AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SENATE BILL 58 3
4
By: Joint Budget Committee 5
6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION FOR PERSONAL SERVICES 9
AND OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF 10
EDUCATION - DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE 11
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2027; AND FOR OTHER 12
PURPOSES. 13
14
15
Subtitle 16
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - 17
DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION 18
APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL 19
YEAR. 20
21
22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23
24
SECTION 1. REGULAR SALARIES - GENERAL OPERATIONS. There is hereby 25
established for the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education 26
for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the following maximum number of regular 27
employees. 28
29
Maximum Annual 30
Maximum Salary Rate 31
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 32
No. Code Title Employees 2026-2027 33
(1) EEX13A COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION 1 GRADE EXE03 34
(2) EEA03C HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER 1 GRADE SPC09 35
(3) FAC10C CONTROLLER 1 GRADE SPC06 36
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(4) EEP04C EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER 1 GRADE SPC06 1
(5) EES03P EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL SUPV/EXP 2 GRADE SPC06 2
(6) FAC03P ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SPC03 3
(7) EES01P EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL I 15 GRADE SPC02 4
(8) EEP06P EDUCATION PROGRAM SUPV/EXPERT 1 GRADE SGS10 5
(9) EEP03P EDUCATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR 14 GRADE SGS07 6
(10) EEP05P EDUCATION PROGRAM SPECIALIST 1 GRADE SGS06 7
(11) FGM02P GRANTS COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SGS05 8
(12) PAS02P ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SGS04 9
(13) FGM01P GRANTS ANALYST 1 GRADE SGS04 10
(14) PAS03P ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST 3 GRADE SGS02 11
(15) IIS07C IT INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEER 4 GRADE IST10 12
(16) IIS01P IT COORDINATOR 1 GRADE IST08 13
(17) IIP02P IT PROJECT MANAGER 1 GRADE IST08 14
(18) IIS04P IT INFRASTRUCTURE ANALYST 1 GRADE IST06 15
(19) IIS09P IT INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIALIST 1 GRADE IST04 16
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 52 17
18
SECTION 2. EXTRA HELP - GENERAL OPERATIONS. There is hereby 19
authorized, for the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education 20
for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the following maximum number of part-time or 21
temporary employees, to be known as "Extra Help", payable from funds 22
appropriated herein for such purposes: fifteen (15) temporary or part-time 23
employees, when needed, at rates of pay not to exceed those provided in the 24
Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act 25
for the appropriate classification. 26
27
SECTION 3. APPROPRIATION - GENERAL OPERATIONS. There is hereby 28
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the Division 29
of Higher Education Fund Account, for personal services and operating 30
expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - 31
General Operations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 32
33
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 34
NO. 2026-2027 35
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $2,368,390 36
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(02) EXTRA HELP 75,000 1
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 777,152 2
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 3
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 909,346 4
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 49,659 5
(C) PROF. FEES 25,000 6
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 50,000 7
(E) DATA PROC. 0 8
(05) STATEWIDE PROMOTION 295,000 9
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $4,549,547 10
11
SECTION 4. EXTRA HELP - STATE BOARD OF PRIVATE CAREER EDUCATION. There 12
is hereby authorized, for the Department of Education - Division of Higher 13
Education - State Board of Private Career Education for the 2026-2027 fiscal 14
year, the following maximum number of part-time or temporary employees, to be 15
known as "Extra Help", payable from funds appropriated herein for such 16
purposes: two (2) temporary or part-time employees, when needed, at rates of 17
pay not to exceed those provided in the Uniform Classification and 18
Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act for the appropriate 19
classification. 20
21
SECTION 5. APPROPRIATION - STATE BOARD OF PRIVATE CAREER EDUCATION - 22
OPERATIONS. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to 23
be payable from the Private Career Education Fund, for personal services and 24
operating expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher 25
Education - State Board of Private Career Education - Operations for the 26
fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 27
28
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 29
NO. 2026-2027 30
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $163,983 31
(02) EXTRA HELP 20,000 32
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 55,427 33
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 34
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 63,000 35
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 4,000 36
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(C) PROF. FEES 6,000 1
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 2
(E) DATA PROC. 0 3
