically inspect the digital learning materials during 7
normal business hours. 8
(4)(A) Access to learning materials, including without 9
limitation the physical inspection of digital learning materials, shall not 10
be conditioned upon a resident seeking access to the learning materials being 11
required to enter into any form of nondisclosure agreement or waiver of 12
rights under this chapter. 13
(B) For purposes of this section, "nondisclosure 14
agreement" means a confidentiality agreement or contract provision that 15
prohibits the disclosure of information by a party to the contract to a 16
third-party. 17
18
SECTION 6. DO NOT CODIFY. Severability. If any provision of this act 19
or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 20
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that 21
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to this 22
end, the provisions of this act are severable. 23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36