Committee advances bill to repeal state 10% minority threshold for school board zones amid objections

House Bill 1534, presented by Representative Bruce Cozart, would remove a statutory 10% minority-population trigger that has required some school districts to adopt zone or ward elections for school boards. Cozart said the bill is permissive and would not force districts to abandon zones but allow local boards or voters to choose whether to keep them.

Senator Linda Chesterfield, the committee's only minority member at the time, objected strongly. She said the 10% threshold was designed to ensure minority participation on school boards and warned that removing it could reduce opportunities for minority candidates. Committee witnesses and Chesterfield discussed whether the 10% threshold is federal law; Scott Smith of the Arkansas Public School Resource Center clarified that the 10% requirement is state statute and that broader protections such as the Federal Voting Rights Act are applied on a fact-specific basis rather than by a fixed percentage.

Proponents argued the change would give local districts flexibility and could benefit minority voters in some communities by allowing at-large candidacies where appropriate. After debate the committee voted to advance the bill; a roll call was recorded and the chair announced the ayes had it.