A bill to give the Arkansas Department of Education oversight over the State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission cleared another hurdle Monday.
It's unclear how this bill will impact libraries in the state or Arkansas PBS, which are overseen by the independent boards, but the plan comes out of ongoing frustration from state Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, with both organizations.
Libraries
In the 2023 legislative session, Sullivan passed a law that would criminalize librarians for furnishing materials to minors that are “harmful.” Every library is already banned from offering obscenity, but harmful to minors is a lower and more vague standard that could be interpreted to mean many things.
Most of the law was struck down in court. The same year, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks wrote an opinion calling it “poorly drafted.” He said a library can move or remove books with sexual content from children, but the law was written in such a way to allow books to be removed or relocated when someone disagreed with the content. The judge said the bill also used “fatally vague language” forcing librarians to “guess” what books they have to move or remove.
Meanwhile, former Republican Sen. Jason Rapert was appointed to the State Library Board by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He has called some books in libraries “pornography,” mostly ones with LGBTQ themes or characters, and has worked to withhold funding from libraries.
During the 2025 legislative session, Sullivan decided on a new plan to put the library board under the Arkansas Department of Education, which hypothetically could welcome more oversight and regulation. But, the real effects likely won't be known until the bill goes into effect.
Sullivan referenced his disagreements with the library board’s decisions as part of his reasoning.
“We need people who have oversight capabilities of these boards, who are going to direct our state in the right way,” he said.
Sullivan also objected to the board's relationship to the American Library Association. The ALA helps gin up grant funding for libraries, and the Arkansas State Library Board borrows some of their language on their website.
“You know the ALA, they support gender-affirming care,” Sullivan said. “They support pronouns.”
He also pointed out that former ALA President Emily Drabinski once referred to herself as a “Marxist.”
Sullivan has previously pointed to language on the ALA’s website as evidence of a lack of regulations for libraries. The ALA has a library bill of rights which says materials should be open and available to all people regardless of age. Other language on the ALA's website clarifying the bill of rights says:
"We affirm the responsibility and the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own children’s use of the library and its resources and services."
Last week, Rapert failed at an attempt to remove ALA references from state resources.
On the Senate floor Monday, Sullivan read from emails he requested sent by Central Arkansas Library System Director Nate Coulter.
“Why not just let the General Assembly tell libraries what books they can approve for circulation? Our legislative bodies have descended into the depths of ignorance and shamelessness I have not seen in my lifetime,” Sullivan read from Coulter's email.
At one point, Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, attempted to stop the readings, calling them “endless.”
In a statement to Little Rock Public Radio, Coulter said “[Sullivan] has seemed fascinated with my texts and emails for almost two years.”
Sullivan then read from an email between Adam Webb, the director of the Garland County Library, and Coulter where they joke about Hustler magazine.
“Adam, are y'all peddling porn in Hot Springs to kids,” Coulter asked in the email.
Coulter said the email was making fun of Sullivan's legislation which he finds “difficult” to take “very seriously," and that the comment was “obviously… sarcastic banter among friends.”
Coulter would not necessarily be personally affected by the Department of Education taking over the library board, but his emails were shown as evidence for the decision.
Arkansas PBS
Arkansas PBS and its leaders have come under fire for several recent issues.
In late 2023, high ranking staff were questioned at length about alleged violations of procurement law. Arkansas PBS is a state agency, so if they make a purchase over $20,000, they trigger a public bidding process. A 2022 audit found the agency was regularly purchasing services just under the limit.
At a legislative hearing, high ranking Arkansas PBS officials seemed confused. CFO Karen Watkins called it “unfair” to expect her to understand state laws regarding procurement.
During Monday's legislative debate, Sen. Greg Leding held up a card that said: “I’ll always speak up for Big Bird,” ostensibly a reference to the PBS children's program Sesame Street.
In his remarks, Leding said he grew up watching Arkansas PBS and was “proud” to share it with his daughter. Leding echoed other concerns from lawmakers that the after-effects of the bill were hard to nail down.
“I don't know that the department is set up to handle this kind of thing,” he said.
The bill passed by a vote of 23 to 8 and now goes to a House committee.
