HB1705

House Bill 1705 mandates that the Arkansas State Board of Education incorporate specific educational content into the social studies standards for grades six through twelve, starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The bill requires the curriculum to include information regarding the religious and moral beliefs of the United States' Founding Fathers and how those beliefs influenced the nation's founding documents and government framework. Key topics to be emphasized include the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, core political concepts like ordered liberty and natural rights, and the influence of historical texts such as the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law, and the New Testament on American law and public policy. The legislation also requires instruction on how the recognition of inalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence provided the framework for the abolition of slavery. The state board is tasked with embedding these requirements into existing social studies courses.