Arkansas Rural Medical Practice Student Loan & Scholarship Board v. Luter

John I. Purtle, Justice.

In 1949 the legislature passed Act 131 creating the Arkansas Rural Medical Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board to promote medical practice in rural areas.1 The act provided for a five member board, established methods of funding and authorized the Board to lend money to University of Arkansas medical students in amounts not exceeding $1,625 per year nor $6,500 per student. The loans were subject to a number of conditions including a provision that if the recipient elected to practice in a community having a population of 2,000 or less (defined as a rural…