Two Bills Filed to Strengthen Rights of Conscience in Arkansas

Legislation, , ,

Two bills filed at the Arkansas Legislature would help strengthen protections for religious liberty and rights of conscience across the state.

Right now Arkansas has some of the best conscience protections in America.

In 2015 Gov. Hutchinson signed Arkansas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. In 2023 lawmakers passed additional legislation to further strengthen that good law.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 462 protecting healthcare workers’ rights of conscience. Before 2021, Arkansas’ conscience protections were narrowly focused on abortion and end of life decisions, and they protected very few people. Act 462 helped broaden those protections for all healthcare workers.

Two bills filed this year would make these good laws even better.

H.B. 1615 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) would ensure that faith-based adoption and foster care providers, religious organizations, and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions.

Time and again, wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, florist shops, and others have been targeted by public officials and dragged into court simply because their owners wanted to operate according to their deeply held convictions. H.B. 1615 will help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.

S.B. 444 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Lee Johnson (R — Greenwood) strengthens the healthcare workers’ rights of conscience law Arkansas passed in 2021. Among other things, this good bill adds whistleblower protections for healthcare workers, and it helps protect all medical professionals from having their rights of conscience violated.

If passed, these two bills would help Arkansas continue providing some of the best protections for religious liberty and rights of conscience in the country. That would be something to celebrate.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas House Passes Good Bill Affirming Religious Liberty at Public Schools

Religious Freedom,

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed S.B. 223, the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025.

This good bill by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

The bill identifies and upholds religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the right to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school.

The bill also helps make sure that religious expression is treated equally to other types of speech at school.

This will help prevent schools from squelching anyone’s religious liberties.

When it comes to religious liberty, public schools have been a battleground for more than 60 years. It’s important that we stand up for religious freedom at school. S.B. 223 is a good bill that helps do exactly that.

The bill now goes to the governor to be signed into law.

The Following Representatives Voted FOR S.B. 223

  • Achor
  • Andrews
  • Barker
  • Beaty Jr.
  • Beck
  • Bentley
  • S. Berry
  • Breaux
  • Brooks
  • A. Brown
  • K. Brown
  • M. Brown
  • N. Burkes
  • R. Burkes
  • Joey Carr
  • John Carr
  • Cavenaugh
  • Childress
  • C. Cooper
  • Cozart
  • Crawford
  • Dalby
  • Duffield
  • Duke
  • Eaton
  • Eaves
  • Eubanks
  • Furman
  • Gazaway
  • Gonzales
  • Gramlich
  • Hall
  • Hawk
  • Henley
  • Holcomb
  • Hollowell
  • Jean
  • L. Johnson
  • Ladyman
  • Long
  • Lundstrum
  • Lynch
  • Maddox
  • Magie
  • J. Mayberry
  • McAlindon
  • McClure
  • McCollum
  • M. McElroy
  • McGrew
  • B. McKenzie
  • McNair
  • S. Meeks
  • Milligan
  • J. Moore
  • K. Moore
  • Nazarenko
  • Painter
  • Pearce
  • Pilkington
  • Puryear
  • Ray
  • Richmond
  • Rose
  • Rye
  • M. Shepherd
  • Steimel
  • Torres
  • Tosh
  • Underwood
  • Unger
  • Vaught
  • Walker
  • Warren
  • Wing
  • Womack
  • Wooldridge
  • Wooten
  • Speaker Evans

The Following Representatives Voted AGAINST S.B. 223

  • F. Allen
  • Barnes
  • Barnett
  • Clowney
  • A. Collins
  • Ennett
  • K. Ferguson
  • D. Garner
  • Hudson
  • McCullough
  • Perry
  • J. Richardson
  • T. Shephard
  • Springer
  • Steele
  • D. Whitaker
  • Gonzales Worthen

The Following Representatives Did Not Vote

  • McGruder
  • Schulz
  • R. Scott Richardson
  • Wardlaw

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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House Committee Passes Good Bill Affirming Religious Freedom at Public Schools

Legislation,

On Tuesday the House Education Committee passed S.B. 223, the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025.

This good bill by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

The bill identifies and upholds religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the right to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school.

The bill also helps make sure that religious expression is treated equally to other types of speech at school.

This will help prevent schools from squelching anyone’s religious liberties.

When it comes to religious liberty, public schools have been a battleground for more than 60 years. It’s important that we stand up for religious freedom at school. S.B. 223 is a good bill that helps do exactly that.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for consideration.

You can read the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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