Publications
Policy Briefs
Breaking Barriers to Child Care Licensing in Arkansas
Volume 22, Issue 7
November 5, 2025
This policy brief examines barriers to child care licensing in Arkansas and their impact on access to early childhood education, particularly in rural areas, and offers actionable policy recommendations to streamline licensing, reduce financial strain, strengthen the workforce, and modernize local zoning to create a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable system that benefits children, families, and providers statewide.
Implementing Phone-Free Schools: Insights from Arkansas Administrators
Volume 22, Issue 6
October 29, 2025
This policy brief summarizes findings from a survey of Arkansas administrators on the implementation of the phone-free school pilot program, highlighting top concerns, enforcement practices, and recommendations to support effective adoption of the state’s “Bell-to-Bell, No Cell” law.
Arkansas School Readiness Assistance (SRA) Program: Fall 2025 Policy Changes – Impact Assessment
Volume 22, Issue 5
October 22, 2025
This policy brief examines the financial effects of Arkansas’s Fall 2025 changes to the School Readiness Assistance program, showing how reduced provider reimbursements and new family copays intended to align spending with available funds may create short term savings but risk long term impacts on access, affordability, and stability in early childhood care.
Arkansas Early Care & Education Key Indicators of Access, Quality & Workforce – Baseline Report 2025
Volume 22, Issue 4
September 17, 2025
This brief examines and explains the first comprehensive set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Arkansas’s early care and education (ECE) system, providing a statewide baseline on access, quality, and workforce.
The Rise of Chronic Absenteeism in Arkansas: Post-Pandemic Implications for Schools and Communities
Volume 22, Issue 3
May 7, 2025
This brief examines chronic absenteeism in Arkansas K–12 public schools—defined as missing 10% of the year—before and after the pandemic. It highlights shifts over time, disparities by student and school characteristics, and offers policy recommendations, as absenteeism remains a key challenge during recovery from pandemic-related learning loss.
Arkansas Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Funding: An Overview
Volume 22, Issue 2
February 19, 2025
This brief provides an overview of the findings from a research report examining early childhood care and education (ECCE) funding in Arkansas. It explores trends in total and per-child expenditures, compares Arkansas’s funding levels to neighboring states, and the impact of federal relief funds. The brief also offers policy recommendations to support the state’s ECCE system.
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University of Arkansas