By: Beau Russell
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – The Arkansas House Education Committee met on Tuesday, February 28th, to thoroughly discuss the new LEARNS Act, and will vote on the bill today.
The LEARNS Act, or Senate Bill 294, is a sweeping education reform bill sponsored by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The bill was drafted by state senators and representatives, and passed a first round of approvals last week.
Now that the bill is in front of the Arkansas House Education Committee, it is being meticulously debated and scrutinized by both democrats and republicans.
School Choice
The majority of the controversy surrounding the bill stems from an addition known as “school choice.” This addition means that, if passed, students and parents will have the option to spend publicly funded money to attend private, parochial, or charter schools.
Critics of this amendment argue that this will create underfunded and under-attended public schools. They also said that public schools don’t discriminate, provide transportation and free lunches, while private schools have the ability to determine who is accepted into their institutions.
Arkansas mother Celina Hale said “private schools create elitism and underprepared young adults, and I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that.”
Supporters of school choice however said that “school choice” opens education up to everybody, and gives students the opportunity to choose a style of education that fits their needs.
Funding
Critics of the bill also raise the issue of funding. With public money going towards private education, and teachers’ minimum salaries being raised to $50,000 a year, legislators and educators are wondering where the funding will come from.
Matt Donaghy, the superintendent of the Bauxite school district, is one such concerned educator.
“It has huge implications for our school district and our state…We already spend about eighty percent of what we get on salaries alone, so there’s not a lot of wiggleroom,” he said.
The Arkansas Education Association hosted a press conference to share their concerns regarding the LEARNS act.
During the conference, the Education Policy Director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Olivia Garner, said that the bill is being passed too quickly and that it needs more work.
“If it had been broken up into separate pieces of legislation. I think that would have made it a lot more possible for folks like us to have our input,” Olivia said.
The bill is 144 pages, causing many opponents like Oliva to argue that it is too all-encompassing. Should the House Education Committee finish its debate of the bill today, they will vote on whether or not to pass it.