Slow down, take time

Whether one is for or against the LEARNS Act in whole or in part, I find the timeline of the bill interesting.

Earlier this year Senate Bill 43 was introduced on Jan. 9. The bill was 1½ pages in length, and originally dealt with children attending drag shows. After being debated, discussed and amended in both chambers, the bill was passed on Feb. 22 (with no reference to drag shows). That is 44 days from introduction to passage of an essentially inconsequential bill.

In contrast, the 144-page LEARNS Act bill, described by Governor Sanders as “the largest overhaul of the state’s education system in Arkansas history” was introduced on Feb. 20 and passed on March 7, a total of 16 days.

In my opinion, the LEARNS Act was rushed with very limited time for input, examination, and discussion by the public or outside experts. Sen. Breanne Davis, the bill’s sponsor, said, “hundreds of people and thousands of hours went into writing this bill.” If that is true, then most of it had to be behind closed doors. There was hardly any time allowed for public inspection and analysis. I wonder if our governor and legislators thought that too much light being thrown on LEARNS might reveal some real problems.

I’ve always found the Book of Proverbs to be informative, such as this from Proverbs 12: “Fools think they know what is best, but a sensible person listens to advice.” In the future I hope our legislators, when faced with monumental and sweeping decisions, will slow down, take their time, seek out, and listen to the advice of many experts on all sides of the issue.

DENMAN GILLETT Little Rock