House sponsor pulls bill to codify 4‑day school week rules after extended testimony from rural districts and DOE

Representative Stephen Walker introduced House Bill 19‑40 to the Arkansas House Education Committee as a measure that would codify the Arkansas Department of Education's existing rules for four‑day school weeks and require a legislative vote before the department or State Board of Education could change those rules.

"This bill mirrors Senate Bill 607," Representative Stephen Walker, House District 27, told the committee. "All it does is take Department of Education's existing rules for 4 day school weeks and codifies them into law." He said the bill is intended "to make sure that any future changes to these rules require a vote from us in both the House and Senate."

The bill drew sustained questions and testimony. Committee members asked how the bill would operate if a district began to underperform; Walker said the bill includes a provision that a district designated a Level 5 school by the State Board of Education would not be permitted to continue a four‑day calendar. "If a school district does a 4 day schedule and they start underperforming or they become a Level 5, then Department of Ed would have the right to revoke that from them," Walker said. He also told the committee he had not personally seen all of the Department's underlying data and expected the department to bring evidence if it believed four‑day schedules were harming students.

Arkansas Department of Education leadership cautioned the committee about the bill's language and about removing authority from the State Board of Education. "I think this bill goes above and beyond and takes away authority from the State Board to do the job that they've been tasked with," said the department representative who introduced the agency's position for the record. The representative told the committee the department can provide analyses and national and Arkansas data and offered to follow up with reports and correlations on Arkansas outcomes.

Superintendents and local leaders from districts that use four‑day calendars told the committee their communities saw benefits in recruitment, retention and local family needs. "I sent a survey out the Friday before spring break, and I believe I had 218 respondents to this point. Ninety‑five percent are in favor of our current calendar," said Ryan Halbert, superintendent of Palestine Wheatly School District, describing parent support and student choice into his district.

Susan Kiserie, superintendent of Poin (Poe) School District, said the 4‑day model allowed larger instructional blocks and protected instructional minutes: "It's the exact same number of instructional minutes," she said, and described instances where blocked time enabled labs and deeper lessons. Kiserie said 47 Arkansas districts use a four‑day model, representing about 5% of the state's student population.

Opponents and skeptical members, including a Department of Education official, cited national studies and state assessment data and urged caution. The department representative told members that national analyses (for example, the RAND report cited in committee discussion) often use national averages that may not reflect rural Arkansas conditions; the department also said some nationally replicated studies show lower long‑term learning in districts on four‑day calendars.

Students and local educators described practical benefits for rural families, including the ability to schedule medical appointments, support farm work and provide extra intervention time on the fifth day. "Having Mondays off has allowed me and my sisters to contribute more to our farm," said Hadley Huffaker, a seventh grader at Lincoln Middle School. Superintendents described using Mondays for targeted interventions, extracurricular internships, and transportation and meal service for students who need it.

After more than two hours of testimony and questions, Representative Walker told the committee he wanted additional time for discussions and withdrew the bill from consideration that day. "At this time, I'd like to pull the bill so we can have a little bit more time on these discussions," he said.

The hearing highlighted a continuing split in the committee: supporters stressed teacher recruitment and local flexibility in rural areas, while the Department of Education and some members emphasized long‑term academic outcomes and the state's 178‑day minimum calendar and assessment standards. The bill sponsor and the department offered to exchange data and follow up with committee members.

With the bill withdrawn, the committee did not take a final vote on HB 19‑40. Members asked the department to provide Arkansas‑specific studies and to supply the data Secretary Alleva referenced during discussion.

The committee also heard multiple public comment representatives from rural districts and from the Arkansas Rural Education Association describing local uses of the four‑day calendar and the fiscal and staffing tradeoffs districts report when they adopt an alternate calendar.

The committee adjourned after the sponsor withdrew HB 19‑40 for further work and data exchange.