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $312,410 4
5
SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION - STUDENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS AND VARIOUS 6
SCHOLARSHIPS. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, 7
to be payable from the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, for providing 8
student assistance grants and various scholarships as provided by law of the 9
Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - Student Assistance 10
Grants and Various Scholarships for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 11
following: 12
13
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 14
NO. 2026-2027 15
(01) ARKANSAS FUTURE GRANTS $5,000,000 16
(02) NATIONAL GUARD TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 4,400,000 17
(03) SINGLE PARENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 175,000 18
(04) STATE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM 4,000,000 19
(05) TEACHER OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM 2,500,000 20
(06) AR GEOGRAPHICAL CRITICAL NEEDS 21
MINORITY TEACHER SCHOLARSHIPS 150,000 22
(07) ARKANSAS HEROES SCHOLARSHIP 5,500,000 23
(08) GOVERNOR'S HIGHER EDUCATION 24
TRANSITION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2,000,000 25
(09) SREB MINORITY DOCTORAL SCHOLARS 175,000 26
(10) WASHINGTON CENTER SCHOLARSHIPS 150,000 27
(11) TUITION ADJUSTMENT 350,000 28
(12) AR ACADEMIC CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIPS 25,000,000 29
(13) AR GOVERNOR'S SCHOLAR 22,000,000 30
(14) STUDENT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM(SURF) 150,000 31
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $71,550,000 32
33
SECTION 7. APPROPRIATION - TECHNICAL EDUCATION - FEDERAL PROGRAMS. 34
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 35
from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 36
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State, for personal services and operating expenses of the Department of 1
Education - Division of Higher Education - Technical Education - Federal 2
Programs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 3
4
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 5
NO. 2026-2027 6
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $139,791 7
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 49,594 8
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 9
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 108,271 10
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 80,000 11
(C) PROF. FEES 157,000 12
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 13
(E) DATA PROC. 0 14
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $534,656 15
16
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION - RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. There is 17
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 18
Research Development Fund, for providing Arkansas Research Development 19
Program Grants to Institutions of Higher Education by the Department of 20
Education - Division of Higher Education - Research Development Program for 21
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 22
23
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 24
NO. 2026-2027 25
(01) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM GRANTS $750,000 26
27
SECTION 9. APPROPRIATION - HEALTH EDUCATION GRANTS AND LOANS. There is 28
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 29
Higher Education Grants Fund Account, for payments of contracts and loans 30
with participating out-of-state institutions of higher learning in the fields 31
of dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, and podiatry for 32
the education of Arkansas citizens by the Department of Education - Division 33
of Higher Education - Health Education Grants and Loans for the fiscal year 34
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 35
36
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 1
NO. 2026-2027 2
(01) CHIROPRACTIC AID $260,000 3
(02) DENTAL AID - GRANTS 2,950,000 4
(03) OPTOMETRY AID - GRANTS 650,000 5
(04) PODIATRY AID 130,400 6
(05) VETERINARY AID FORGIVENESS PROGRAM 1,750,000 7
(06) DENTAL AID - LOANS 987,370 8
(07) OPTOMETRY AID - LOANS 140,000 9
(08) VETERINARY MED. LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM 250,000 10
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $7,117,770 11
12
SECTION 10. APPROPRIATION - CASH. There is hereby appropriated, to the 13
Department of Education, to be payable from the cash fund deposited in the 14
State Treasury as determined by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, for 15
operating expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher 16
Education - Cash for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 17
18
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 19
NO. 2026-2027 20
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 21
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $269,233 22
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 32,865 23
(C) PROF. FEES 63,932 24
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 25
(E) DATA PROC. 0 26
(02) SCHOLARSHIPS 50,000 27
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $416,030 28
29
SECTION 11. APPROPRIATION - PRIVATE CAREER EDUCATION BOARD - CASH. 30
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 31
from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 32
Fiscal Officer of the State, for operating expenses of the Department of 33
Education - Division of Higher Education - Private Career Education Board - 34
Cash for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 35
36
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 1
NO. 2026-2027 2
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 3
