School board authority in Arkansas

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Arkansas state law makes school boards responsible for governing and managing public school districts in the state. This article details the powers and duties Arkansas law grants to school boards for governing school districts and the constraints on that authority with regard to certain topics.

HIGHLIGHTS

Arkansas is one of 10 states that do not give local school boards any authority over whether charter schools are issued in their district.

School boards in Arkansas are required to implement policy facilitating inter- and intradistrict open enrollment.

Arkansas school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries.

Types of legal and contractual constraints on school board authority

See also: Local school board authority across the 50 states

This page presents the results from Ballotpedia research on school board authority and constraints on that authority in all 50 states as of 2024. School board authority comes from state constitutions and state statutes and can be interpreted or specified by state regulations or court decisions. In addition to authority over district budgets, the selection of a superintendent, and administrative responsibilities, school boards have varying levels of authority over district policy on other topics depending on the state and district.

There are several sources of legal and contractual constraints on school board policy-making authority which also vary by state or by district.

• State laws commonly restrict or mandate school board policies on certain topics.
  • Parents' Bills of Rights, which at least 26 states have in statute to some degree, limit the policies school boards are allowed to pass.
• State rules, guidance, and funding incentives can constrain, mandate, or influence school board policies. These include regulation from state education commissions and superintendents, executive orders from governors, or grant conditions.
• Federal and state court rulings can dictate whether or not school district policies are compatible with state law or federal law.
• The federal government, largely through its Department of Education, can promulgate regulations or guidance that influence district policy or make funding contingent on certain policies.
• Collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teacher unions can create contractual constraints on the policies school boards can pass.
• State school board associations can influence school board policy or, in some cases. enter into contracts with school boards that can limit school board policy.

This page features the following sections:

• Arkansas law on school boards' authority over district policy. This section features the statutes in Arkansas law that establish, enable, or define local school district boards.
• Constraints on Arkansas school boards' authority. This section provides an overview of constraints on the school boards' authority in Arkansas. It contains information on the constraints by the following topics:
  • Curriculum requirements
  • Curriculum restrictions
  • Book bans, removals, and restrictions
  • Parental notification
  • Discipline
  • School board elections
  • Public school choice and open enrollment
  • Charter schools
  • Cellphone bans
• Collective bargaining agreements
• How does Arkansas compare to other states?
• Parents' bill of rights
• Noteworthy Events. This section tracks noteworthy events related to school boards' authority in Arkansas.

School board authority over district policy in Arkansas

Enabling or authorizing statute for the boards of school districts in Arkansas

See also: Enabling statute

Arkansas Code § 6-13-620 charges school district boards with administering school districts:

“ The board of directors of each school district in the state is charged with the following powers and required to perform the following duties in order to provide no less than a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools: (1) Attend meetings of the school district board of directors; (2) Determine the mission and direction of the school district; (3) Adhere to state and federal laws governing public schools; (4) Enact, enforce, and obey school district policies; ”

Arkansas school boards' powers and duties

Arkansas public school boards of directors are given both broad authority over district policy and 11 specific duties or powers to administer the public schools in Arkansas. In addition to budget-related and fiscal duties, school property and facilities management, and administrative responsibilities, the specific powers and duties include:

• approving the curriculum for the district,
• determining the mission and direction of the district, and
• employing the school district staff.

The following list of powers and duties school district boards are charged with appears in Arkansas Code § 6-13-620:

