In the middle of the 7th week of the session, the House passed a bill which provides an opportunity for students who did not qualify for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship just out of high school. SB31 would allow those students to receive the scholarship in their second year of college as a traditional student if they meet the criteria their freshman year.
Previously, those students qualified as non-traditional students. However, there are more funds available for traditional students in the program.
The House also passed a bill that allows Arkansans to carry over tax deductible contributions to a tuition savings program from the previous year. If an individual makes more than the maximum tax deductible contributions in one year, HB1473 would allow that individual to deduct that amount in the tax return the following year.
And the House passed HB1539 which requires students to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test, used by immigration services, before they can receive their high school diploma. The bill would require the student to answer at least 60 of the 100 questions correctly. It allows the students to take the test as many times as needed.
The House will reconvene on Thursday at 1:30pm.