STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Arkansas

Arkansas requires science-of-reading-aligned instruction under the Right to Read Act (Ark. Code § 6-17-429) and doubled down with the 2023 LEARNS Act, which targets grade-level reading by third grade. There is no single district-facing literacy materials fund; districts most often pay for Tier 2/3 intervention curriculum with Enhanced Student Achievement (ESA) categorical funds or federal Title I/IDEA, while the state’s LEARNS-funded Literacy Tutoring Grants flow to families rather than districts. The key gate is the state’s approved curriculum list: by statute, districts purchasing a reading curriculum program must choose from DESE’s approved list, which includes K-12 intervention and dyslexia programs.

Arkansas Right to Read Act + LEARNS Act

How schools fund reading intervention in Arkansas

The state-level programs below are the streams Arkansas districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

Enhanced Student Achievement (ESA) Funding

State categorical funding allocated per free/reduced-lunch pupil; allowable uses include tutors, before/after-school academic programs, dyslexia programs, and instructional materials, making it the most common state source for intervention purchases. Districts must budget 100% and spend at least 85% of each year’s allocation.

Literacy Tutoring Grant Program (LEARNS Act; expanded by Act 195 of 2025)

Provides eligible families of K-3 readers below grade level up to $1,500 per student for state-approved literacy tutoring services or digital literacy programs; funds go to families, so vendors and districts participate by becoming approved tutoring providers rather than receiving direct grants.

Approved-list note: Arkansas maintains the DESE Approved Science of Reading Curriculum List (including K-12 intervention and dyslexia programs), and under Ark. Code § 6-17-429(f) districts purchasing a reading curriculum program must select from it — approval status is effectively a purchasing prerequisite.

Official state resource →