1. Have an Arkansas Teaching License and 3 Years of Teaching Experience

The teacher should hold a standard or provisional Arkansas Teaching License.

Educators with a license currently on probation, suspended, or revoked due to a Code of Ethics sanction are not eligible.

The teacher must also have three complete years of teaching experience entering the 2025-2026 school year.

2. Meet the Definition of “Teacher” as Outlined in the LEARNS Act

“Teacher” is defined as a classroom teacher who spends at least 70% of their contracted time working directly with students in a classroom setting.

School counselors and library media specialists are also considered teachers under the LEARNS Act.

3. Demonstrate a Positive Impact on Student Growth

The teacher should have student growth data based on state summative assessments. The three-year average of this data should show students are growing, and the teacher should have an effective or higher annual rating in the Educator Effectiveness System.

If the teacher does not have three years of student growth data, the teacher must have an annual rating of highly effective in the Educator Effectiveness System in addition to supporting artifacts.

4. Fall into at Least One Merit Pay Category

The teacher should qualify for at least one of the following categories:

• Demonstrate outstanding growth in student performance
• Teach in a critical shortage area
• Serve as a mentor to aspiring teachers participating in a DESE-approved yearlong residency