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $9,500 4
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 6,000 5
(C) PROF. FEES 5,000 6
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 7
(E) DATA PROC. 0 8
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $20,500 9
10
SECTION 12. APPROPRIATION - STUDENT PROTECTION TRUST. There is hereby 11
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the Private 12
Career School Student Protection Trust Fund, for expenses, claims, and fees 13
of the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - State Board 14
of Private Career Education - Student Protection Trust for the fiscal year 15
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 16
17
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 18
NO. 2026-2027 19
(01) EXPENSES/CLAIMS/FEES $300,000 20
21
SECTION 13. APPROPRIATION - TANF PROGRAM - FEDERAL. There is hereby 22
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the federal 23
funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, for personal 24
services, operating expenses, grants and aid by the Department of Education - 25
Division of Higher Education - TANF Program - Federal for the fiscal year 26
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 27
28
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 29
NO. 2026-2027 30
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $292,016 31
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 100,134 32
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 33
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 80,000 34
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 60,000 35
(C) PROF. FEES 70,000 36
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(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 1
(E) DATA PROC. 0 2
(04) SELF SUFFICIENCY/JOB TRAINING GRANTS 6,547,850 3
(05) ENROLLMENT AND EDUCATION 3,000,000 4
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $10,150,000 5
6
SECTION 14. APPROPRIATION - WEB BASED APPLICATIONS. There is hereby 7
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the Higher 8
Education Grants Fund Account, for personal services and operating expenses 9
associated with web based applications of the Department of Education - 10
Division of Higher Education - Web Based Applications for the fiscal year 11
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 12
13
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 14
NO. 2026-2027 15
(01) WEB BASED APPLICATIONS PERSONAL 16
SERVICES AND OPERATING EXPENSES $500,000 17
18
SECTION 15. APPROPRIATION - SCHOLARSHIP ADMINISTRATION. There is 19
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 20
Higher Education Grants Fund Account, for personal services and operating 21
expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - 22
Scholarship Administration for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 23
following: 24
25
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 26
NO. 2026-2027 27
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $283,079 28
(02) EXTRA HELP 10,000 29
(03) ADDITIONAL FRINGE BENEFITS 0 30
(04) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 107,410 31
(05) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 32
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 285,000 33
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 34
(C) PROF. FEES 30,000 35
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 36
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(E) DATA PROC. 0 1
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $715,489 2
3
SECTION 16. APPROPRIATION - WORKFORCE INITIATIVE ACT OF 2015. There is 4
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 5
Workforce Initiative Act of 2015 Fund, for workforce education grants, 6
administrative and operating expenses of the Department of Education - 7
Division of Higher Education - Workforce Initiative Act of 2015 for the 8
fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 9
10
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 11
NO. 2026-2027 12
(01) WORKFORCE INITIATIVE ACT OF 2015 EXPENSES $8,000,000 13
14
SECTION 17. APPROPRIATION - VETERAN'S APPROVING AGENCY - FEDERAL. 15
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 16
from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 17
State, for personal services and operating expenses of the Department of 18
Education - Division of Higher Education - Veteran's Approving Agency - 19
Federal for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 20
21
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 22
NO. 2026-2027 23
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $241,441 24
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 88,805 25
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 26
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 53,546 27
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 9,623 28
(C) PROF. FEES 0 29
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 30
(E) DATA PROC. 0 31
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $393,415 32
33
SECTION 18. APPROPRIATION - AMERICORPS - OPERATIONS. There is hereby 34
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the Division 35
of Higher Education Fund Account, for personal services, operating expenses, 36
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and grants and aid by the Department of Education - Division of Higher 1
Education - AmeriCorps - Operations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, 2
the following: 3
4
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 5
NO. 2026-2027 6
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $324,617 7
(02) EXTRA HELP 30,000 8
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 126,827 9