“ The board of directors of each school district in the state is charged with the following powers and required to perform the following duties in order to provide no less than a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools: (1) Attend meetings of the school district board of directors; (2) Determine the mission and direction of the school district; (3) Adhere to state and federal laws governing public schools; (4) Enact, enforce, and obey school district policies; (5) Employ staff, including: (A) (i) A superintendent and one (1) or more assistant superintendent of schools to oversee the day-to-day operations of the school district. (ii) A superintendent shall be evaluated annually or no less often than before any extension of his or her employment contract. (iii) Superintendents and assistant superintendents may be employed under contract terms and conditions that incorporate all elements prescribed by the State Board of Education; and (B) School district employees under initial written employment contracts in the form prescribed by the State Board of Education, not including day-to-day substitutes; (6) Understand and oversee school district finances required by law to ensure alignment with the school district's academic and facility needs and goals, including without limitation: (A) Reviewing, adopting, and publishing the school district's budget; (B) Overseeing and monitoring the school district finances, including: (i) Revenues; (ii) Expenditures; (iii) Investments; (iv) Debts; (v) Obligations; (vi) Inventory; and (vii) Real property; (C) Borrowing money as necessary, but in no case shall the school district board of directors permit the school district to end the fiscal year with a negative legal balance; (D) Entering into contracts for goods and services necessary to operate the school district; (E) Buying, selling, renting, and leasing real property and personal property on behalf of the school district; and (F) Receiving, reviewing, and approving each annual financial audit report and presenting it to the public; (7) Ensure that: (A) Necessary and sufficient facilities are built or obtained, furnished, and maintained; and (B) All properties belonging to the district are managed and maintained for the benefit of the school district; (8) Approve the selection of curriculum and ensure that students are offered and taught the courses of study and educational content required by the State Board of Education; (9) Visit district schools and classrooms when students are present no less than annually and attend some events and functions; (10) Obtain the training and professional development necessary to serve as active and informed members of the school district board of directors; and (11) Do all other things necessary and lawful for the conduct of efficient free public schools in the school district. ”

Constraints on Arkansas school boards' authority

This section tracks constraints on school boards specific to Arkansas as of September 2024. It features constraints on school boards' authority from state law, collective bargaining agreements, and Parents' Bills of Rights.

Constraint on Arkansas school boards' authority by topic

This section features constraints on Arkansas school boards' authority on policies related to the following topics:

• Curriculum requirements
• Curriculum restrictions
• Book bans, removals, and restrictions
• Parental notification
• Discipline
• School board elections
• Public school choice and open enrollment
• Charter schools
• Cellphone bans

Curriculum requirements

Arkansas requires the following specific curricular topics to be included in the state's content standards:

• morals, manners, and patriotism;
• African-American history;
• American heritage;
• Arkansas history;
• food handling safety;
• gun violence prevention;
• visual art or music;
• physical education;
• breastfeeding education as part of any health course;
• personal and family finance standards;
• technology;
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training;
• cursive writing;
• computer science;
• preparation for the U.S. citizenship civics test required to receive a high school diploma;
• Holocaust education; and
• child sexual abuse and human trafficking prevention.

Curriculum restrictions

Arkansas law prohibits the following instruction or instructional topics in public schools:

• Teaching what the statute calls divisive concepts including the concept that one race or sex is inherently superior to another;
• teaching that Arkansas or the U.S. is fundamentally racist or sexist, an individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive by virtue of their race or sex;
• teaching that an individual should be discriminated against because of their race or sex;
• teaching that an individual's moral character is determined by their race or sex;
• teaching that an individual bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by members of the same race or sex;
• teaching that an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, or anguish on account of their race or sex;
• teaching that meritocracy is racist or sexist;
• teaching any other form of race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating;
• teaching ideologies such as critical race theory;
• teaching on sexually explicit materials, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, gender identity, or sexual orientation before grade 5; and
• teaching on or providing materials that state law classifies as being harmful to minors.

Federal law and guidance

Federal executive orders:

President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order (E.O.) on January 29, 2025, entitled Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, prohibiting federal funding that directly or indirectly facilitates K-12 instruction regarding what the bill calls gender or equity ideology. It directs federal executive agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to create a plan to relinquish federal funds from school or teacher certification programs that include what the E.O. called gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology. The order defined discriminatory equity ideology as ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups rather than as individuals and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Arkansas school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries. Arkansas state law requires that challenges to school library books or curricular material be reviewed by a committee that includes a media specialist and the principal of a school district, as well as other licensed "personnel with curriculum knowledge appropriate for the material being challenged and be representative of diverse viewpoints," according to the statute. If the committee decides not to remove the challenged book or material, the person who submitted the removal request can appeal the decision to the district school board. The school board's decision is final.

