Teacher Salary Equalization Funds (TSEF) are being combined with the LEARNS Minimum Teacher Salary and Raise Funds, through two adjustments made during the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. 

These changes for TSEF and LEARNS Salary Funds are being made in compliance with:

• Act 909 of 2025, which amended Arkansas Code § 6-20-2305(b)(6)(A)(iii), to set the TSEF amount for 2026-2027 at $100 per ADM, and $50 per ADM for 2027-2028, and
• Act 157 of the 2026 Fiscal Session, which repealed Arkansas Code § 6-20-2305(b)(6)(B)(iv), which previously maintained TSEF at the prior year's levels.

Continued Eligibility: If a school district or open-enrollment public charter school qualified for TSEF in 2025-2026, it remains qualified for 2026-2027, at the new $100 rate.

Dynamic Calculation: TSEF funding will be calculated annually based on the prior year three-quarter average ADM.

To limit the impact of the $85 TSEF rate change and allocate the additional funding in the LEARNS Minimum Teacher Salary and Raise Fund, DESE will provide additional LEARNS Minimum Teacher Salary and Raise Funds to each school district and open-enrollment public charter school, calculated at $85 per prior year three-quarter average ADM.

Note on Non-Qualifying Districts: School districts and open-enrollment public charter schools that did not previously qualify for TSEF will continue to be ineligible for TSEF. However, these districts and schools will qualify for the supplemental LEARNS Salary funding at the $85 rate.

The attached document includes:

1. Actual 2025-2026 Amounts: Final figures for 2025-2026 Teacher Salary Equalization and LEARNS Salary funds. Note: 2025-2026 funding for detaching isolated districts and resulting districts from which isolated schools detached is prorated based on the 2025-2026 school-level ADM.
2. Projected 2026-2027 Amounts: Estimated distributions based on the new $100 TSEF rate and the supplemental $85 LEARNS Salary funds. Please understand that ADM corrections in Cycle 7 could change the district’s projected funding. Also, funding for new and other current-year funded open-enrollment charter schools is estimated until 2026-2027 three-quarter average ADM is established.
3. Projected 2026-2027 total by district/open-enrollment charter school for TSEF, LEARNS Salary, and LEARNS supplemental is reflected in the far-right column that is highlighted.

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