Bonds; authorize issuance to assist Scenic Rivers Development Alliance with various projects.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angela Cockerham and 4 co-sponsors

HB 1642 clarifies that GED completers within the year are not counted as dropouts when calculating the five-year graduation rate for school accountability.

Died In Committee

#waysandmeans

Summary — HB 1642 (Arkansas, 95th General Assembly, 2025 session)

Status note: The materials provided contain conflicting procedural records (some entries indicate passage and enrollment as Act 916; the bill header lists status as "Died In Committee"). The primary bill text and fiscal note included below describe an Arkansas measure introduced by Rep. Gramlich and Sen. J. Boyd concerning school accountability and graduation-rate counting. Verify final disposition with the Arkansas Secretary of State or legislative records.

Purpose / Intent

HB 1642 amends the School Performance Report Act to (1) clarify that school ratings include school-level graduation rate(s) and (2) ensure a student who passes a GED test during the year they otherwise would be considered a dropout is not counted as a dropout for purposes of calculating a school-level five-year graduation rate. The intent is to refine measures used in school accountability so GED completers are not penalized as dropouts in state five-year graduation calculations.

Key Provisions

Amends Arkansas Code § 6-15-2108(a) to specify the multiple-measures school rating system "shall include without limitation" school-level graduation rate or rates.

Adds language that a student shall not be counted as a dropout for purposes of calculating a school-level five-year graduation rate if the student passes a GED test during the year in which the student dropped out.

Senate Amendment 1 (S1) replaces the term "graduation rate" with "five-year graduation rate" in the dropout-exclusion provision (i.e., the special rule applies specifically to five-year graduation rates).

Who is affected

Public schools and school districts: changes how school-level graduation rates are calculated and reported in the School Performance Report.

Students who leave school and subsequently pass a GED within the same year: would not be counted as dropouts for the state five-year graduation-rate metric.

Arkansas Department of Education (DESE): responsible for implementation, data calculations, and reporting.

Potentially Arkansas workforce or other agencies if data sharing (e.g., via TRIAND) is needed to identify GED completions.

Fiscal & Implementation Notes

Fiscal Impact Statement (Arkansas Department of Education, 3/5/2025): lists "No Fiscal Impact."

The statement notes the agency would need to calculate two graduation rates (federal and state) and that there "may also be added costs" if data-sharing between DESE and workforce systems (via TRIAND) is required to verify GED completions.

Operationally, DESE would need to ensure data systems and reporting rules reflect the exclusion and distinguish federal vs. state graduation-rate computations.

Procedural / Timeline highlights

Introduced: December 17, 2024.

Sponsor(s): Rep. Gramlich (primary) and Sen. J. Boyd (primary).

Amendment S1 adopted in the Senate to specify "five-year graduation rate."

Legislative record supplied contains multiple committee hearings, reports, and dates from March–May 2025; however, final status in the provided packet is inconsistent. Confirm current enactment status (Act number, governor action) with official Arkansas legislative records.