---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE REQUIRED FOR LICENSED SCHOOL PERSONNEL; AND TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF A \"BASIC CONTRACT\" UNDER THE TEACHER COMPENSATION PROGRAM OF 2003."
description: "TO AMEND THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE REQUIRED FOR LICENSED SCHOOL PERSONNEL; AND TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF A \"BASIC CONTRACT\" UNDER THE TEACHER COMPENSATION PROGRAM OF 2003."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 1538"
citation: "Arkansas HB 1538 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Vaught"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 19
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-03-02T19:17:03+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-11T16:48:10+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2f0c7706-4915-40b7-a7f7-1cae7b414d57"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "999116df41abe50472ebe8c0f39ff72cd87ec881ba749c9c4dc94758e0d4fb29"
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 1538 (2023) — TO AMEND THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE REQUIRED FOR LICENSED SCHOOL PERSONNEL; AND TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF A "BASIC CONTRACT" UNDER THE TEACHER COMPENSATION PROGRAM OF 2003.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 548** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=548.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **Amendment H1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1538-H1.pdf)
3. **Amendment H2** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1538-H2.pdf)
4. **HB 1538** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/HB1538.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **33–0** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **90–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Vaught — primary (person)
- Duke — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-03-02T19:17:03+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-03-02T22:34:18+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`
- **2023-03-08T14:32:27+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2023-03-08T14:32:29+00:00** Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2023-03-08T16:38:48+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2023-03-28T13:30:32+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2023-03-28T13:30:34+00:00** Amendment No. 2 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2023-03-28T16:20:13+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2023-03-30T18:28:12+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2023-04-03T20:50:21+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-04T01:44:58+00:00** Received from the House.
- **2023-04-04T01:45:08+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-04-06T15:57:26+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-06T22:36:27+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T22:36:34+00:00** Returned to the House as passed.
- **2023-04-06T23:43:41+00:00** Returned From the Senate as passed.
- **2023-04-06T23:43:51+00:00** TO BE ENROLLED
- **2023-04-07T15:29:11+00:00** Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.
- **2023-04-11T16:48:10+00:00** Notification that HB1538 is now Act 548 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2f0c7706-4915-40b7-a7f7-1cae7b414d57`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).