(A) If the committee established under subdivision (c)(6)(A) of this section decides not to relocate the material being challenged, the person who submitted the request under subdivision (c)(5) of this section may appeal the committee's decision to the board of directors for the school district by filing a written appeal to the superintendent within five (5) working days of the committee's decision or written receipt of the committee's decision. (B) (i) If a person appeals the decision of a committee under this subdivision (c)(12), the superintendent shall present the material being challenged, the request submitted by the person under subdivision (c)(5) of this section, the committee's decision under subdivision (c)(11)(A) of this section, and the summary prepared under subdivision (c)(11)(B) of this section to the board of directors within fifteen (15) days of the committee's decision. (ii) In addition to the information required to be provided under subdivision (c)(12)(B)(i) of this section, the superintendent may also include the administration's recommendation regarding the appeal submitted under this subdivision (c)(12). (C) (i) The members of the board of directors shall review the information submitted to them under this subdivision (c)(12) and shall make a decision on the appeal within thirty (30) days of receiving the information. (ii) The decision of a board of directors under subdivision (c)(12)(C)(i) of this section is final; and (13) A meeting held regarding a challenge or an appeal submitted under a written policy adopted by a school district under subsection (b) of this section shall be a public meeting and the records submitted and considered at a meeting shall be public records under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq.

Arkansas law prohibits librarians, among others, from providing materials that state law classifies as being harmful to minors, constraining school boards' authority to determine which books or curricular material is allowed in schools.

Case law:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed local school boards' authority to remove school books in Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico in 1982 but held that school library books are distinct from curricular books, which school boards have more authority to regulate. The ruling held that school boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly. In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1980, the Supreme Court held that school boards had discretionary power over curriculum, textbooks, and other educational matters but could not impose religious creeds or "permanently the student’s ability to investigate matters that arise in the natural course of intellectual inquiry,” according to the opinion.

Parental notification

Arkansas requires to be informed about disciplinary policy, including:

• Charges, hearings, and other due process proceedings regarding the enforcement and administration of disciplinary policy as decided by school boards of directors, and
• the rules and regulations by which the school is governed, including policies regarding behaviors that result in disciplinary action and the corresponding corrective actions.

Arkansas requires parents to be notified if any of the following events occur:

• their student is absent from school;
• their student is suspended from school;
• the school or school district makes a report to law enforcement regarding their student;
• their student is taken into custody by law enforcement;
• the school grants law enforcement, other than school resource officers, access to their student; and
• there's been an alleged bullying incident by or against their student.

Arkansas state law also requires parental approval before a teacher can refer to students by a name or pronouns that differ from the ones listed on the student's birth certificate.

Case law: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025, that Montgomery County Board of Education's introduction of LGBTQ+ related storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt outs, placed an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.

Discipline

See also: How does Arkansas compare to other states on school board authority over disciplinary policy?

Arkansas is one of 47 states that gives school boards authority over district disciplinary policy. The school district's disciplinary policy must follow guidelines set by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The text of the policy authorizing school boards to create district disciplinary policy is as follows:

“ Each school district in this state shall develop written student discipline policies in compliance with these rules and shall file the policies with the Division by posting the policies on the school district’s website no later than August 1 each year. ”

Federal guidance

President Donald Trump (R) issued an Executive Order (E.O.) titled Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies on April 23, 2025, that required the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue guidance local educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational agencies (SEAs) regarding "school discipline and their obligations not to engage in racial discrimination under Title VI in all contexts, including school discipline," according to the order. The first Trump administration rescinded guidance issued in 2014 under the Obama administration that suggested that higher rates of discipline for racial minorities could be evidence of discrimination and could cause schools to lose federal funding. Trump's 2025 E.O. argued that the guidance "effectively required schools to discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone." Though the guidance was rescinded in 2018, the U.S. Department of Education continued to collect data regarding the racial breakdown of disciplinary actions taken across the country. Trump's 2025 E.O. prohibits schools from engaging in what it called racial discrimination in the application of school discipline.

