Public education in Arkansas

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K-12 education in Arkansas

Education facts

State superintendent: Jacob Oliva

Number of students: 474,826

Number of teachers: 36,900

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:12.8

Number of school districts: 233

Number of schools: 989

Graduation rate: 84.9%

Per-pupil spending: $10,345

See also

Arkansas Department of Education • List of school districts in Arkansas • Arkansas • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Arkansas Glossary of education terms

Note: These statistics are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of October 2022.

The Arkansas public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2013 Arkansas had 486,157 students enrolled in a total of 1,102 schools in 288 school districts. There were 34,131 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 14 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 295 students, which was on par with the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Arkansas spent $9,394 per pupil in 2013, which ranked it 34th highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 84.9 percent in 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

Arkansas reported a graduation rate of nearly 85 percent in 2013. The state's average ACT scores were also roughly on par with the national average.

Common Core

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initiative, is an American education initiative that outlines quantifiable benchmarks in English and mathematics at each grade level from kindergarten through high school. The Arkansas State Board of Education adopted the standards on July 12, 2010. Full implementation was set to be achieved in the 2013-2014 academic year.

In 2015 a Common Core review panel was established that evaluated the program's performance in Arkansas. The panel advised that Arkansas students may be better served if the state switched from the standardized test then in use, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam, to a more nationally recognized test, such as the ACT. In June 2015, the state Board of Education voted to renew the state's contract with PARCC. The following month, the board voted to instead cancel the contract and switch over to the ACT. The board signed a contract switching the state to the ACT in September 2015.

In September 2015, state Commissioner of Education Johnny Key ordered a review of Common Core standards for mathematics and English. The state Board of Education voted to adopt the revised mathematics standards in April 2016 and the revised English standards in July 2016. The new standards were rolled in over the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years.

General information

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Arkansas compares to three neighboring states with respect to the number of students, schools, teachers per pupil and administrators per pupil for the 2012-2013 school year. The chart also displays that information at the national level. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page. In the 2012-2013 school year, Arkansas enrolled fewer students, 486,157, than any neighboring state.

Regional comparison, 2012-2013
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher to pupil ratio	Administrator to pupil ratio	Per pupil spending*
Arkansas	1,102	288	486,157	34,131	1:14.2	1:294.5	$9,394
Louisiana	1,407	131	710,903	46,493	1:15.3	1:247.4	$10,490
Mississippi	1,063	162	493,650	32,613	1:15.1	1:252.8	$8,130
Missouri	2,406	567	917,900	66,248	1:13.9	1:294.8	$9,597
United States	98,454	18,093	49,771,118	3,109,101	1:16	1:294.1	$10,700
*Per pupil spending data reflects information reported for fiscal year 2013. Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2 - Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher, and pupil teacher ratio, by state: School year 2012–13," accessed May 27, 2015 United States Census, "Public Education Finances: 2012," accessed May 27, 2015

Note: In comparing dollar amounts across the states, it is important to note that the cost of living can from state to state and within a state. The amounts given on this page have not been adjusted to reflect these differences. For more information on "regional price disparities" and the Consumer Price Index, see the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Schools by type

See also: Number of schools by school type in the United States

Of the 98,454 schools in the United States, 89,031 were classified as regular schools. After regular schools, magnet schools and charter schools were the most prevalent non-traditional schools in the country, at 6,079 and 5,986, respectively.

The table below breaks down each of the different types of schools in Arkansas and nearby states. Also listed are the numbers of schools in each state that are classified as "Title I" schools. These are public schools that have been specially targeted to correct achievement gaps in public schools.

In Arkansas, there were 1,061 regular schools as of 2013. Charter schools were the second most prevalent type of school in the state, with 45 schools classified as such.

Number of schools by type, 2012-2013
State	Total schools	Regular	Special education	Vocational	Alternative	Charter	Magnet	Title I
Arkansas	1,102	1,061	4	26	11	45	38	938
Louisiana	1,407	1,218	28	9	152	104	77	1,181
Mississippi	1,063	908	4	90	61	0	17	721
Missouri	2,406	2,173	64	64	105	57	29	1,842
United States	98,454	89,031	2,034	1,403	5,986	6,079	3,151	68,140
† Not applicable. Some states/jurisdictions do not have charter school authorization and some states/jurisdictions do not designate magnet schools. ‡ Reporting standards were not met due to data that were missing for more than 20 percent of schools in the state or jurisdiction. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," SY 2012–13 Provisional Version 1a

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Arkansas as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2012-2013.