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 10
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 363,650 11
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 85,650 12
(C) PROF. FEES 2,500 13
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 14
(E) DATA PROC. 0 15
(05) GRANTS AND AID 50,000 16
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $983,244 17
18
SECTION 19. APPROPRIATION - AMERICORPS - GRANTS AND AID. There is 19
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 20
Division of Higher Education Fund Account, for grants and aid by the 21
Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - AmeriCorps - Grants 22
and Aid for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 23
24
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 25
NO. 2026-2027 26
(01) GRANTS AND AID $2,010,704 27
28
SECTION 20. APPROPRIATION - OSTEOPATHIC RURAL MEDICAL PRACTICE STUDENT 29
LOAN AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. There is hereby appropriated, to the 30
Department of Education, to be payable from the Higher Education Grants Fund 31
Account, for for Osteopathic Rural Medical Practice Student Loan & 32
Scholarship Program loans and/or scholarships of the Department of Education 33
- Division of Higher Education - Osteopathic Rural Medical Practice Student 34
Loan & Scholarship Program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 35
following: 36
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1
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 2
NO. 2026-2027 3
(01) OSTEOPATHIC RURAL MEDICAL PRACTICE 4
STUDENT LOANS/SCHOLARSHIP $400,000 5
6
SECTION 21. APPROPRIATION - GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION RESIDENCY 7
EXPANSION BOARD. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of 8
Education, to be payable from the Graduate Medical Education Fund, for 9
planning grants to eligible entities for graduate medical education residency 10
program expansion or new programs, and for board expenses and reimbursements 11
of the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - Graduate 12
Medical Education Residency Expansion Board for the fiscal year ending June 13
30, 2027, the following: 14
15
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 16
NO. 2026-2027 17
(01) GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION RESIDENCY 18
EXPANSION BOARD $10,000,000 19
20
SECTION 22. APPROPRIATION - HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 21
UNIVERSITIES GRANTS AND EXPENSES. There is hereby appropriated, to the 22
Department of Education, to be payable from the Higher Education Grants Fund 23
Account, for grants for scholarships to Historically Black Colleges and 24
Universities and for personal services and operating expenses as determined 25
by the Division of Higher Education for outreach programs to promote 26
awareness of those scholarships of the Department of Education - Division of 27
Higher Education - HBCU Grants and Expenses for the fiscal year ending June 28
30, 2027, the following: 29
30
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 31
NO. 2026-2027 32
(01) HBCU GRANTS AND EXPENSES $4,000,000 33
34
SECTION 23. APPROPRIATION - ARKANSAS TEACHER ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP 35
PROGRAM. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be 36
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payable from the Arkansas Teacher Academy Scholarship Program Fund, for 1
scholarships, personal services, and operating expenses necessary to create 2
and maintain the Arkansas Teacher Academy Scholarship Program by the 3
Department of Education - Division of Higher Education - Arkansas Teacher 4
Academy Scholarship Program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 5
following: 6
7
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 8
NO. 2026-2027 9
(01) AR TEACHER ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM $12,000,000 10
11
SECTION 24. APPROPRIATION - SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MAINTENANCE PROGRAM 12
FOR STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. There is hereby 13
appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable from the 14
Sustainable Building Maintenance Program for State-Supported Institutions of 15
Higher Education Revolving Loan Fund, for transfers or loans to a state-16
supported institution of higher education for deferred maintenance, critical 17
maintenance, or renovation of state-owned property of the Department of 18
Education - Division of Higher Education - Sustainable Building Maintenance 19
Program for State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education for the fiscal 20
year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 21
22
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 23
NO. 2026-2027 24
(01) LOANS $7,437,405 25
26
SECTION 25. REGULAR SALARIES - NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE. There is 27
hereby established for the Department of Education - Division of Higher 28
Education - Northwest Technical Institute for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the 29
following maximum number of regular employees. 30
31
Maximum Annual 32
Maximum Salary Rate 33
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 34
No. Code Title Employees 2026-2027 35
(1) NWT10C NWTI DIRECTOR 1 $169,298 36
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(2) NWT07C NWTI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 2 $127,195 1
(3) NWT19P NWTI NURSE INSTRUCTOR 6 $124,726 2
(4) NWT06P NWTI AMMONIA & INDUST TRNG SUPV/EXP 1 $112,976 3
(5) NWT12P NWTI EDUCATION PROGRAM SUPV/EXP 3 $112,976 4
(6) NWT09P NWTI CAREER & TECHNICAL FACULTY II 7 $95,564 5
(7) NWT01P NWTI ACCOUNTANT II 1 $95,564 6
(8) NWT05P NWTI AMMONIA & INDUSTRIAL TRAINER 2 $93,367 7
