ARKANSAS
Compulsory Attendance Age Lowered
On April 9, 1997, Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas signed into law House Bill 1056 which will require children who are five years old by September 1 to attend school. The old law required that the child be five years old by October 1. Additionally, under prior law, a child who had not reached six years of age by October 1 did not have to attend kindergarten if the parent signed a kindergarten waiver form. The new law permits the waiver only if the child will not be five years old by September 1.
The provisions of the recently-enacted legislation are to be phased in over a two-year period beginning with the 1998–99 school year. The Arkansas Department of Education will issue rules and regulations providing a detailed schedule for the implementation of the new law.
