K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in Arkansas
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This page features information about K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and related statutes in Arkansas.
Background: What is curriculum development?
State or local education officials develop K-12 curriculum for classroom instruction that generally includes lessons and materials used in a particular course of study.[1] Depending on the state, K-12 curriculum may reflect or incorporate state content standards—educational learning and achievement goals that state education officials either require or recommend that local schools satisfy in K-12 instruction.
K-12 curriculum development in public schools varies across the 50 states. State-level entities (such as state boards of education and state education agency leaders) or local entities (such as school districts and local schools) may play a role in the development and approval of K-12 curriculum.
If a state-level entity is tasked with developing a K-12 curriculum, state statutes or regulations may either require or recommend that local schools or districts use the state-developed curriculum in the classroom. Other states allow local schools or districts to develop their own K-12 curriculum.
The following table provides information about K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and related statutes in Arkansas as of December 2023. The statutes provided may not be comprehensive. The statutory text is provided below the table.
| State K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Entity | If state-developed, is curriculum recommended or required for local schools? | Statute or regulation |
| Arkansas | School district boards of directors/ State Board of Education | Both | Ark. Code § 6-13-620 (2020) |
| “ | Powers and duties
|
” |
Right to Read Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-429(f))
| “ | The Right to Read Act, amended by the Arkansas Legislature in 2019, requires “curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic...[4][3] | ” |
See also
- K-12 areas of instruction required by statute in the states
- K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
- K-12 education content standards in the states
- Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development
- Use of the term critical race theory (CRT)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Glossary of Education Reform, "Curriculum," accessed July 26, 2022
- ↑ Law Justia, "Ark. Code § 6-13-620 (2020)," December 11, 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, "Approved Science of Reading Curriculum," December 11, 2023.