(9) NWT21P NWTI USER SUPPORT ANALYST 2 $89,613 8
(10) NWT08P NWTI CAREER & TECHNICAL FACULTY I 28 $86,876 9
(11) NWT11P NWTI EDUCATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR 3 $84,879 10
(12) NWT13P NWTI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 1 $84,879 11
(13) NWT15P NWTI HR COORDINATOR 1 $84,879 12
(14) NWT20P NWTI TRAINER 3 $84,879 13
(15) NWT17P NWTI MAINT SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 2 $77,163 14
(16) NWT02P NWTI ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST 2 $70,148 15
(17) NWT03P NWTI ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR 5 $63,770 16
(18) NWT14P NWTI FISCAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST 1 $63,770 17
(19) NWT16P NWTI HR SPECIALIST 1 $63,770 18
(20) NWT18P NWTI MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN 3 $57,973 19
(21) NWT04P NWTI ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST 4 $52,703 20
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 79 21
22
SECTION 26. EXTRA HELP - NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE. There is 23
hereby authorized, for the Department of Education - Division of Higher 24
Education - Northwest Technical Institute for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the 25
following maximum number of part-time or temporary employees, to be known as 26
"Extra Help", payable from funds appropriated herein for such purposes: one 27
hundred thirty-five (135) temporary or part-time employees, when needed, at 28
rates of pay not to exceed those provided in the Uniform Classification and 29
Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act for the appropriate 30
classification. 31
32
SECTION 27. APPROPRIATION - NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE - STATE. 33
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 34
from the Northwest Technical Institute Fund, for personal services and 35
operating expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher 36
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Education - Northwest Technical Institute - State for the fiscal year ending 1
June 30, 2027, the following: 2
3
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 4
NO. 2026-2027 5
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $3,201,793 6
(02) EXTRA HELP 453,411 7
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 1,199,562 8
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 9
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 668,564 10
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 44,866 11
(C) PROF. FEES 0 12
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 13
(E) DATA PROC. 0 14
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $5,568,196 15
16
SECTION 28. APPROPRIATION - NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE - FEDERAL. 17
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 18
from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 19
State, for personal services and operating expenses of the Department of 20
Education - Division of Higher Education - Northwest Technical Institute - 21
Federal for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 22
23
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 24
NO. 2026-2027 25
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $82,696 26
(02) EXTRA HELP 171,492 27
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 47,690 28
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 29
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 14,278 30
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 31
(C) PROF. FEES 0 32
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 33
(E) DATA PROC. 0 34
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $316,156 35
36
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SECTION 29. APPROPRIATION - NORTHWEST TECHNICAL INSTITUTE - CASH. 1
There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Education, to be payable 2
from cash funds as defined by Arkansas Code §19-4-801, for personal services 3
and operating expenses of the Department of Education - Division of Higher 4
Education - Northwest Technical Institute - Cash for the fiscal year ending 5
June 30, 2027, the following: 6
7
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 8
NO. 2026-2027 9
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $1,006,351 10
(02) EXTRA HELP 556,450 11
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 440,787 12
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 13
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 1,894,530 14
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 15,000 15
(C) PROF. FEES 275,000 16
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 200,000 17
(E) DATA PROC. 0 18
(05) RESALE 325,000 19
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $4,713,118 20
21
SECTION 30. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 22
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 23
DHE - REALLOCATION OF RESOURCES FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. Upon 24
determination by the president or chancellor of an institution of higher 25
education that a reallocation of resources for purposes of reorganization or 26
consolidation of administrative functions within the institution is necessary 27
for efficient and effective operations of the institution, the president or 28
chancellor, with approval of the institution's board of trustees, may have 29
the authority to transfer positions, appropriations and related funds between 30
campuses, divisions, branches, and other budgetary units of the institution, 31
after receiving prior approval of the Legislative Council or Joint Budget 32
Committee. The transfers of positions, programs, or activities shall be used 33
