State Capitol Week in Review
October 16, 2026
Arkansas is expanding its efforts to reward and retain high‑performing educators, unveiling a major increase in merit‑based bonuses from the 2025–26 school year. In June, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) announced that nearly $20 million will be distributed through the LEARNS Merit Teacher Incentive Fund Program, marking one of the largest statewide investments in performance‑based teacher pay to date. Nearly 4,900 educators received awards this year. This is an increase of almost 2,000 since the program’s launch in 2024.
Created under the LEARNS Act, the Merit Teacher Incentive Fund Program is designed to elevate the teaching profession by rewarding exceptional work in the classroom. Eligible licensed educators, namely classroom teachers, library media specialists, and school counselors, may qualify for bonuses based on outstanding student academic growth, service in critical shortage areas, or mentoring aspiring teachers completing yearlong residencies.
To be considered, teachers must meet a set of statewide eligibility criteria. They must hold a current Arkansas teaching license, standard or provisional, free of ethics violations. Educators must also have at least three years of teaching experience and spend 70 percent or more of their contracted time directly with students, meeting the state’s statutory definition of a teacher. The final requirement involves demonstrating a positive impact on student growth. Teachers with at least three years of student growth data must show an overall average of growth and maintain an annual rating of Effective or higher. Those without growth data must earn a Highly Effective rating and provide additional supporting artifacts of their performance.
Teachers who meet these baseline requirements may then qualify in one or more merit‑based categories. The highest bonuses are awarded for exceptional student growth, with top‑tier educators eligible for up to $10,000. Those in the top 0.5 percent statewide receive the full amount, followed by $9,000 for the top 1 percent, $6,000 for the top 5 percent, and $3,000 for teachers performing within the top 25 percent in English language arts, math, or science. Additional $2,500 bonuses are available to educators who work in subject‑area or geographic shortage zones, as well as those who serve as mentors for teacher residents in state‑approved programs.
Demand for the program has grown sharply. For the 2024–25 year, 4,283 teachers received awards, up from 2,937 the previous year. The average bonus was $3,325, with more than 800 educators earning more than $5,000 and over 70 receiving the maximum $10,000 incentive.
Nearly 4,900 Arkansas educators received financial rewards this year through the state’s 2026 Merit Teacher Incentive Fund, which distributed close to $15.9 million in bonuses. According to state data, 4,857 educators qualified for merit pay, with an average bonus of about $3,272. Nearly 900 teachers earned bonuses of $5,000 or more, and 80 received the maximum $10,000 award, typically by meeting criteria in multiple areas. Because the statewide list includes thousands of recipients across numerous districts, individual award information is being shared directly by local school districts or through the Arkansas Department of Education.