Arkansas Gov. Sanders signed the LEARNS Act barring public-school instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before grade five
On March 8, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 294, the LEARNS Act, into law as Act 237 of 2023, a K-12 education omnibus. Section 16 of the enacted Act created Ark. Code § 6-16-157(c), which prohibits public school teachers from providing classroom instruction on "gender identity" or "sexual orientation" to students before the fifth grade. Observers compared the provision to Florida's law that critics call "Don't Say Gay."