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Read. Follow. Verify.Arkansas Department of Education fiscal year 2026-2027 budget sets funding for schools, safety grants, and student meals
Last action · May 1, 2026: Notification that HB1005 is now Act 156
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What This Bill Does
Arkansas House Bill 1005 enacts the Department of Education for the 2026-2027 , funding shared services, state operations, federal grants, school safety grants at $50,000,000, and educational freedom accounts at $309,487,318 starting July 1, 2026. The act also amends state code regarding free and reduced-price school meals and the Food Insecurity Fund.
The measure establishes the spending authority and personnel caps for public education across Arkansas, allocating over $1.28 billion in federal elementary and secondary education funds alongside state-funded educational freedom accounts and school safety grants.
- The Arkansas General Assembly operates on fiscal sessions in even-numbered years to pass annual appropriations acts for state agencies. context
- Educational Freedom Accounts in Arkansas provide state-funded accounts for families to cover private school tuition and other educational expenses. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Education
Receives fiscal year appropriations, staffing position limits, and administrative authorities for its divisions.
public school districts
Eligible for loans, school safety grants, child nutrition funding, and administrative claim reimbursements.
open-enrollment public charter schools
Eligible to receive revolving loan allocations and funding provisions set forth in the act.
public school students
Receive access to school breakfasts at no cost upon request and benefit from educational programs, literacy grants, and safety initiatives.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is appropriated for Educational Freedom Accounts in this bill?
What changes are made regarding school breakfast programs?
What is the total amount appropriated for School Safety Grants?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
17 actions- May 1, 2026HouseEnrolledNotification that HB1005 is now Act 156
- Apr 28, 2026HouseCorrectly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.
- Apr 28, 2026HouseTO BE ENROLLED
- Apr 28, 2026HouseReturned from the Senate as passed.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateReturned to the House as passed.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateEMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
Show 11 earlier actions
- Apr 28, 2026SenateFloorRead the third time and passed.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateIntroducedRead the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and placed on the calendar.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateReceived from the House.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseEMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- Apr 27, 2026HouseFloorRead the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.
- Apr 23, 2026HouseCommitteeReturned by the Committee Do Pass
- Apr 22, 2026HouseREPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- Apr 22, 2026HouseCommitteeAmendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed.
- Apr 22, 2026HousePlaced on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- Apr 8, 2026HouseIntroducedRead the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE
- Apr 1, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Free Breakfast Mandates
The bill amends Arkansas Code § 6-18-722 to mandate that any public school student not otherwise qualifying for free meals must receive one free breakfast daily upon request.
Connected Entities
Sources
arkleg.state.ar.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance90How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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