May 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM - State Board of Education
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I. Call to Order
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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II. Moment of Silence
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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III. Pledge of Allegiance
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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IV. National Anthem
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V. Recognition
Presenter:
Secretary Jacob Oliva
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V.1. Arkansas State Spelling Bee Champion — Karthik Dalai
Description:
Karthik Dalai, a sixth grader from East Hills Middle School in Greenwood, won the 2026 Arkansas State Spelling Bee, earning a spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The national competition will take place May 26-28.
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V.2. Tiger Talk — Springdale School District's John Tyson Elementary School
Description:
The students of John Tyson Elementary School of Innovation in Springdale have created an award-winning podcast called Tiger Talk, produced entirely by fourth and fifth graders in the school’s EAST program. Their work has earned significant recognition: Tiger Talk won Kids and Family Podcast of the Year at the 2025 Arkast Podcast Festival, and two students, Janette Perez and Emerie Johnson, received individual awards for their podcasting talents.
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V.3. Arkansas State Science Olympiad Champions — LISA Academy West Middle School
Description:
The Science Olympiad team at LISA Academy West Middle School won the Arkansas State Science Olympiad Championship in March. They will go on to compete at the Science Olympiad National Tournament at the University of Southern California on May 22-23. The national tournament brings together the top middle and high school Science Olympiad teams from across the country to compete in a spectrum of science and engineering challenges.
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V.4. NASA TechRise Student Challenge Arkansas Delegate — LISA Academy West Middle School
Description:
The NASA TechRise Student Challenge is a unique opportunity for 6th-12th grade students to apply STEM skills in real-world research by proposing experiments for flight on high-altitude balloons or suborbital spacecraft. Students gain invaluable hands-on experience in engineering, computing, data collection, and aerospace concepts as they turn their ideas into flight-ready payloads. LISA West Middle School’s AlterViolet project stood out among hundreds of submissions nationwide for its creativity, scientific merit, and engineering design. This winning team, the only one chosen in the state of Arkansas, will move on to have their experiment tested on a suborbital flight this summer.
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V.5. 2026 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Delegates
Presenter:
Dr. Kiffany Pride
Description:
The United States Senate Youth Program was created by Senate resolution 324 in 1962 in order to increase young Americans' understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision-making not only for America but for people around the world.
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VI. Changes to Agenda
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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VII. New Business
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VIII. Action
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VIII.1. Approval of Revised Career and Technical Education Standards
Presenter:
Ross White
Description:
In January 2023, Governor Sanders issued the Executive Order to Prioritize LEARNS, directing the Arkansas Department of Education to ensure students are prepared for today’s workforce. As part of this work, the Department conducted a statewide review of career pathways to ensure programs align with current workforce needs, student outcomes, and high-demand occupations. This review resulted in a comprehensive update of Career and Technical Education pathways, requiring more than 100 sets of standards to be reviewed, aligned, and updated to better serve Arkansas students and employers.
The Division of Career and Technical Education is seeking approval of revised standards for the 19 courses attached.
Attachments:
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VIII.2. Consideration of Request to Release the Rules Governing Public School Policies Relating to Overnight Travel and Use of Public School Lavatories for Public Comment
Presenter:
Stacy Smith
Description:
The division is requesting these rules be released for public comment. This amendment reflects changes made by Act 119 of 2025.
Attachments:
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VIII.3. Consideration of Request to Release the Rules Governing Grading and Course Credit for Public Comment
Presenter:
Stacy Smith
Description:
The division is requesting these rules be released for public comment. This amendment reflects changes made by Acts 237, 654, 635 of 2023 and Acts 165 and 341 of 2025.
Attachments:
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VIII.4. Consideration of Request to Release the Rules Governing Consolidation and Annexation of School Districts for Public Comment and to Adopt the Amendment as Emergency Rules
Presenter:
Stacy Smith
Description:
The State Board is asked to approve the amendments as emergency rules and to approve the release of the amendments for public comment as part of the permanent rulemaking process. The amendments update the provisions governing consolidation and annexation incentive funding to reflect a new law governing the detachment of an isolated school district.