During the 2012-2013 school year, just over half of all students in K-12 public schools nationwide were white. About a quarter of the students in the country were Hispanic, with black students making up about 16 percent of the student population.

In Arkansas, the majority of students were white. White students totaled 310,458, which was about 63.9 percent of the student population in the state. There were 102,231 black students in Arkansas, which accounted for 21 percent of the total student population.

Public education enrollment by race/ethnicity, 2012-2013
State	Pop. category	Am. Indian/Alaska Nat.	Asian	Black	Hawaiian Nat./Pac. Islander	Hispanic	White	Two or more races
Arkansas	Number	3,316	7,185	102,231	2,661	51,352	310,458	8,954
	Percentage	0.68%	1.48%	21.03%	0.55%	10.56%	63.86%	1.84%
Louisiana	Number	5,365	10,463	319,734	526	30,899	334,175	9,741
	Percentage	0.75%	1.47%	44.98%	0.07%	4.35%	47.01%	1.37%
Mississippi	Number	994	4,818	244,189	161	13,389	225,715	4,384
	Percentage	0.2%	0.98%	49.47%	0.03%	2.71%	45.72%	0.89%
Missouri	Number	4,078	17,278	152,275	1,686	47,269	676,377	18,937
	Percentage	0.44%	1.88%	16.59%	0.18%	5.15%	73.69%	2.06%
United States	Number	533,098	2,363,484	7,798,560	179,935	12,064,310	25,366,857	1,390,514
	Percentage**	1.07%	4.76%	15.69%	0.36%	24.28%	51.04%	2.80%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity. Source: United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey, 2012-2013"

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 30 percent of all public school students in the country attended city schools during the 2012-2013 school year. About 40 percent attended suburban schools. Approximately 11.5 percent of all students attended schools in towns, while about 18.7 percent attended rural schools.

A plurality of students in Arkansas attended rural schools during the 2012-2013 school year. Approximately 42 percent attended city or suburban schools, compared to the approximately 58 percent of the state's students who attended rural or town schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2012-2013 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Arkansas	27.7%	13.9%	24.3%	34.1%
Louisiana	24.8%	30.7%	15.8%	28.8%
Mississippi	10.8%	14.1%	28.9%	46.1%
Missouri	19.2%	34%	20.1%	26.6%
U.S. averages	30%	39.8%	11.5%	18.7%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey, SY 2012–13 Provisional Version 1a"

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri), students in Arkansas generally scored above those in Louisiana and Mississippi, and below those in Missouri. The state's highest scores were earned by fourth grade students in math, which tied with Missouri.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Arkansas	39%	28%	32%	30%
Louisiana	26%	21%	23%	24%
Mississippi	26%	21%	21%	20%
Missouri	39%	33%	35%	36%
U.S. averages	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables"

NAEP assessment data for all students, 2012-2013
<pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Math - Grade 4,Math - Grade 8,Reading - Grade 4, Reading - Grade 8 Arkansas,39,28,32,30 Louisiana,26,21,23,24 Mississippi,26,21,21,20 Missouri,39,33,35,36 U.S. average,41,34,34,34 </pbars>

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Arkansas and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.

Arkansas schools reported a graduation rate of 84.9 percent, second highest among its neighboring states.

In Arkansas, more students took the ACT than the SAT, earning an average ACT score of 20.2.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013
State	Graduation rate, 2013		Average ACT composite, 2013		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Arkansas	84.9%	Second	20.2	90%	1,697	4%
Louisiana	73.5%	Fifth	19.5	100%	1,655	5%
Mississippi	75.5%	Fifth	18.9	95%	1,673	3%
Missouri	85.7%	Second	21.6	74%	1,773	4%
United States	81.4%		20.9	54%	1498	50%
**Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013"

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both SY 2010–11 and SY 2011–12. The event dropout rate for Arkansas was higher than the national average at 3.5 percent in the 2010-2011 school year. The dropout rate was lower than the national average at 3.2 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Arkansas

School choice options in Arkansas included charter schools, online learning programs and inter-district and intra-district open enrollment policies as of June 2015. In addition, about 5.41 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-12 academic year, and 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-13.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Arkansas state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2013
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.