for those purposes for which the appropriations were approved by the General 34
Assembly. The transfers, consolidations, or reorganizations which involve 35
academic programs shall be reviewed by the Division of Higher Education prior 36
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to submission to the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee. Provided, 1
however, that the institution shall be limited to submitting no more than two 2
(2) individual transaction transfer requests during any fiscal year and shall 3
be further limited to no more than five percent (5%) of the total General 4
Revenue and Special Revenue appropriation, funding, positions specific to 5
each institution, and no Tobacco Settlement funds or appropriations may be 6
reallocated pursuant to this section. 7
Determining the maximum number of employees and the maximum amount of 8
appropriation and general revenue funding for institutions of higher 9
education each fiscal year is the prerogative of the General Assembly. This 10
is usually accomplished by delineating such maximums in the appropriation 11
act(s) for institutions of higher education and the general revenue 12
allocations authorized for each fund and fund account by amendment to the 13
Revenue Stabilization law. Further, the General Assembly has determined that 14
institutions of higher education may operate more efficiently if some 15
flexibility is provided to institutions of higher education authorizing broad 16
powers under this section. Therefore, it is both necessary and appropriate 17
that the General Assembly maintain oversight by requiring prior approval of 18
the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee as provided by this 19
section. The requirement of approval by the Legislative Council or Joint 20
Budget Committee is not a severable part of this section. If the requirement 21
of approval by the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee is ruled 22
unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this entire section is 23
void. 24
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 25
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 26
27
SECTION 31. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 28
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 29
DHE - BUILDING MAINTENANCE FUND. After the sum of $13,200,000 has been 30
deposited into the Higher Education Building Maintenance Fund, any additional 31
deposits are to be transferred to the Research Development Fund there to be 32
used as provided by law. 33
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 34
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 35
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SECTION 32. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 1
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 2
DHE - TRANSFER PROVISION. Upon certification by the Director of the Division 3
of Higher Education that transfers are needed to make maximum utilization of 4
funds and appropriations provided for financial aid programs, and with the 5
approval of the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State and a review by the 6
Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee, funds and 7
appropriations may be transferred between financial aid programs to more 8
adequately align the appropriation with the number of eligible students. 9
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 10
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 11
12
SECTION 33. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 13
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 14
DHE - TRANSFER OF HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS FUND APPROPRIATIONS - HEALTH 15
EDUCATION GRANTS AND LOANS. Upon certification to and with the approval of 16
the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, surplus funds and appropriations may 17
be transferred between the appropriations provided for "Health Education 18
Grants and Loans" by this Act by the General Assembly for Dental Aid Grants 19
and Loans, Optometry Aid Grants and Loans, Veterinary Aid, Veterinary Med. 20
Loan Forgiveness Program, Podiatry Aid, and Chiropractic Aid. 21
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 22
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 23
24
SECTION 34. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 25
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 26
DHE - CONTINGENCY APPROPRIATIONS - TRANSFERS AND REPORTS. (a) Upon approval 27
by the Department of Education - Division of Higher Education and the Chief 28
Fiscal Officer of the State, institutions of higher education may transfer 29
appropriation from the cash contingency appropriation to any other 30
appropriation made to the institution from cash funds including the 31
establishment of commitment items, and may transfer appropriation from the 32
contingency appropriation made payable from each institution’s State Treasury 33
Fund to the state operations appropriation made payable from each 34
institution’s State Treasury Fund including the establishment of commitment 35
items, and may transfer appropriation from the contingency appropriation made 36
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payable from the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund Accounts to any other 1
appropriation made to the institution from Tobacco Settlement Program Fund 2
Accounts including the establishment of commitment items. 3
(b) Contingency appropriation transfers shall only establish and 4
supplement commitment items that were recommended by the Higher Education 5
Coordinating Board in the budget manuals presented to the Legislative Council 6
and Joint Budget Committee. 7
(c) The Department of Education - Division of Higher Education shall 8
