Arkansas’s approved reading curriculum list is maintained by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and every public school district must choose its K-5 reading program from that list. The list is broken into core K-6 literacy programs, foundational skills supplements, reading intervention programs, and dyslexia intervention programs. As of March 2026, DESE is conducting a comprehensive review of every program on the approved core ELA list, so the current version on the DESE website is the only version worth relying on before a district buys anything.1Arkansas Department of Education. Approved Science of Reading Curriculum
Where To Find the Current List
DESE publishes the approved programs on its Approved Science of Reading Curriculum page. The main resource is a combined High-Quality Instructional Materials spreadsheet covering approved core K-6 literacy programs. Separate lists cover K-12 approved dyslexia intervention programs and K-12 approved reading intervention programs.1Arkansas Department of Education. Approved Science of Reading Curriculum Districts can also search approved programs through the Arkansas EdReports portal.
Programs that have previously appeared on the approved core list include Core Knowledge Language Arts (Amplify Education), Open Court English Language Arts (McGraw Hill), and The Superkids Reading Program (Zaner-Bloser). Because the list is being reviewed, current status of any specific program should be confirmed with DESE directly.1Arkansas Department of Education. Approved Science of Reading Curriculum
What Makes a Program Eligible
Two things have to be true for a program to reach the approved list. It has to be grounded in the science of reading, which Arkansas defines by statute as the study of the relationship between cognitive science and educational outcomes.2Legal Information Institute. Arkansas Code 005.28.24 Ark. Code R. 007 – DESE Rule Governing the Right to Read Act And its instruction has to follow a structured literacy approach: explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic. Skills are taught directly, in sequence, with each lesson building on the last and ongoing assessment shaping what comes next.
DESE reviews programs against the five recognized components of reading — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. By statute, the approved list is organized into three required categories: evidence-based core reading programs, evidence-based reading intervention programs, and dyslexia programs that are either aligned with structured literacy or grounded in the Orton-Gillingham methodology.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act
The Three-Cueing Ban
Arkansas was the first state to ban the three-cueing method of reading instruction, doing so in 2021.4ExcelinEd In Action. From Policy to Action – Why 8 States Banned Three-Cueing from K-3 Reading Instruction Under the Right to Read Act, no district may use a K-2 instructional program that relies on the three-cueing system, on visual memory as the primary basis for teaching word recognition, or on the meaning-structure-visual (MSV) model.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act Three-cueing teaches children to guess at words using pictures, sentence context, or syntax rather than sounding them out.
If the State Board of Education finds that a district is still using a three-cueing-based program, it notifies the district, which then has 60 days to correct the violation.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act
Using a Program That Isn’t on the List
A district can use a reading program that isn’t on the DESE list, but the path is deliberately narrow. The district must submit a written rationale for choosing the alternative program along with evidence-based research supporting it.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act DESE provides a fillable form and a separate request for approval that districts must complete.5Arkansas Department of Education. Literacy Curriculum Approval Process
There is also a transparency piece. Since the 2023–2024 school year, any district using a program not on the approved list must notify all parents in writing and post the information on the district’s website.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act If your child’s school is using a non-approved program, that disclosure should be on the district site.
The Laws Behind the Requirement
Two statutes set the current framework. The Right to Read Act, originally passed in 2017 and significantly amended in 2021, required DESE to create the approved list of curriculum programs supported by the science of reading. Starting with the 2021–2022 school year, any district purchasing a reading curriculum had to choose from that list.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act
The Arkansas LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023) then broadened the requirements as part of a wider education reform package. It set a goal of 100 percent adoption of High-Quality Instructional Materials aligned to the science of reading across all districts, with particular focus on K-2 classrooms.6Arkansas State Legislature. SB294 – To Create the LEARNS Act The LEARNS Act also added mandatory K-3 literacy screening and a third-grade promotion standard tied to reading proficiency, both of which lean on the same curriculum requirements.
How Parents Can Check
Parents who want to verify their child’s school is using an approved program can compare the district’s curriculum against the DESE approved curriculum page, or ask the district directly. If the program isn’t on the list, state law requires the district to say so, both in a written notice to parents and on its website. A district that skips that notice is out of compliance with the Right to Read Act.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-17-429 – Right to Read Act