Arkansas spent approximately 15.6 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. The state school systems' revenue came primarily from state funds. Arkansas received over 75 percent of its public education revenue from state funds. This was a greater percentage than any of its neighbors received from state funding during fiscal year 2013.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems, fiscal year 2013
State	Percentage of budget	Per pupil spending	Revenue sources
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Arkansas	15.6%	$9,394	11.3%	76.2%	12.5%
Louisiana	19.3%	$10,490	15.2%	41.7%	43.1%
Mississippi	16.4%	$8,130	16%	49.9%	34.1%
Missouri	22.8%	$9,597	8.9%	42.2%	48.9%
United States	19.8%	$10,700	9.1%	45.6%	45.3%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report" (Table 8). U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 5 and Table 8).

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.

In Arkansas, the primary source of school system revenue came from state funding, at $3.8 billion. Even though Louisiana reported greater total school system revenue than Arkansas, the latter reported more revenue from state sources during fiscal year 2013.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2013 (amounts in thousands)
State	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Arkansas	$572,096	$3,847,045	$631,643	$5,050,784
Louisiana	$1,229,248	$3,370,399	$3,484,625	$8,084,272
Mississippi	$707,522	$2,213,501	$1,511,995	$4,433,018
Missouri	$894,168	$4,235,564	$4,900,767	$10,030,499
U.S. totals	$54,367,305	$272,916,892	$270,645,402	$597,929,599
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 1)

Public school revenues by source, fiscal year 2013 (as percents)
<pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue Arkansas,11.3,76.2,12.5 Louisiana,15.2,41.7,43.1 Mississippi,16,49.9,34.1 Missouri,8.9,42.2,48.9 U.S. total,9.1,45.6,45.3 </pbars>

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Public education expenditures in Arkansas totaled approximately $5.4 billion in fiscal year 2012. Arkansas reported the second lowest total expenditures when compared to its neighboring states.

The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for Arkansas and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2012 (amounts in thousands)
State	General expenditures	Capital outlay	Other	Total expenditures
Arkansas	$4,606,995	$625,078	$161,257	$5,393,330
Louisiana	$7,544,782	$744,610	$168,301	$8,457,692
Mississippi	$3,972,787	$402,465	$97,791	$4,341,018
Missouri	$8,719,925	$894,459	$559,071	$10,173,456
United States	$527,096,473	$48,773,386	$25,897,123	$601,766,981
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011–12 (Fiscal Year 2012)" (Table 5)

Public school expenditures, fiscal year 2012 (as percents)
<pbars size=650x250 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other Arkansas,85.42,11.59,2.99 Louisiana,89.21,8.8,1.99 Mississippi,91.52,9.27,2.25 Missouri,85.71,8.79,5.5 U.S. total,87.59,8.11,4.30 </pbars>

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Arkansas, the average salary increased by 2.2 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Arkansas	$45,625	$49,850	$47,085	$46,632	2.2%
Louisiana	$45,246	$52,201	$51,014	$51,381	13.6%
Mississippi	$43,535	$48,722	$42,339	$41,994	-3.5%
Missouri	$48,727	$48,373	$47,178	$47,517	-2.5%
United States	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

State agencies

See also: Arkansas Department of Education

The Arkansas Department of Education is charged with the following responsibilities:

“

implementing state and federal education laws disbursing state and federal funds holding schools and districts accountable for performance licensing all educators and providing public transparency

”

The mission statement of the Arkansas Department of Education reads as follows:

“	The Arkansas Department of Education strives to ensure that all children in the state have access to a quality education by providing educators, administrators and staff with leadership, resources and training.	”

The Arkansas Commissioner of Education is the chief executive of the Arkansas Department of Education. The commissioner is appointed by the Arkansas State Board of Education and approved by the governor.

