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Transparency advocates hear public input on proposal to enshrine FOIA in Arkansas Constitution
Members of a government transparency group answered questions from a small crowd in Little Rock on Thursday about their effort to bolster the state’s public records and open meetings law that they hope will appear on the 2024 Arkansas ballot. Last month, Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine […]
Bill to shield Arkansas officials’ security records moves forward
Arkansas lawmakers’ third attempt this week to alter the state’s Freedom of Information Act advanced in both the House and Senate on Wednesday. House Bill 1012 and Senate Bill 10 would exempt from FOIA all records and communications concerning the planning or provision of security services to the governor and other state elected officials. The […]
Arkansas state officials, lawmakers search for common ground on AP African American Studies
This story was updated at 10:36 a.m. on Aug. 23, 2023. An AP African American Studies pilot course will be offered to completion during the 2023-24 academic year despite an ongoing review of curriculum materials, state officials told Arkansas lawmakers Tuesday. About a dozen legislators met with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Education Secretary Jacob […]
UPDATE: Arkansas school districts move forward with AP African American Studies course
This story was updated at 2:20 p.m. on August, 17, 2023. Arkansas schools and legislators are taking steps to support students taking an Advanced Placement African American Studies class that the education department decided late last week would not count for graduation credit. The Jonesboro School District will continue offering the class, which will be […]
Pronoun restrictions in Arkansas schools head to Sanders’ desk
Arkansas public school teachers and professors will be required to use the pronouns and names students were assigned at birth, unless parents specifically allow them to do otherwise, if Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs House Bill 1468 into law. The Senate approved the bill along party lines Wednesday. It would require written permission from a […]
Arkansas Senate votes for ‘truth in sentencing’ bill, bucking national and international trends
The proposed overhaul to Arkansas’ criminal sentencing and parole system moves in the opposite direction of several surrounding states and most of the U.S. and world. Facing a growing body of research that more incarceration does not lower violent crime rates, policymakers elsewhere have focused on criminal justice measures that reduce the number of offenders in […]
Proposed law restricting school bathroom use will return to Arkansas House
A proposed law that would restrict bathroom use in Arkansas public and charter schools based on students’ gender assigned at birth passed the Senate with a 29-6 party-line vote Monday. House Bill 1156 would apply to multiple-occupancy restrooms and locker rooms, as well as rooms for students on overnight trips. It also requires schools to […]
Heightened requirements to put measures on the Arkansas ballot awaits Sanders’ signature
A proposed Arkansas law that would make it harder for citizen-led petitions to qualify for the statewide ballot passed the Senate and went to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk Monday. House Bill 1419 would require canvassers to gather signatures from at least 50 counties — up from the 15-county threshold laid out in Article 5 […]
Amended bill restricting transgender adults’ bathroom use will return to Arkansas Senate
A proposed law that would make it a crime if an adult “knowingly exposes his or her sex organs to a minor of the opposite sex” in a public restroom or changing room passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday after being amended. Adults who enter and remain in a facility that does not align […]
Arkansas bill restricting transgender adults’ bathroom use will be amended, returned to committee
Arkansas legislators will amend a proposed law that would make it a crime if an adult “knowingly exposes his or her sex organs to a minor of the opposite sex” in a public restroom or changing room. Sen. John Payton (R-Wilburn), the sponsor of Senate Bill 270, pulled the bill from consideration on the Senate […]
Arkansas panel OKs criminalization of using bathrooms that do not match a person’s biological sex
An Arkansas bill that opponents called the most stringent legislative attempt so far to restrict the behavior of transgender individuals passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday and will be considered by the full Senate. Senate Bill 270 would make it a crime if an adult “knowingly exposes his or her sex organs to a […]
Arkansas Senate approves bill to hold libraries accountable for ‘obscene’ material
A bill that would open the door to criminal liability for the distribution of “obscene” content by school and public libraries passed the Arkansas Senate on a party-line vote Wednesday and will next be considered by the House. All six Senate Democrats voted against Senate Bill 81, and 27 Republicans voted for it while two […]