Sanders addresses Milken forum

She reflects on social media and kids, the LEARNS Act

Speaking to a group of elites from the world of finance and business Tuesday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for more government regulation of social media companies while also touting her new education legislation as a bold reform.

Sanders was a featured speaker at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., where she spent the bulk of her roughly 30 minute conversation with moderator Lowell Milken talking about her education legislation.

On social media, Milken asked Sanders about what the federal government can do to assist the state.

The first-term governor said she wanted the federal government to place greater restraints on “Big Tech,” which she blamed for rising rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among kids.

“I think one of the most dangerous things in the world right now for our kids is the impact that social media is having,” Sanders said.

The governor did not offer a specific policy she wanted the federal government to enact, instead touting the recently passed Social Media Safety Act, a law requiring major social media companies such as Facebook to verify the ages of new users. Those under the age of 18 will need permission from a parent or guardian to create a new social media account, according to the new law.

“And also making sure kids are still talking to one another, still getting outside and not staring at a screen all day: I think that is a big place the federal government, frankly, could lean much bigger into that would have a long-term transformational impact on our country,” Sanders said.

The Milken Institute conference “convenes the best minds in the world to tackle its most urgent challenges,” according to a description of the event on its website, and includes speakers from the world of politics, finance and business.

When asked for a specific federal policy Sanders supports to rein in Big Tech, Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for the governor said, “The Governor has been clear that when the federal government fails to step up and protect kids and hold Big Tech accountable, her administration will.”

Sanders also apprised the audience at the Beverly Hilton of the LEARNS Act, the broad education overhaul package she signed into law in early March. Milken, who is also chairman of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, cited statistics showing declining national math and reading scores and low marks for students in Arkansas.

Sanders said the LEARNS Act was an attempt to rebuild a lagging public education system in Arkansas. LEARNS stands for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking and safety.

“Investing more money into an already broken system to me was simply unacceptable,” Sanders said. “We had to flip things on its head and do things in a completely different way.”

Among the highlights of the 145-page LEARNS Act is an increase in the starting salary for teachers from $36,000 to $50,000 and a voucher program allowing students to use state public education funds to help cover the costs to attend a private or home school.

The law also has higher standards for literacy, requiring students to reach certain benchmarks on reading before they can pass the third grade. Students struggling to read at grade level could have access to reading coaches or be eligible for a $500 grant to hire a tutor.

The legislation calls for the state to hire 120 reading coaches who will be deployed to the schools with the greatest need.

“We want every student in the state to have those same types of intense immersion reading services,” Sanders said.

Sanders said she learned of the success a reading coach can have while her daughter attended a public school in northern Virginia, saying a teacher with expertise in the science of reading helped boost her daughter’s reading level.

The law could potentially face a challenge from voters. A group called Citizens for Arkansas Public Education is attempting to repeal it through a referendum.

The ballot language is being reviewed by the state attorney general’s office. Approval would allow the group to start collecting the 54,522 signatures it needs to get the question on the ballot.

Steve Grappe, the group’s leader, said the law’s voucher program, also referred to as educational freedom accounts, will drain much-needed state dollars from public schools.