Skip to main content
NOPE
In Effect Law Child Protection

AR HB 1958

Public Entity AI Policy Requirements

Requires all Arkansas public entities to create AI policies with mandatory human-in-the-loop for final decisions. Covers state departments, schools, and political subdivisions.

Jurisdiction

Arkansas

Enacted

Apr 17, 2025

Effective

Aug 3, 2025

Enforcement

Internal to each public entity

Signed April 17, 2025; effective August 3, 2025

AR Legislature

Why It Matters

Covers schools and health/human services - affects AI used in child welfare, education decisions, mental health services. Mandatory human oversight for all consequential decisions.

Recent Developments

Part of 2025 Arkansas AI legislative package. Strong human-in-the-loop requirement.

At a Glance

Applies to

Government AIAutomated Decision System

Harms addressed

Child Exposure

Who Must Comply

  • Arkansas state departments
  • Political subdivisions
  • School districts
  • Higher education institutions
  • All public entities

Obligations fall on:

Safety Provisions

  • Mandatory AI use policy defining authorized use
  • REQUIRED: human employee must make any final decision regardless of AI recommendations
  • Employee training on cybersecurity, AI policy, and AI in employment decisions
  • Policies must be publicly available upon request
  • Disciplinary procedures for policy violations

Compliance & Enforcement

Key Dates

Aug 3, 2025

Public entities must have AI policies in place

Penalties

Internal disciplinary procedures

View on map

Arkansas

Focus Areas

Mental health & crisis
Child safety
Algorithmic accountability
Active safeguards required

Cite This

APA

Arkansas. (2025). Public Entity AI Policy Requirements.

Related Regulations

In Effect US-AR

AR HB 1071

Amends Arkansas publicity rights law to explicitly include AI-generated reproductions of voice and likeness. Covers simulated voices and 3D generation.

Enacted US-IL

IL HB 5511

Requires covered operators of online platforms to apply protective default settings to users they know to be minors, including limits on algorithmic feeds, a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. notification curfew and no autoplay by default on addictive social media platforms, and establishes a device-level age-bracket signal that Internet-enabled device manufacturers must provide and operators must request. Announced by the Governor as the Children's Social Media Safety Act, the title of the bill as introduced. Enforced by the Attorney General.

Enacted US-NJ

NJ Kids Code

Codifies a New Jersey Age-Appropriate Design Code requiring covered online service providers to design services likely to be accessed by minors around minors' safety and wellbeing, including high-privacy defaults, limits on engagement-maximising design features, and data protection impact assessments. Enforced by the Attorney General with a private right of action for minors and their parents.

In Effect US-AR

AR HB 1876

Establishes ownership rules for AI-generated content and trained models. Person providing input owns generated content (if not infringing); person providing training data owns resulting model (if lawfully acquired).

Enacted US-IA

IA SF 2417

Establishes requirements and guidelines for conversational AI services including AI disclosure to minors, prohibition on sexually explicit content for minors, prevention of deceptive human-like interactions, and parental controls for children under 13.

Enacted US-CO

CO HB 1263

Imposes obligations on conversational AI service operators including minor-user protections, suicide and self-harm protocols, prohibition on emotional dependence and engagement gamification, and annual safeguard reporting.

All regulations See what's likely relevant to your deployment

Last updated March 9, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.