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Committee discussion delays bill to add instruction on constitutional republic; sponsor to revise timeframe
Summary
Representative Richardson brought HB 1060 to require review/updating of social studies standards to include instruction comparing constitutional republics with other government types. Committee members raised concerns about the implementation timeline; the sponsor said he will pull the bill to revise timeframes and grammar and return it later.
Representative Richardson presented HB 1060, a bill that would revise social studies standards to ensure instruction includes comparisons of a constitutional republic with other government types and to add specified historical and economic examples. The sponsor said the bill had been revised to address committee feedback, remove restrictive language about curriculum examples, and to clarify terms the committee previously flagged.
Committee members raised several concerns about the bill’s timeline and implementation workload. Representative Zareko and others noted the fiscal-impact section said districts would incur costs to purchase or adopt curricula; Representative Zareko said local superintendents worried about unfunded mandates. Representative Gonzalez-Worthy and Representative Faltz expressed concerns that the time allowed for the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) to convene stakeholders and revise standards might be insufficient.
Courtney Salas Ford, introduced in committee as Chief of Staff for the Department of Education, told members ADE would “work within whatever timeline you all set forth” but said a more thorough stakeholder review is possible if the department has more time. ADE staff later said a full, expansive standards review typically takes between one and two years.
Representative Richardson acknowledged committee concerns about the implementation period and grammar edits. He said he would pull the bill, revise the timeframes and wording, and return with an amended version. No final committee vote on the bill occurred; the sponsor requested to remove the bill from consideration to allow further amendment.
