Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 649 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S4/1/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 572 3
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By: Senator J. Dotson 5
By: Representative McAlindon 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND 9
TRANSPARENCY ACT; TO REQUIRE PUBLIC ACCESS TO 10
LEARNING MATERIALS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND 15
TRANSPARENCY ACT; AND TO REQUIRE PUBLIC 16
ACCESS TO LEARNING MATERIALS. 17
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
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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
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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 for public schools ; and 29
(2) Guarantee access to school learning materials, thus ensuring 30
transparency and accountability in public education in the state. 31
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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 As Engrossed: S4/1/25 SB572
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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
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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 maintained and used by public schools for classroom instruction, 20
regardless of format or medium. 21
(B) "Learning materials" does not include tests or other 22
student assessments used by public schools or public school districts. 23
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SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 25 -19-105, concerning the examination and 25
copying of public records under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, is 26
amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 27
(i)(1) Access to learning materials, as defined in § 25 -19-103, shall 28
not be denied to any resident on the grounds that disclosure, inspection, or 29
copying of the learning materials would constitute an infringement of 30
copyright under federal law. 31
(2) A custodian of learning materials shall not enter into an 32
agreement or contract that purports to restrict public access to learning 33
materials based on intellectual property rights, or any similar legal theory. 34
(3)(A) A person who receives access to copyrighted learning 35
materials under this section shall not publish, distribute, or utilize the 36 As Engrossed: S4/1/25 SB572
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copyrighted learning materials for any purpose other than public inspection. 1
(B) Any copies of copyrighted learning materials under 2
this section shall not exceed any amounts permissible under fair use 3
provisions of the copyright laws of the United States under 17 U.S.C. § 101 4
et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2025. 5
(4)(A) Consistent with subsection (g) of this section, access 6
for public inspection shall not be denied to digital learning materials, 7
including without limitation subscription -based services or other programs 8
that can be accessed with personal electronic devices. 9
(B) To the extent that copying digital learning materials 10
under subdivision (i)(4)(A) of this section is impractical, a resident 11
requesting to copy the digital learning materials shall be provided the 12
opportunity to physically inspect the digital learning materials during 13
normal business hours. 14
(5)(A) Subject to subdivision (i)(2) of this section, access to 15
learning materials, including without limitation the physical inspection of 16
digital learning materials, for public inspection shall not be conditioned 17
upon a resident seeking access to the learning materials being required to 18
enter into any form of nondisclosure agreement or waiver of rights under this 19
chapter. 20
(B) For purposes of this section, "nondisclosure 21
agreement" means a confidentiality agreement or contract provision that 22
prohibits the disclosure of information by a party to the contract to a 23
third-party. 24
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SECTION 6. DO NOT CODIFY. Severability. If any provision of this act 26
or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 27
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that 28
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to this 29
end, the provisions of this act are severable. 30
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/s/J. Dotson 32
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APPROVED: 4/16/25 35
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