HB1874

House Bill 1874 amends the Public School Funding Act of 2003 regarding how professional development funds are utilized by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The bill redirects professional development funding that exceeds the maximum statutory allocation for public school teachers toward the implementation of the LEARNS Act (Acts 2023, No. 237). Specifically, it mandates that these surplus funds be used to improve student academic outcomes through the execution of the LEARNS Act rather than specifically for the administration of professional learning communities as previously defined. The legislation also grants DESE the discretion to distribute these funds through grants to eligible entities. Additionally, the bill provides flexibility for DESE to partner with external persons, firms, corporations, or education service cooperatives to facilitate research-based processes for implementation. It transitions the requirement for DESE to promulgate rules regarding these funds from mandatory to discretionary.