---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO CREATE THE LEARNS ACT; TO AMEND VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE AS THEY RELATE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH GRADE TWELVE EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO CREATE THE LEARNS ACT; TO AMEND VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE AS THEY RELATE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH GRADE TWELVE EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 294"
citation: "Arkansas SB 294 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Davis", "Brooks"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 28
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2023-02-20T22:55:23+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-14T18:23:29+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0b918e5b-a06e-4729-8cc9-0c4eaf4a227a"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "46500f16e5a2adbe991c8d53ca035ec438d531b4db839fd460d3f3a4b794590a"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ar"]
---

# Arkansas SB 294 (2023) — TO CREATE THE LEARNS ACT; TO AMEND VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE AS THEY RELATE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH GRADE TWELVE EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Act 237** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=237.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **Amendment H1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FSB294-H1.pdf)
3. **SB 294** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/SB294.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **25–7** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **78–21** (pass) · lower
- Motion by Rep. Pilkington for immediate consideration passed — **63–28** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **26–8** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- B. Davis — primary (person)
- Brooks — primary (person)
- A. Clark — cosponsor (person)
- Achor — cosponsor (person)
- Andrews — cosponsor (person)
- B. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- B. McKenzie — cosponsor (person)
- Barker — cosponsor (person)
- Beaty Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Beck — cosponsor (person)
- Bentley — cosponsor (person)
- Breaux — cosponsor (person)
- Burkes — cosponsor (person)
- C. Cooper — cosponsor (person)
- C. Fite — cosponsor (person)
- C. Penzo — cosponsor (person)
- Cavenaugh — cosponsor (person)
- Cozart — cosponsor (person)
- Crawford — cosponsor (person)
- Crowell — cosponsor (person)
- D. Sullivan — cosponsor (person)
- D. Wallace — cosponsor (person)
- Dees — cosponsor (person)
- Duffield — cosponsor (person)
- Eubanks — cosponsor (person)
- Evans — cosponsor (person)
- Flippo — cosponsor (person)
- Fortner — cosponsor (person)
- Furman — cosponsor (person)
- G. Hodges — cosponsor (person)
- G. Stubblefield — cosponsor (person)
- Gilmore — cosponsor (person)
- Gonzales — cosponsor (person)
- Gramlich — cosponsor (person)
- Haak — cosponsor (person)
- Hawk — cosponsor (person)
- Hester — cosponsor (person)
- Hill — cosponsor (person)
- Hollowell — cosponsor (person)
- Irvin — cosponsor (person)
- J. Boyd — cosponsor (person)
- J. Bryant — cosponsor (person)
- J. Dismang — cosponsor (person)
- J. Dotson — cosponsor (person)
- J. English — cosponsor (person)
- J. Moore — cosponsor (person)
- J. Payton — cosponsor (person)
- J. Petty — cosponsor (person)
- John Carr — cosponsor (person)
- K. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- K. Hammer — cosponsor (person)
- L. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Lundstrum — cosponsor (person)
- Lynch — cosponsor (person)
- M. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- M. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- M. McKee — cosponsor (person)
- M. Shepherd — cosponsor (person)
- Maddox — cosponsor (person)
- McAlindon — cosponsor (person)
- McClure — cosponsor (person)
- McCollum — cosponsor (person)
- McGrew — cosponsor (person)
- Milligan — cosponsor (person)
- Painter — cosponsor (person)
- Pilkington — cosponsor (person)
- Puryear — cosponsor (person)
- R. Scott Richardson — cosponsor (person)
- Ray — cosponsor (person)
- Richmond — cosponsor (person)
- Rose — cosponsor (person)
- Rye — cosponsor (person)
- S. Meeks — cosponsor (person)
- Stone — cosponsor (person)
- Underwood — cosponsor (person)
- Unger — cosponsor (person)
- Wardlaw — cosponsor (person)
- Watson — cosponsor (person)
- Wing — cosponsor (person)
- Womack — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-20T22:55:23+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-02-20T23:00:53+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-02-22T23:13:29+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-23T19:50:42+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-23T19:50:48+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-02-23T19:50:55+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2023-02-23T20:21:46+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2023-02-23T21:58:10+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on EDUCATION COMMITTEE- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2023-02-27T14:34:38+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2023-02-27T14:34:41+00:00** Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2023-02-27T19:04:55+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2023-03-01T21:58:02+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-02T20:53:12+00:00** Motion by Rep. Pilkington for immediate consideration passed
- **2023-03-02T20:53:46+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-02T20:53:51+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-03-02T20:56:16+00:00** Returned To Senate as passed, as amended # 1
- **2023-03-02T21:53:16+00:00** Returned From the House as passed, as amended # 1
- **2023-03-02T21:53:25+00:00** Re-referred to EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-06T22:55:34+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass concur in House Amendment No. 1 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-07T21:39:33+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2023-03-07T21:39:39+00:00** House Amendment No. 1 read first time, rule suspended, read second time and concurred in.
- **2023-03-07T21:39:49+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2023-03-07T21:41:44+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-07T21:41:48+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-03-07T21:42:11+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2023-03-07T21:43:37+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2023-03-07T21:44:40+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-14T18:23:29+00:00** Notification that SB294 is now Act 237 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/0b918e5b-a06e-4729-8cc9-0c4eaf4a227a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).