School board elections

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Arkansas, How does Arkansas compare to other states on school board authority over election timing?

Arkansas is one of 42 states in which school boards do not have authority over the timing of school board elections because state or municipal laws determine school board election dates.

Click here to read about the laws governing school board elections in Arkansas.

Public school choice and open enrollment

See also: School choice in Arkansas

Arkansas state law requires school boards to develop policies that facilitate inter- and intradistrict open enrollment. The policies must include guidelines for accepting and rejecting open enrollment applications, which state law sets parameters for:

(a) A public school choice program is established to enable a student in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) to attend a school in a nonresident district, subject to the limitations under § 6-18-1906. (b) Each school district shall participate in a public school choice program consistent with this subchapter. (c) (1) A school district shall not deny a student the ability to attend a school in the student's school district of choice under this section unless there is a lack of capacity at the school in the student's school district of choice. (2) A lack of capacity may be claimed by a school district only if: (A) The school district has reached the maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the rules for standards for accreditation, state rules, or other applicable federal regulations; and (B) The claim is consistent with state and federal law. (3) A school district receiving transfers under this section shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. (d) (1) The board of directors of a public school district shall adopt by resolution specific standards for acceptance and rejection of applications under this subchapter. (2) The standards: (A) May include without limitation the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or school building; (B) May include a claim of a lack of capacity by a school district only if the school district has reached at least ninety percent (90%) of the maximum authorized student population in a program, class, grade level, or school building; (C) Shall include a statement that priority will be given to an applicant who has a sibling or stepsibling who: (i) Resides in the same household; and (ii) Is already enrolled in the nonresident district by choice; and (D) Shall not include an applicant's: (i) Academic achievement; (ii) Athletic or other extracurricular ability; (iii) English proficiency level; or (iv) Previous disciplinary proceedings, except that an expulsion from another district may be included under § 6-18-510. (3) A school district receiving transfers under this subchapter shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. (e) A nonresident district shall: (1) Accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another district; and (2) Award a diploma to a nonresident student if the student meets the nonresident district's graduation requirements. (f) The superintendent of a school district shall cause public announcements to be made over the broadcast media and either in the print media or on the internet to inform parents of students in adjoining districts of the: (1) Availability of the public school choice program; (2) Application deadline; and (3) Requirements and procedure for nonresident students to participate in the public school choice program.

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in Arkansas, How does Arkansas compare to other states on school board authority over charter schools?

Arkansas is one of 10 states that do not give local school boards any authority over whether charter schools are issued in their district. . Only a panel within the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Arkansas State Board of Education are authorized to approve or deny charter school applications:

AR Code § 6-23-701 (2023) (a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is the designated public charter authorizer with jurisdiction and authority over all public charters issued in this state to take the following actions on a proposed or established public charter: (1) Approve; (2) Reject; (3) Renew; (4) Nonrenew; (5) Place on probation; (6) Modify; (7) Revoke; (8) Deny; (9) Transfer; or (10) Assign. (b) (1) The division shall exercise authority over public charter schools under this chapter through a public charter authorizing panel established within the division. (2) (A) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall appoint a public charter authorizing panel that may consist of individuals from outside the division as well as professional staff employed at the division to serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. (B) The commissioner may elect to serve as a member on the public charter authorizing panel as the chair. (3) The public charter authorizing panel shall be composed of an odd number of members and shall consist of no less than five (5) members and no more than eleven (11) members. (c) The division may waive provisions of this title or State Board of Education rules as allowed by law for public charters. (d) (1) The division shall conduct all hearings on public charter school matters as required by law, rule, and process and make final determinations as allowed by law. (2) (A) A hearing under this chapter conducted by the division shall be an open meeting under § 25-19-106. (B) For the purposes of § 25-19-106, the members of the public charter authorizing panel shall be considered a governing body only in regard to actions specifically authorized by this subchapter. (3) (A) All decisions of the public charter authorizing panel shall be made by majority vote of the quorum. (B) A decision of the division is final except as provided under § 6-23-703. (4) The Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq., shall not apply to a hearing concerning a public charter school. (e) The division shall be the primary authorizer of public charters except as provided under § 6-23-703. AR Admin Rules 005.28.19-036 - DESE Rules Governing Public Charter Schools 3.06 "Authorizer" means an entity that authorizes a charter, which may be either the: 3.06.1 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education; or 3.06.2 State Board of Education acting under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-23-703 and Section 10.0 of these rules.

