LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced her higher education reform bill, Arkansas ACCESS. The legislation’s lead sponsors are Senator Jonathan Dismang (District 18) and former Speaker, Representative Matthew Shepherd (District 97).
 
“After months of work with stakeholders around the state, I’m proud to announce Arkansas ACCESS, a targeted overhaul of our higher education system that will help every Arkansan get the education they need and prepared for the in-demand careers of the future,” said Governor Sanders.
 
“Arkansas students should graduate with more than just a degree—they should have the education, skills, and training necessary to thrive in the real world. I thank the Governor for her leadership with the ACCESS initiative. It will help create stronger career pathways, grow our economy, and ensure a brighter future for the next generation,” said Representative Matthew Shepherd.
 
“One of the things I am most excited about is the slashing of bureaucratic red tape and arbitrary roadblocks that have long hindered student achievement in our state’s higher education system. Much like the LEARNS Act, ACCESS is squarely focused on the student and prioritizes their individual success,” said Senator Jonathan Dismang.
 
After overhauling Arkansas’ K-12 education system through Arkansas LEARNS, including raising teacher pay from $36,000 to $50,000 a year, deploying 120 literacy coaches across the state, and enacting universal education freedom, Governor Sanders is now turning her focus to Arkansas’ higher education system. ACCESS stands for acceleration, common sense, cost, eligibility, scholarships, and standardization – the main priorities of the bill.
 
“Now that the early childhood and K-12 education system have been aligned, I am excited to focus our attention toward higher education reform,” Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said. “For far too long, Arkansas’ higher education system has not been standardized. Through ACCESS and a heavy focus on acceleration, the system will be standardized. Not only will higher education be held accountable, but the system also will be streamlined to focus on enrollment, enlistment, and employment to ensure students have high-quality affordable options to enhance their education and training.”
 
“Governor Sanders’ overhaul of the higher education system is a welcomed igniter of change,” said Dr. Ken Warden, the commissioner of the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. “From streamlining the application process and making college credits more accessible for high school students, to expanding scholarship opportunities and standardizing the course code numbering system, the legislation makes our system more user friendly and places students at the center. I look forward to working with our higher education institutions to implement the changes approved by the legislature.”
 
“We appreciate the Governor and General Assembly making a commitment to prioritize higher education in this legislative session, highlighting the key role our institutions play in the educational and economic advancement of our state and its citizens. We understand our obligation to provide the state with a strong return on its investment in our programs. Governor Sanders and her team have approached Arkansas ACCESS with a spirit of open dialogue, and we are looking forward to continuing that conversation as the bill makes its way through the legislative process,” said Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jay B. Silveria, University of Arkansas System President.
 
“The Governor took time to personally engage with our system leadership about her vision for higher education. The Arkansas State University System is more interested in the future of higher education than in the way we’ve always done things. We look forward to advancing the conversation about deploying and implementing initiatives that result in positive outcomes and returns on investment for Arkansas,” said Dr. Brendan Kelly, Arkansas State University System President.
 
“Arkansas Tech University looks forward to working with the Governor and other institutions of higher learning on the Arkansas ACCESS plan. I commend the Governor for her strong commitment to strengthening higher education,” said Dr. Russ Jones, Arkansas Tech University President.
 
A further breakdown of the legislation’s key components is below:

Acceleration: Ensure high school students have the necessary skills for higher education and careers.

• Broaden accelerated coursework in Arkansas high schools beyond AP to IB and other programs.
• Standardize weights for concurrent credit, AP, and IB courses to encourage student participation.
• Establish a process for issuing district grades as well as grades for individual schools.
• Shorten waiver timelines from 5 years to 1 year for K-12 schools that are out of compliance in teacher licensing, class size, and other areas.

Common Sense: Create free, unbiased higher education learning settings.

• Stop using DEI as a metric in accreditation standards.
• Prohibit professors from indoctrinating students with forced statements in support of DEI.
• Prevent institutions from granting excused absences for protests and other disruptive behavior.
• Require students who vandalize school property to pay damages before they earn their degree.
• Allow institutions of higher education that support servicemembers and military families to earn “Purple Star Campus” designations.
• Consider professors’ work evaluations in tenure review to ensure they are educating students.

Cost: Encourage all types of higher education by reforming the productivity funding model.

• Create a funding model for non-degree credentials to encourage schools to adopt these programs.
• Fund concurrent higher education credits for high school students using foundation funding.
• Consider return on investment in the productivity-based funding model. 

Eligibility: Establish more uniform and efficient admissions policies.

• Expand eligible admission exams for applicants: ACT/SAT/CLT and other qualifying test scores.
• Grant provisional admission to students who meet Arkansas higher education institutions’ baseline admissions requirements.
• Create a simple, statewide universal college application to ease the admissions process.
• Offer in-state tuition for Arkansas military families. 

Scholarships: Eliminate barriers to scholarships.

• Establish scholarships for students who graduate with merit or distinction.
• Expand Workforce Challenge scholarship opportunities to serve more students.
• Establish the Arkansas Heroes Scholarship for Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients.
• Double the first-year award under Arkansas Academic Challenge from $1,000 to $2,000.
• Establish Governor’s Higher Ed Transition Scholarship Program for disabled students.

Standardization: Get students closer to graduation through common sense course crediting.

• Standardize course numbering across all state-supported higher education institutions.
• Increase the number of Gen-ed and CTE courses in the Arkansas Course Transfer System.