The state board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor to seven-year terms. Two members come from each of the state's four congressional districts. One member is selected at-large.

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Arkansas ranked 48th overall for union power and influence, or "weakest," which was in the fifth of five tiers.

The main union related to the Arkansas school system is the Arkansas Education Association (AEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). For the 2004 tax period AEA had: $3.85 million in total revenue, $4.03 million in total expenses and $1.07 million in total assets.

List of local Arkansas school unions:

• Arkansas Education Association
• Pulaski Association Of Classroom Teachers

Taxpayer-funded lobbying

See also: Arkansas government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Arkansas School Boards Association.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

Quality Counts 2014

See also: Education Week survey

Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 used six different categories:

1. Chance for success
2. K-12 achievement
3. Standards, assessments and accountability
4. The teaching profession
5. School finance
6. Transitions and alignment

Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.

Arkansas received a score of 71.8, or a C- average in the "chance for success" category. This was below the national average. The state's highest score was in transitions and alignment at 96.4, or an A average. The lowest score was in K-12 achievement at 66.7, or a D average. Arkansas received relatively high scores for three of the six categories, but received a C- for its chance of success. This may be attributed to the low K-12 achievement score. The chart below displays the scores of Arkansas and its surrounding states.

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

Public education report cards, 2014
State	Chance for success	K-12 achievement	Standards, assessments and accountability	The teaching profession	School finance	Transitions and alignment
Arkansas	71.8 (C-)	66.7 (D+)	94.4 (A)	88.0 (B+)	74.1 (C)	96.4 (A)
Louisiana	69.9 (C-)	59.8 (D-)	97.2 (A)	79.6 (B-)	74.9 (C)	92.9 (A)
Mississippi	68.9 (D+)	57.1 (F)	92.8 (A)	66.5 (D)	64.9 (D)	75.0 (C)
Missouri	77.3 (C+)	66.0 (D)	78.9 (C+)	69.3 (D+)	70.5 (C-)	75.0 (C)
United States	77.3 (C+)	70.2 (C-)	85.3 (B)	72.5 (C)	75.5 (C)	81.1 (B-)
Source: Education Week, "Quality Counts 2014" A full discussion of how these numbers were generated can be found here.

School districts

See also: School board elections portal

District types

Arkansas has only one type of school district. A state act in 1947 reorganized all school districts in the state to have the same structure. Thus, all Arkansas school districts are governed by a board of directors, and each district may levy taxes and issue bonds.

School board composition

School board members in Arkansas serve terms between three and five years in length. Within a school board, all members have the same term length. The expiration of terms for a specific board must be staggered so that as near as possible to an equal number of members are up for election each election year. If a school board has a vacancy, it must be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the school board. School boards have the authority to choose if they would like to be elected at-large, by zone or a combination of the two. To change their current structure, they must adopt a majority resolution describing the procedure of the switch for the next four years. School boards can have five, seven or nine members, depending on the population of the school district.

Term limits

The state does not impose term limits on school board members.

Elections

See also: Arkansas school board elections in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017

A total of seven Arkansas school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2017 for nine seats. All of the elections were scheduled on September 19, 2017.

Here are several quick facts about Arkansas' school board elections in 2017:

• The largest Arkansas school district by enrollment with an election in 2017 was Springdale Public Schools with 22,085 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
• The smallest Arkansas school district among the nation's largest with an election in 2017 was Fayetteville Public Schools with 9,503 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
• Five districts had one seat on the 2017 ballot.
• Two districts had two seats on the 2017 ballot.

The districts listed below served 97,622 K-12 students during the 2014-2015 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the district names for more information on each one and its school board elections.

2017 Arkansas School Board Elections
District	Primary Election	General Election	Runoff Election	Regular term length	Seats up for election	Total board seats	2014-15 enrollment
Bentonville School District	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	1	7	15,497
Cabot Public School District	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	2	7	10,407
Conway Public Schools	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	1	7	10,051
Fayetteville Public Schools	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	1	7	9,503
Fort Smith Public Schools	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	3	2	7	14,711
Rogers School District	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	1	7	15,368
Springdale Public Schools	N/A	9/19/2017	10/10/2017	5	1	7	22,085

Each year, Ballotpedia publishes studies on school board election and incumbency statistics. According to these reports, school board incumbents hold a considerable advantage over challengers. In 2016, 82.39 percent of school board incumbents who ran for re-election retained their seats in America's largest school districts. This was, however, a lower rate than the 86.1 percent of U.S. Senate incumbents re-elected over the 10 previous election cycles, the 94.2 percent of U.S. House incumbents re-elected since 1996, the over 90 percent of state legislative incumbents who won re-election every year since 1996, and the 88.41 percent of municipal incumbents who won re-election in America's largest cities in 2015.

