---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO ESTABLISH THE STRENGTHENING ARKANSAS EDUCATION ACT; AND TO PROVIDE A CORE CURRICULUM AT STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION."
description: "TO ESTABLISH THE STRENGTHENING ARKANSAS EDUCATION ACT; AND TO PROVIDE A CORE CURRICULUM AT STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 1696"
citation: "Arkansas HB 1696 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["J. Dotson", "McAlindon"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 19
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-03-05T21:53:08+00:00"
last_action: "2025-04-14T22:09:11+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5b112618-dd0d-44eb-8c84-7c07219b85ec"
source_url: "https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument/?path=%2fSessionInformation%2LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "0ae482d1498d84f1c5ececa9a7cd43ab4b1e8fc2ff998a02b4ddf47192e6d9d1"
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 HB 1696 (2025) — TO ESTABLISH THE STRENGTHENING ARKANSAS EDUCATION ACT; AND TO PROVIDE A CORE CURRICULUM AT STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 566** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=566.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R)
2. **Amendment H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FHB1696-H1.pdf)
3. **Amendment H2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FHB1696-H2.pdf)
4. **HB 1696** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2025/2025R/Bills/HB1696.pdf)

## Sponsors

- J. Dotson — primary (person)
- McAlindon — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-03-05T21:53:08+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2025-03-05T23:23:22+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`
- **2025-03-19T13:35:23+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2025-03-19T13:35:25+00:00** Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2025-03-19T21:20:23+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-03-20T22:33:48+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it do pass as amended 2 `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-31T13:37:39+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2025-03-31T13:37:41+00:00** Amendment No. 2 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2025-03-31T19:10:18+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-04-01T19:39:35+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-02T00:22:41+00:00** Received from the House.
- **2025-04-02T00:22:50+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-04-02T18:20:11+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-09T01:09:34+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-09T01:09:42+00:00** Returned to the House as passed.
- **2025-04-09T16:26:58+00:00** Returned from the Senate as passed.
- **2025-04-09T16:27:00+00:00** TO BE ENROLLED
- **2025-04-09T16:27:04+00:00** Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.
- **2025-04-14T22:09:11+00:00** Notification that HB1696 is now Act 566 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5b112618-dd0d-44eb-8c84-7c07219b85ec`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).