Attachments:
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VIII.5. Consideration of Request to Release the Rules Governing the Course Choice Program for Public Comment
Presenter:
Stacy Smith
Description:
The division is requesting these rules be released for public comment. This rule is being promulgated pursuant to the requirements of Act 237 of 2023, § 20 and Act 730 of 2025.
Attachments:
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VIII.6. Consideration of the Recommendation of the Professional Licensure Standards Board for Case No. 25-293 - Derrick Cook
Presenter:
Whitney James
Description:
The educator objected to the Ethics Hearing Subcommittee's evidentiary hearing findings and recommendation of December 3, 2025, and requested a review by the State Board.
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VIII.7. Request for Waiver — LA-25-004 — Jacqueline Mills
Presenter:
Daniel Shults
Description:
The Arkansas Department of Education received information that the educator was convicted of disqualifying criminal offenses. Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-410, the State Board shall not renew an existing license and shall revoke an existing license not up for renewal of a person who has pled guilty or nolo contendere to or has been found guilty of an enumerated offense by a court in the State of Arkansas or of any similar offense by a court in another state or by a federal court. The educator is requesting a waiver under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-410(f).
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VIII.8. Nomination and Election of 2026-2027 State Board Officers
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
Description:
State Board of Education members will nominate and elect State Board officers. The term for newly elected officers begins July 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2027.
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IX. Consent Agenda
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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IX.1.a. Review of Loan and Bond Applications
Presenter:
Greg Rogers
Description:
The members of the State Board of Education are requested to review the following: Commercial Bond Applications — 4 Second LienWith a recommendation to approve the applications from the Loan Committee and additional information provided by the school districts in its application package and pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-20-1205, concerning school district bonds, a school district shall not sell bonds until the issue is approved by the State Board of Education. Therefore, the State Board of Education, in its discretion and after considering the merits of each application, with the loan committee recommendation, may approve a school district bond application for the full amount of the proposed bond issue, approve the application for a lesser amount than requested, or disapprove the application.
Attachments:
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IX.2. District Accreditation Recommendations
Presenter:
Hope Worsham, Assistant Commissioner
Description:
In accordance with applicable requirements, all districts were reviewed to determine accreditation status recommendations for the 2025-2026 School Year. No district elected to appeal its status to the State Board of Education.
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IX.3. District Conversion Charter Application —Searcy County School District
Presenter:
Darrell Smith, Ed. D., Assistant Commissioner
Description:
On April 16, 2026, representatives of the Searcy County School District provided a presentation to the Charter Authorizing Panel about the proposed district conversion charter for the Searcy County Career and Technical Academy.
Questions and answers followed. It was moved by Dr. John Bacon to approve the charter application. Ms. Edie Stewart seconded Dr. Bacon's motion, and it passed unanimously--5 members voting YES, and 0 members voting NO.
Attachments:
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IX.4. Renewal of Charter for Don Tyson School of Innovation
Presenter:
Darrell Smith, Ed. D., Assistant Commissioner
Description:
On April 16, 2026, the Charter School Office recommended renewal of the charter for this district conversion charter school located in Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas.
Questions and answers followed. It was moved by Dr. Crystal Beshears-Duncan to recommend renewal of the charter through June 30, 2031, a period of five years. Ms. Edie Stewart seconded Dr. Beshears-Duncan’s motion, and it passed unanimously--5 members voting YES and 0 members voting NO.
Attachments:
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IX.5. Professional Licensure Standards Board —19-106 Kyle Kempf — Written Reflections
Presenter:
Whitney James
Description:
The educator has submitted written reflections on books and training as ordered by the State Board of Education on March 12, 2020.
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X. Reports
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X.1. Board Liaison Reports
Presenter:
Adrienne Woods
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X.2. ATOY Report
Presenter:
Jeanie Wilcoxon
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X.3. Commissioner's Report
Presenter:
Secretary Jacob Oliva
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XI. Public Comments
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XII. Adjournment
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