Path to the ballot

To qualify for the ballot as a school board candidate in Arkansas, an individual must:

• Be a registered voter and resident in the school district he or she wishes to represent, as well as within the electoral zone in which he or she will be elected, if candidates are elected by zone.
• Be an Arkansas resident and U.S. citizen.
• Not be employed by the school district to be served.
• Not be judged mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction.
• Never have been convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or any other related crime.

Candidates must file with and be certified by the county clerk of the county in which the school district resides.

Campaign finance

School board candidates are required to file the following campaign finance reports with their county elections department:

• A pre-election report no later than seven days prior to any election in which the candidate's name will appear on the ballot.
• A final report no later than 30 days after any election in which the candidate's name appeared on the ballot.
• Supplemental reports for all contributions received and expenditures made after the final report, within 30 days after the receipt of the contribution or the making of an expenditure.

Recent legislation

The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Arkansas state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Education ballot measures

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Arkansas ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following statewide ballot measures relating to education.

1. Arkansas Initiated Act 2, Criteria for Public School Student Assignment Initiative (1956)
2. Arkansas School Tax Limitation, Proposed Amendment 43 (1956)
3. Arkansas Amendment 47, Direct State Legislature to Oppose Federal Desegregation Rulings Initiative (1956)
4. Arkansas Act 78, Appointed State Board of Education (1934)
5. Arkansas Equal Educational Opportunity, Initiated Act 1 (1980)
6. Arkansas College Savings Bonds, Proposed Question Act 683 (1990)
7. Arkansas School District Reorganization, Initiated Act 1 (1966)
8. Arkansas Community College and Technical School Districts, Proposed Amendment 57 (1964)
9. Arkansas Free Education for All Children, Proposed Amendment 52 (1960)
10. Arkansas Public Education Age Restriction, Proposed Amendment 53 (1968)
11. Arkansas Free Textbooks, Act 4 (September 1912)
12. Arkansas Act 1, Ban on Teaching Human Evolution in Public Schools and Colleges Initiative (1928)
13. Arkansas Appropriation of School Funds, Amendment 2 (1932)
14. Arkansas Establish a State Board of Education, Proposed Amendment 30 (1938)
15. Arkansas Junior College Districts, Proposed Amendment 32 (1942)
16. Arkansas Public School Finance, Proposed Amendment 41 (1950)
17. Arkansas School District Reorganization, Initiated Act No. 1 (1948)
18. Arkansas School District Reorganization, Initiated Act No. 1 (1946)
19. Arkansas State School and School District Taxes Amendment (1906)
20. Arkansas Public School Fund, Initiated Act 1 (1962)
21. Arkansas Uniform Property Tax for Schools, Proposed Amendment 1 (1996)
22. Arkansas School Property Tax Increase, Referred Question 1 (2004)
23. Arkansas Higher Education Bonds, Referred Question 2 (December 2005)
24. Arkansas Higher Education Technology and Facility Bonds, Referred Question 1 (2006)
25. Arkansas State Lottery, Proposed Amendment 3 (2008)
26. Arkansas Issue 1, Lottery Proceed Funding for Vocational-Technical School Scholarships and Grants Amendment (2024)

In the news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Arkansas education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Public education in Arkansas - Google News

See also

• Historical public education information in Arkansas
• Arkansas state budget and finances
• Arkansas Department of Education
• List of school districts in Arkansas
• School choice in Arkansas
• Charter schools in Arkansas
• Arkansas
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links

• Arkansas Department of Education
• Arkansas Public Charter Schools
• Arkansas School Accountability
• Arkansas AYP Reports

Footnotes

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