Governor Sanders’ education package details revealed
After nearly two weeks of anticipation, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signature education package was officially filed in the Arkansas State Legislature. The package, which includes a new voucher program, increases starting pay for new teachers, a repeal of the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and more, has been touted by Sanders as “the biggest, most far-reaching, conservative education reform in America.”
The plan raises the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 from $36,000. Teachers already earning above the $50,000 amount will receive a $2,000 pay increase. The legislation also removes increased pay for teachers with post-graduate degrees and raises based on teacher tenure. Teacher raises, instead, would be based on merit.
The voucher program, called the Arkansas Children’s Education Freedom Account, would allow public money to be diverted from the public school it is assigned to based on a children’s residence, to whatever school they chose to go to — private, public or homeschool.
During Wednesday’s Senate Education Committee hearing, Republican Senator Kim Hammer, of Benton, asked Jacob Oliva, the head of the Department of Education, if students who use the voucher program to attend a charter school could be dismissed for not meeting academic standards. Oliva said, yes, charter schools would be able to dismiss students based on that criteria.
The Teacher Fair Dismissal Act gives teachers the option to call for a hearing before the school board if the district which employs the teacher wants to terminate their contract. The proposed education package would repeal this protection at the state level.
The legislation also requires students to be able to read at a third-grade level before advancing to the fourth-grade, bans the teaching of Critical Race Theory and requires students to complete 75 hours of community service to graduate high school.
Superintendent of Benton School District Kim Anderson said administrators are in the process of reading the bill.
“There are some good areas and areas that raise more questions than what we previously had from the press conference. We are concerned that there are new requirements that appear to be unfunded. We will be following the bill’s progress and be in conversation with our legislators about some of these concerns,” said Anderson.
Superintendent of Bryant School District Karen Walters also responded to the proposed law.
“We are in the process of reviewing the bill. So far, there are many positives, but there are also many areas of concern, particularly for those who care about public schools in Saline County. We hope the General Assembly will take the time needed to thoroughly review the bill, with input from parents, guardians, teachers, employees and administrators,” said Walters.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas referred to the legislation as a “scam” and released the following statement.
“Arkansans are coming to see LEARNS for what
it is: a special interest voucher scam wrapped in countless unanswered questions and unfunded mandates. If the governor and Republican supermajority stand by these ideas, why are they hiding behind procedural maneuvers and technical jargon? There is absolutely no reason this bill should not be present
ed, debated, considered and voted on after a week or more of public review. To ram through a monster, 144-page bill with an incredibly controversial voucher scheme at its core is just unconscionable. And voters will make any lawmaker who supports this scam pay at the polls next year,” said Grant Tennille, Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman.
During the Senate Education Committee hearing, Vice-chair and Democratic Senator Linda Chesterfield pointed out there is a part of the legislation that would allow charter schools to take over failing public schools. There is not, however, a pathway for public schools to take over failing charter schools.
In response, Republican Senator Breanne Davis, the Senate sponsor of the bill, said they saw this to be favorable to public schools because it puts another step in between the state taking over public schools.