AR HB1864

Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, public schools must provide a minimum of 178 school days and 1,068 instructional hours of on-site, in-person instruction, with at least 190 teacher contract days required

School year dates are standardized to start on or after July 1 and end no later than June 30, with spring break scheduled for five consecutive days beginning on the Monday of the 38th week of the school year

Schools must include at least 30 make-up instructional hours in their calendars for days missed due to emergencies including contagious disease outbreaks, inclement weather, utility outages, or safety threats

Public elementary schools must provide at least 40 minutes of recess per school day, consisting of supervised social time with opportunities for free play and vigorous physical activity, preferably outdoors

Repeals existing provisions for twelve-month school year programs, four-day school weeks, and alternate school calendars, replacing them with the new standardized flexible calendar system