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Just two years later, in 1999, Mike Huckabee signed into law House Bill 1724 that undid many of those initial gains.

Here’s how the Homeschool Legal Defense Asssociation (HSLDA), Court Report tells it,

Home Schoolers Lose Ground with New Law
“The enactment of House Bill 1724 on April 5, 1999, gives Arkansas the unique distinction of becoming the first state in the nation to add restrictions to its existing home school law.”
At a time when many states were easing requirements, Arkansas was sadly moving in the wrong direction. Huckabee signed HB 1724, known as Act 1117 that made homeschooling MORE restrictive. HSLDA’s website provides an overview of the new restrictions here and comments:

“Arkansas is now one of only 12 states to impose a deadline for beginning home schooling or requiring parents to provide advance notice to public school officials of their decision to do so. Because of this restriction, parents who encounter intolerable conditions at the public school, such as imminent danger to the safety or welfare of their child, will have to wait at least 14 days before withdrawing the child to begin home schooling or else face truancy charges for unexcused absences during the 14-day waiting period. No such restriction exists for parents who decide to immediately remove their children to attend a private or parochial school in Arkansas. This raises serious issues regarding the right of parents to direct the education of their children and equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution.”