SB573

Senate Bill 573 is an omnibus education bill that makes technical amendments and linguistic updates to various provisions of the Arkansas Code. The bill updates terminology related to military service members in education compacts and clarifies definitions for English learners. It adjusts the roles and administrative responsibilities of school counselors, specifically in relation to student support teams and programs. Additionally, the legislation refines the calculations for school funding, including the academic facilities wealth index and per-student funding for English learners. The bill also modifies requirements for school bus driver applications and updates assessment protocols for state-funded early childhood programs. Most of the changes focus on reconciling definitions across different sections of the state education code to improve administrative consistency and reporting accuracy.