report contingency appropriation transfers and the establishment of any 9
commitment items authorized by this Section to the Legislative Council or 10
Joint Budget Committee for review during its July meeting. The report shall 11
include, by institution, the establishment of, and the amounts transferred 12
to, each commitment item, the reasons therefor and the source of funds. 13
Institutions shall submit contingency appropriation transfer and commitment 14
item establishment requests authorized by this Section to the Division of 15
Higher Education no later than July 1. Upon the failure of an institution to 16
submit the required information by the July 1 deadline, the Department of 17
Education - Division of Higher Education shall immediately notify by written 18
notification the chairpersons of the Legislative Council or Joint Budget 19
Committee. 20
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 21
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 22
23
SECTION 35. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 24
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 25
DHE WORKFORCE INITIATIVE ACT FUNDING. The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State 26
may transfer, on his or her books and those of the State Treasurer and the 27
Auditor of the State, funding up to the amount authorized in the Workforce 28
Initiative Act of 2015 appropriation section in this Act, from the Division 29
of Higher Education Fund Account to the Workforce Initiative Act of 2015 Fund 30
in order to finance the distribution of grants identified under §6-60-107. 31
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 32
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 33
34
SECTION 36. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 35
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 36
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DHE - STATEWIDE PROMOTION. Of the general revenue that is received by and 1
distributed from the Higher Education Grants Fund Account, the Chief Fiscal 2
Officer of the State shall transfer two hundred ninety-five thousand dollars 3
($295,000) to the Division of Higher Education Fund Account to be allocated, 4
budgeted, committed and distributed to the Statewide Promotion line item in 5
the General Operations section of this Act for the purpose of increasing 6
public awareness of the programs and initiatives offered by the State through 7
the Arkansas Department of Education - Division of Higher Education. The 8
Department shall utilize a minimum of one hundred forty-seven thousand five 9
hundred dollars ($147,500) of the aforementioned total specifically for the 10
promotion of the Arkansas Future Grant Program. 11
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 12
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 13
14
SECTION 37. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 15
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 16
GOVERNOR'S HIGHER EDUCATION TRANSITION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. The Department 17
of Education - Division of Higher Education shall provide for the 18
administration of the "Governor's Higher Education Transition Scholarship 19
Program" as appropriated in the Student Assistance Grants and Various 20
Scholarships Appropriation section of this Act to assist students accepted 21
into transitional programs for students with intellectual and/or 22
developmental disabilities at state institutions of higher education and 23
shall promulgate rules for the implementation of the program and for the 24
disbursement of scholarships to eligible students. 25
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 26
2025 2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 27
28
SECTION 38. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 29
authorized by this act shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency 30
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 31
the restrictions of the State Procurement Law, the General Accounting and 32
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 33
Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, and other fiscal 34
control laws of this State, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by 35
the Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 36
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strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 1
2
SECTION 39. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General 3
Assembly that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations 4
contained in this act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for 5
which this act was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive 6
Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget 7
manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or 8
summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative 9
Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 10
11
SECTION 40. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 12
General Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits 13
the appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 14
effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2026 is essential to the operation of 15
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 16
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 17
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2026 could work irreparable harm 18
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 19
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 20
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 21
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2026. 22
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