A Video series of where I discuss this information with additional commentary is on my YouTube channel here.
In education, the term K-20 generally refers to the formal education that includes the following:
- K-12: Kindergarten through 12th grade.
- 13-16: First four years of college.
- 17-20: Graduate and professional degrees.
There is concern among Black Americans that the history of American slavery and its lingering effect is not being adequately taught at the K-20 level. Of special concern is the K-12 level which is the focus of this article.
The claim is that American schools and society in general are trying to act like it never happened and/or want Black Americans to act like it never happened.
The State of Arkansas legislature establishes certain laws through acts and other appropriate means. Here I will determine whether the state curriculum standards adequately teach the history of America with respect to Black/African Americans from slavery to now.
For me the basic foundational principle for adequacy is to describe/discuss what happened without holding anyone alive today guilty or responsible for what happened. Yet, hold all alive today responsible to contribute voluntarily as we are gifted our time, talent, and treasure in attitude, speech, and action to helping those hampered by the lingering effects of racism.
When I examine the K-12 academic standards I observe a recognition of slavery and post slavery related activities. Therefore, there is opportunity for caring teachers and students to familiarize themselves with the issues of slavery and racism in general and the nation response to it. It was that way when I went to K-12 in the 1960s and early 1970s graduating from Arkansas High School in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1974.
The information herein about the Arkansas Code is taken from Title 6 Education section given at the site described at the end of the article.
Section 6-16-121 of the Arkansas Code requires K-12 to offer African American studies at least as an elective according to a handout at arkleg.state.ar.us from which children of all races can choose to pursue through their own or their parents initiative. Below is the text of the section as of March 4 2025. The citation for the section is also given below.
Section 6-16-121. African-American history — Teaching materials.
(1) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall update the materials and resources for the teaching of historical contributions made by African-Americans in the United States and in other countries before the establishment of the United States for inclusion in the appropriate curricula of all kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) of all public schools in the State of Arkansas.
(2) Emphasis shall be placed on the historic work of American and Arkansas civil rights leaders and events during the civil rights era, including without limitation Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his pursuit of justice in civil society and John W. Walker.
(A) The requirement under this subsection shall be taught in conjunction with corresponding state and federal holidays.
(B) Nothing in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section shall be construed to limit the teaching of this history only to the corresponding state and federal holidays.
(b) The commissioner shall ensure that these materials or units are reproduced and sent to all school districts in the state.
Section 6-16-122. American heritage.
(a) Local school district boards of directors shall allow any teacher or administrator in a public school district of this state to read or post in a public school building or classroom, or at an event, any excerpts or portions of:
(1) The Preamble to the Arkansas Constitution;
(2) The Declaration of Independence;
(3) The United States Constitution;
(4) Amendments 1-10 of the United States Constitution, known as “the Bill of Rights”;
(9) The writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of the founding fathers and presidents of the United States;
(10) Organic documents from the pre-Colonial, Colonial, Revolutionary, Federalist, and post-Federalist eras;
(11) United States Supreme Court decisions and records;
(12) Acts and published records of the United States Congress;
(13) Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet entitled “Common Sense”;
(14) Executive orders of the presidents of the United States;
(16) President George Washington’s Farewell Address;
(17) The Emancipation Proclamation;
(18) The Gettysburg Address; and
(19) Any other document of historical significance relating to the founding of the United States or the State of Arkansas.
(b) There shall be no content-based censorship of American history or heritage in this state based on religious or other references in these writings, documents, and records.
(c) A copy of this section shall be distributed to the superintendent of each public school district in the state by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the public school district superintendents then shall provide a copy of this section to each teacher and each public school district board member.
(d) To ensure public high school students understand the United States’ representative form of limited government, the liberties secured in the Bill of Rights, federalism, and other basic principles that are essential to the stability and endurance of our constitutional republic, a public school district may:
(1) Require that public high school students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the nation’s founding and documents relevant to the nation’s founding in order to receive a certificate or diploma of graduation from the public high school;
(2) Include among the requirements for graduation from a public high school in the public school district a passing grade in a course that includes without limitation primary instruction regarding:
(A) The Declaration of Independence;
(B) The United States Constitution and its amendments; and
(C) Representative readings from the Federalist Papers; and
(3) Require that a public high school teach public high school students about the nation’s founding and documents relevant to the nation’s founding, including without limitation:
(A) The Declaration of Independence;
(B) The United States Constitution and its amendments; and
(C) Representative readings from the Federalist Papers.
The American Heritage section of the code deal with American Heritage. Included in that is the Emancipation Proclamation as a requirement. The Emancipation Proclamation was certainly about the abolishment of slavery and led to the passing of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution that abolished slavery. Only the 1st 10 Amendments are explicitly mentioned as required reading. Though a study of the Emancipation Proclamation should lead to the study of the 13th Amendment it would have been better if the state would explicitly require all of the amendments to be read for familiarization. This is especially a short coming on the part of the state given that slaves were not formally considered citizens and an official part of American Heritage until the 14th Amendment. Moreover, it was not until the 15th Amendment when all doubt as to the voting rights of slaves was officially removed. It was not until the 19th Amendment when women received voting rights. Therefore, the shortcoming is not only with respect to Black/African Americans but also with respect to women.
Both of the above sections are said in the Arkansas Code as being “Current through all legislation of the 2024 Fiscal Session and the Second Extraordinary Session (2024)”.
Reference:
The above Arkansas Code references are in the General Provisions subsection of Title 6 Education as indicated below:
Title 6 Education. Subtitle 2. Elementary and Secondary Education Generally Chapter 16 Curriculum Subchapter 1 — General Provisions
As of this writing, to get to the site go to the State of Arkansas website below. Then scroll down and click on the link that says “Arkansas Code Search | Laws and Statues”. That should take you to lexis. Then follow instructions to get to Title 6 Education and then click on whatever subsection you desire.
State of Arkansas Code Search | Laws and Statues
