Policy Tracking
Here, we’ll store our Appleseed policy reports, our bill tracking resources, our press publications, and more! Keep an eye on this page for updates.
All bills filed for the latest Legislative Session can be found in their entirety here. Or, you can follow along with us as we track our priority bills through the committee, public input, and amendment process!
The first thing the Arkansas Constitution does is set the physical boundaries of the state and declare Little Rock as its capitol. The second is to declare, "All political power is inherent in the people and government is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit; and [the people] have the right to alter, reform, or abolish the same, in such manner as they may think proper."The state motto has been "Regnat Populous" (the People rule) for more than a century. The Arkansas FOIA is one of the strongest in the country, requiring the government to answer to Arkansans with transparency. Arkansas is one of only 26 states that allows citizens to make or repeal laws through a petition and election process, without the approval of the legislature. Arkansans are disengaged from elections and governance. This disengagement paves the way for political professionals to entrench power and advance policies that make the government bigger, politicians stronger, and the People weaker. With the over-arching goal of stabilizing that imbalance, this report contextualizes the driving forces of citizen disengagement, and it considers opportunities for Arkansas state law reform. We're building a roadmap to a more meaningful rendition of "Regnat Populous," and these are our first steps. Read the report here.
In 2002, after a series of findings in Lake View School District v. Huckabee, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided our state’s school funding system was unconstitutional, noting that “too many of our children are leaving school for a life of deprivation, burdening our culture with the corrosive effects of citizens who lack the education to contribute.”Special masters were appointed by the Supreme Court to reconfigure our public school funding model. New funds were infused into our state’s public school systems, and the Court was satisfied that the State of Arkansas was set to meet its constitutional responsibility to provide an adequate education to every student.Fast forward to 2026, in our post-LEARNS Act school funding environment, and let’s ask the big-picture constitutional question: Is the State of Arkansas providing an adequate education to all school children on a substantially equal basis? A careful look at the data provides a clear answer: No.This is an original Arkansas Appleseed report - our own 2026 deep-dive into Arkansas’s public school funding numbers, an examination of racial disparities in education outcomes, and a look into how we stack up against national and regional peer states. We also consider remedies for some of the report’s most troubling findings. Read the report here.Maternal Health in Arkansas
Did you know that 50% of Arkansas counties do not have maternal health services? According to a recent March of Dimes report found here, Arkansas's infant mortality rate is around 35% higher than the national rate, and Arkansas's maternal mortality rate is around 65% higher than the national rate. In March of 2024, Governor Sanders signed the "Executive Order to Support Moms, Protect Babies, and Improve Maternal Health." That kicked off a series of meetings that were held all over the state with subject matter experts, Cabinet-level participants, and health practitioners - all geared toward finding ways to improve maternal health in Arkansas.The Arkansas Strategic Committee for Maternal Health published its full report and recommendations here. In it you'll find their methodology, the rationales supporting many of their findings, and the projects that are underway.Below is our summary of the report's Key Findings & Recommendations. For a more exhaustive account of the Committee's work, please reference the full report. In the New Year, one of our priorities will be advocacy work that makes Arkansas a safer place to be a mother or a baby. Read up on the data and stay tuned for more updates!