Cellphone bans

See also: How does Arkansas compare to other states on cellphone laws?

Arkansas is one of 26 states with state laws or executive orders prohibiting or limiting cell phones in classrooms and/or schools, including through requiring school boards to pass certain policies. However, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) instituted a pilot program to provide schools with pouches to store students' cellphones during the K-12 school day to limit use.

Collective bargaining agreements

Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time. Within the time set out in the agreement, the school board must comply with the stipulations that were agreed to in the contract. In this way, CBAs can constrain school board authority by giving teachers authority over curriculum, prohibiting school boards from banning books, and establishing certain student or parental rights. They can also determine rights and protections for educators, and conditions for students (such as required recess periods or the amount of standardized testing), among other provisions.

CBAs vary greatly within and across states in size, topics covered, and constraints they put on school boards. Not all states allow teachers to bargain collectively. As of January 2022, 35 states and the District of Columbia guaranteed K-12 teachers some right to bargain collectively, and six states prohibited public-sector employee collective bargaining by law, which includes public school teachers. The other nine states have no statewide bargaining framework, but local jurisdictions within these states can grant bargaining rights if they choose.

Arkansas public school district employees are not legally allowed to engage in collective bargaining agreements with their employers after Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) signed Arkansas Senate Bill 341, which prohibited collective bargaining on the part of certain state employees and public school district employees, on April 8, 2021.

Parents' bill of rights

See also: How does Arkansas compare to other states on Parents' Bills of Rights?

Arkansas is one of 24 states that does not have a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights.

How does Arkansas compare to other states?

This section compares Arkansas' school board authority and constraints with those of other states on select topics. These topics include authority over discipline policy, school board election timing, charter schools, cellphone use policy, as well as constraints on school boards' authority from Parents' Bills of Rights.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Twenty-three (23) states have no laws regulating the curation of school library books. Twenty-seven (27) states, however, have passed laws restricting school board authority over school library book curation. These laws typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Eleven states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
• Nine states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
• Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
• Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
• Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.

Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies.

Discipline

• School boards in 47 states have authority over disciplinary policy in their district.
• School boards in two states have authority over disciplinary policy for specific circumstances, such as suspension, expulsion, or bullying.
• Individual schools in one state create their own disciplinary policy.

School board elections

School boards' authority over the timing of school board elections varies by state.

• School boards in 42 states do not have authority over election timing;
• School boards in five states can choose from limited options when to hold school board elections;
• School boards in two states can choose from a date range when to hold school board elections;
• The school board in Hawaii is not elected.

The map below shows the types of authority school boards in the states have to determine the timing of school board elections.

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in the United States

Some school boards in the U.S. are authorized to approve or deny applications for charter schools in their district, while state boards of education hold the authority in other states. In some states, school boards can authorize charter schools, but there are other entities besides school boards that can also authorize charter schools or to which a school board decision can be appealed.

• 10 states do not authorize school boards to make decisions on whether to approve new charter schools in their districts.
• 36 states do authorize school boards to approve new charter schools in their districts, deny approval to new charter schools, or both.
• 3 states do not have laws governing charter school authorization.
• 1 state allows school districts to apply to the state board of education to be a charter school district.

State cellphone laws

See also: State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools

In most states, school boards or superintendents often set policies on cellphones in public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010.

