Parental Rights in Arkansas

Arkansas Parental Rights News

Celebrating the First 250 and Dedicating Ourselves to the Next

By Elizabeth Schatzinger • July 2, 2026
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we still “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We also believe these rights include the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children without undue government interference. As we celebrate the first 250 years, we dedicate ourselves to the preservation of this fundamental right, to secure the vital role of the family in our republic for the next 250 and beyond. Happy Anniversary, America, and Happy Independence Day.

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Arkansas State Law

Not Explicitly Define and Protected


Arkansas does not have a state statute that explicitly defines and protects parental rights as fundamental rights.


Arkansas does have various laws on the books that are supportive of parental rights.

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Arkansas Courts

Affirmed


Parental rights are affirmed in Arkansas Supreme Court case precedent as a fundamental right for which strict scrutiny must be applied.

Additional case law precedent includes:
  • In Graham v. Matheny, 346 S.W.3d 273 (Ark. 2009), the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court wrote a footnote in his concurring opinion in which he stated that the "judicial question of what is best for welfare of child never arises unless the parents are dead or declared unfit" and that "the law establishes a preference for the natural parent and that preference must prevail unless it is established that the natural parent is unfit." Id. at 282.
  • In re Guardianship of S.H., __ S.W.3d __ (Ark. 2012), the Court held that a "natural parent who has not been deemed unfit is entitled to the presumption that he or she is acting in the child's best interest, even after consenting to a guardianship."
  • Coffee v. Zolliecoffer, 216 S.W.3d 636 (Ark. Ct. App. 2005): "The law prefers a parent over a grandparent or other third person, unless the parent is proved to be incompetent or unfit." Id. at 641. However, "the 'polestar' and paramount consideration is at all times the best interest of the child, which can overcome the parental preference when a child is left in the care of a non-parent for a substantial period of time," id. at 642, even when the parent is perfectly fit.
  • In Bethany v. Jones, 378 S.W. 3d 731 (Ark. 2011), the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed a judgment awarding visitation to a former same-sex partner over the objections of the mother. Even though there had been no showing of parental unfitness, the Court noted that the mother's former partner was a "parent figure" to her daughter.