Bill
HB 1940
Arkansas HB 1940: empowers districts to adopt four-day weeks with minimum hours, reporting, and funding limits; Illinois HB1940: allocates a nominal $2 to the Illinois Arts Council.
Note on source documents
- The header you provided names HB 1940 as an appropriation for the Town of Duncan (2024 Road Rehabilitation Project). However, the attached documents do not contain text for that appropriation. Instead they include (1) an Arkansas bill (also labeled HB 1940) that would authorize and regulate four‑day school weeks, and (2) an Illinois bill numbered HB1940 that makes a nominal $2 appropriation to the Illinois Arts Council.
- Because the Town of Duncan appropriation text was not included, I cannot summarize that specific proposal. Below are clear, separate summaries of the two HB 1940 texts that appear in the supplied materials. If you intended the Town of Duncan appropriation, please provide the bill text or a link and I will prepare a focused summary.
1) Arkansas — HB 1940 (Four‑day school week) — summary
Purpose and intent
- Authorizes local public school districts to initiate and maintain a four‑day school‑week program for any or all of their schools and establishes the statewide statutory requirements and limits for doing so. Declares an emergency to make the act effective before the 2025–2026 school year.
Key provisions and required standards
- Definition: “Four‑day school week” = students attend four days per week but the total instructional hours must be no fewer than required under Arkansas Standards for Accreditation for a five‑day week.
- Instructional time: Districts adopting a four‑day week must average six hours per school day and 30 hours per school week. The statute explicitly allows meeting this with four 7.5‑hour instructional days. For grades 9–12, districts must meet the Carnegie unit equivalency of 120 clock hours.
- Assessment and reporting: Districts must provide documentation to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to enable evaluation of program success; such measures include state criterion‑referenced tests and other division‑approved instruments. The four‑day week must be included on the district’s required annual public report agenda for local feedback.
- State aid and average daily membership (ADM): The State Board of Education is assigned responsibility to establish standards only for (a) ADM determination and (b) distribution of state aid to ensure equitable state funding when districts operate a four‑day week. The bill says districts shall not receive more state financial aid for a four‑day week than they would for a five‑day week.
- Limitations: Districts classified as Level 5 — Intensive Support or those demonstrating persistent underperformance on state assessments forfeit the ability to initiate/maintain a four‑day week.
- Rulemaking and reporting burden: The State Board and Department may not promulgate rules beyond those enumerated in the statute; districts demonstrate compliance through a state‑approved electronic application and are not required to submit additional reports beyond that compliance demonstration.
- Emergency clause: The act is declared an emergency to take immediate effect upon the governor’s approval (or related timing specified in the clause).
Who is affected
- Local public school districts (boards decide whether to adopt a four‑day schedule), students and families (calendar and hours changed), state education agencies (monitoring/aid distribution), and districts classified for intensive support (subject to restriction).
Fiscal impact
- The provided “Fiscal Impact Statement” (Arkansas Department of Education) indicates “No Fiscal Impact” under the materials included. The bill also explicitly states districts will not receive increased state aid for a four‑day week.
Procedural status (from attached actions)
- The bill went through readings and an amendment was adopted and engrossed (Amendment H1). The legislative actions indicate it was referred to the House Education Committee; the overall file shows the session ended with “Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment.” (Exact final disposition: did not become law in this session.)
2) Illinois — HB1940 (FY26 appropriation to Illinois Arts Council) — summary
Purpose
- Makes a small fiscal appropriation: $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Arts Council for FY2026 ordinary and contingent expenses.
Key details
- Amount: $2 (or so much as may be necessary).
- Effective date specified: July 1, 2025.
- Sponsor: Rep. Tony M. McCombie (introduced 2/4/2025).
Fiscal impact
- Trivial/negligible appropriation; effectively no substantive fiscal effect.
Procedural status (from attached actions)
- Introduced and assigned to committees; the bill record in your materials shows it was referred to Appropriations A and “Died In Committee.”
Recommended next steps
- If you want a specific summary of the Town of Duncan appropriation mentioned in your header, please provide the bill text, a bill summary, or the jurisdiction (state) and I will draft a focused summary with provisions, dollar amounts, and status.
- If you want a single consolidated analysis (e.g., comparing the Arkansas and Illinois HB 1940 bills), say so and I will prepare that.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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