The Arkansas Educational Adequacy Report is a biennial, legislatively mandated study that evaluates public school funding, resource distribution, and whether the state’s K‑12 finance system meets constitutional requirements. The Senate and House Education Committees lead the review, and recent documentation is available on the Arkansas State Legislature’s Adequacy Reports webpage.
A major focus of the study is the state’s funding formula, including foundation funding and the resource “matrix” that outlines staffing and operational needs for a standard 500‑student district. Lawmakers also assess compliance with long‑standing legal benchmarks, particularly the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision in Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee. That ruling requires the state to provide an equal and adequate education and to monitor how well districts are able to meet student needs. The adequacy review additionally tracks expenditures, categorical funding, and updates to teacher retirement and health insurance programs.
The 2026 review began in February, with committee chairs Senator Jane English and Representative Keith Brooks inviting all members of both Education Committees to participate. Their work continues more than two decades of legislative oversight prompted by the Lake View decisions. In 2001, the Pulaski County Chancery Court found Arkansas’s school finance system inequitable and unconstitutional. The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 2002, citing the state’s failure to define adequacy, low statewide academic rankings and benchmark scores, high college remediation rates, uncompetitive teacher pay, recruiting challenges, and unmet needs among students in poverty, English learners, and districts with either low income or rapidly growing enrollment.
In reaffirming that all students must receive an adequate education on a substantially equal basis, the Court directed the state to define adequacy, evaluate public education statewide, and monitor how revenues are spent to ensure equal opportunity.
Current data highlight ongoing challenges. Under the state’s long-term ESSA plan, 80 percent of students in each federally reported subgroup are expected to score proficient. No subgroup has met that benchmark. No grade level between third and tenth grade has exceeded 39 percent proficiency in reading or science, or 43 percent in math.
Currently, schools receive an average of $15,499 per student from a combination of local, state, federal, and grant sources.
As part of the adequacy process, lawmakers may consider changes across several areas. In funding, they can revise the tool used to determine foundation funding; increase or decrease funding levels; adjust what is funded; alter spending restrictions; or change distribution methods. Policy‑related options include modifying staffing levels, adjusting curriculum requirements, changing accountability structures, or expanding district flexibility. Statutory considerations may involve refining the definition of adequacy, revising what must be studied, expanding how statutory duties are carried out, or introducing new data elements and fund codes to support more precise analysis.
The adequacy study will conclude with a final report containing recommendations for the 2027–2029 biennium. Each recommendation must include timelines, implementation steps, responsible agencies, required resources, and draft legislation. The final report is due to the Senate President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House by November 1.