Beginning with Florida in 2023, some states enacted laws or policies to regulate student cellphone usage in public schools. Twenty-six (26) states had statewide laws or policies restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms or schools as of June 2025. Four states had requirements for all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones but without specific requirements for those policies. Four other states had policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom.

Parents' Bill of Rights

See also: Parents' Bill of Rights in education

If state law explicitly provides certain rights to parents, it can constrain the policy-making authority of school boards. These sections of statute are often referred to within statute and are categorized here as Parents' Bills of Rights. In some states, they are education-specific, regarding the rights a parent has to be involved in their child's public education. Common examples include notification requirements, opt-out rights, and records access. Other Parents' Bills of Rights are more general, commonly affording parents a right to direct the upbringing of their child.

• 26 states have enacted a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights
• 24 states have not enacted a Parents' Bill of Rights.

Noteworthy events

See also: Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development

• Federal appeals court upholds Arkansas restriction on CRT (2025): A federal appeals court panel ruled that the state's ban on what state law refers to as indoctrination in K-12 education, citing critical race theory as an example, doesn’t violate students’ free speech protections because the government has a right to dictate what is taught. A teacher from Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, joined by a group of students and parents, filed a lawsuit on March 25, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) challenging the LEARNS Act. The LEARNS Act—which stands for Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking, and School Safety—was signed into law on March 6, 2024, and aimed to restructure K-12 education in the state. The lawsuit challenged a provision in the law that prohibited what the act refers to as indoctrination in K-12 education, citing critical race theory as an example. The plaintiffs asked the court to find the section of the act unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky issued a preliminary injunction on May 7, 2024, that allowed teachers to discuss CRT in the classroom while litigation proceeds, but did not end the ban on what the law defined as indoctrination in schools. The federal appeals court ruled that the law may stay in place.

• Arkansas institutes law requiring parental consent for using a student's preferred name or pronouns (2023): Arkansas House Bill 1468 became law on April 11, 2023, which prohibited schools from requiring teachers or staff to refer to a student by their preferred name or pronouns as well as requiring parental consent before a teacher could use a name or pronouns that differ from those listed on the student's birth certificate.

• Arkansas institutes law that would create liability for librarians who distribute content that the statute calls harmful to minors (2023): Arkansas Act 372 of 2023 became law on April 4, 2023, which prohibited presenting, distributing, allowing to view, or otherwise disseminating material that the statute classifies as being harmful to minors, including sexual content, and made it a liability for those found guilty of such. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks temporarily blocked two sections from taking effect in July 2023. Brooks wrote in the injunction ruling that the blocked sections "could lead to arbitrary interpretation and content-based restrictions that violate the First Amendment right to freedom of expression," according to the ruling. Brooks canceled the trial on October 30, 2024.

• Arkansas Department of Education removes AP African American studies course (2023): The Arkansas Department of Education on August 11, 2023, removed the AP African American studies course from schools for the 2023-2024 school year, arguing that the pilot course may not align with state law. The state department contended that they “cannot approve a pilot that may unintentionally put a teacher at risk of violating Arkansas law,” according to EducationWeek. College Board piloted the curriculum in 60 schools during the 2022-2023 school year and was set to expand to more schools throughout the United States in the 2023-2024 school year, including six schools in Arkansas. Florida was the first state to ban the curriculum in January 2023.

• Arkansas school board requires students to use bathroom consistent with sex at birth (2022): The school board for the Conway School District in Arkansas on October 11, 2022, unanimously approved policies regarding gender identity in public schools. One of the policies proposed requiring that students use the restroom that matches their sex at birth, though each school must provide an accommodation to any individual who does not want to comply with the policy. The other policy passed proposed mandating that students traveling on overnight trips for extracurricular activities, field trips, interscholastic activities, or intrascholastic activities be assigned to hotel rooms based on their sex at birth.

See also

• Local school board authority across the 50 states
• K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
• State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
• Rules governing school board election dates and timing
• Charter schools
• School choice
• Parents' Bill of Rights in education
• Ballotpedia:Index of Contents
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