Above: The Senate Education Committee passed S.B. 294 on Wednesday afternoon, following some five hours of testimony. The Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure on Thursday.
On Thursday the Arkansas Senate passed Gov. Sanders’ omnibus education bill. The 144-page Arkansas LEARNS Act addresses multiple issues related to education — including public school teacher employment and salaries, critical race theory, sexual material being taught in public school classrooms, and others.
The LEARNS Act also implements a school choice program between 2023 and 2025 that would let students obtain a publicly funded education at private schools or at home.
The bill previously passed in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, following some five hours of testimony and discussion.
Here are three important points to be aware of regarding the LEARNS Act:
First, the bill is moving through the legislature very quickly. Most members of the Arkansas General Assembly are sponsoring or co-sponsoring the bill. There is talk about amending the bill slightly in the Arkansas House, but we fully expect the bill to pass.
Second, when it comes to school choice, the LEARNS Act could provide students in Arkansas with unprecedented access to education. Families would have the option of using state dollars to educate their children at a public or private school or at home.
Third, the LEARNS Act provides the framework for a voluntary school choice program.
It’s going to be up to the State Board of Education and the Arkansas Department of Education to decide how that framework will operate.
The LEARNS Act outlines the school choice program, and it tasks the Department of Education with putting the program into practice.
So while the LEARNS Act is important, the actual debate over school choice in Arkansas will take place at the State Board of Education over the next 18-24 months. The State Board of Education will propose the rules for the school choice program, and lawmakers and the public will then be able to have a say about what the State Board of Education proposes.
To be clear, this law would not change the status of home schoolers or private school students who do not apply for public funds.
As we have said before, we want to work with our friends to help Arkansas families have choices in education without regulating nonpublic school students. We are committed to doing exactly that throughout this legislative process and the rulemaking process that will follow at the State Board of Education.
Rep. Wayne Long (R – Bradford) filed H.B. 1468 clarifying that a teacher or faculty member cannot be held liable for declining to use a student’s or co-worker’s preferred pronouns.
On Tuesday, Family Council and the Education Alliance hosted Home School Day at the Capitol.
Sen. Kim Hammer filed S.B. 307 to create a monument to the unborn whose lives were lost to abortion.
The Arkansas Senate passed S.B. 199 letting a child sue if he or she suffers injury as a result of a sex-change procedure.
On Wednesday the Senate Public Health Committee failed to pass a measure ensuring employers that pay for abortions also offer paid maternity leave.
The House Rules Committee failed to passed a bill that would help protect children in Arkansas from Internet pornography.
The Senate Education Committee passed the Arkansas LEARNS Act, S.B. 294, following approximately five hours of testimony and discussion.
The Arkansas Senate passed S.B. 81 concerning obscenity and public libraries in Arkansas.
On Thursday the Arkansas Senate passed the LEARNS Act, S.B. 294.
Good Bills Passed So Far
H.C.R. 1005 (Religious Freedom): This good measure by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) declares January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas. Read The Measure Here.
H.R. 1021 (Home Schooling): This good resolution by Reps. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance), Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs), Wayne Long (R – Bradford), and Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) recognizes the fact that home schooling provides educational flexibility and benefits to more than 30,000 students in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.
H.R. 1010 (Pro-Life): This good resolution by Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) recognizes the vital role of pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.
S.B. 199 (Protecting Children): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) lets a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any physical, psychological, or emotional injury as a result. See How your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 270 (Sexual Indecency): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) clarifies that an adult commits sexual indecency if the adult enters or remains in a changing area where a child of the opposite sex is present. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1156 (Privacy): This bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) addresses privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 66 (Pornography): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to protect children from pornography. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 284 (Alcohol): This good bill by Sen. Jane English (R – North Little Rock) would prevent retail liquor stores, microbrewery restaurants, and small breweries from delivering alcohol to private residences in the county where the store is located. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 81 (Obscenity): This good bill by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity. The bill also eliminates exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it creates a civil cause of action Arkansans can use if the state, a city, or a county distributes obscene material. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1305 (Child Welfare): This good bill by Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) protects child welfare by amending the “mature minor” doctrine in Arkansas law to clarify minors may consent to medical treatment for sexual assault; sexual, domestic, or physical abuse; or alcohol or substance abuse. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1428 (Education): This good bill by Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) ensures that public, private, and home schooled students have equal access to college and career readiness assessments offered at public schools in Arkansas, and that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations when taking these exams. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1006 (Abortion): This good bill by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would require an employer that covers abortions or travel expenses related to abortions to also provide 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to employees in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1398 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Les Eaves (R – Searcy) raises the state income tax credit for stillborn children from $500 to $1,500. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 261 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) lets a person claim an unborn child as a dependent for income tax credit purposes. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 307 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) authorizes a monument on the Arkansas Capitol Grounds commemorating the unborn children whose lives were lost in abortion. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 286 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorizes $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1459 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Rep. Charlene Fite (R – Van Buren) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) strengthens Arkansas’ laws and penalties concerning human trafficking. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 282 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) makes it easier for victims of human trafficking to sue their traffickers and those who profited from the trafficking. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1468 (LGBT): This good bill by Rep. Wayne Long (R – Bradford) says that a teacher or faculty member who declines to use a student’s or co-worker’s preferred pronouns could not be held civilly, criminally, or administratively liable. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 294 (Education): This omnibus education bill by Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) and Rep. Keith Brooks (R – Little Rock) titled “The LEARNS Act” deals with critical race theory, teacher salaries, public school employment, early childhood care, and protecting elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material at school, and it provides a framework for implementing a voluntary school choice program that would make it possible for students to receive a publicly-funded education at a public or private school or at home. Read The Bill Here.
Bad Bills Passed So Far
H.B. 1024 (Public Drinking): This bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) would let cities and towns that do not collect advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish entertainment districts where public drinking is legal. This would let communities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts even if the community does not cater toward hospitality and tourism. That has the potential to expand public drinking in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here. See How Your State Senator and State Representative Voted Here.
S.B. 138 (Abortion): This bad bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Rebecca Burkes (R – Lowell) repeals abortion facility licensing requirements in state law. Arkansas’ abortion facility licensing requirement is tied to other provisions related to abortion in state code. Repealing the licensing requirement could have unintended consequences for those good laws if abortion were once again made legal by a state or federal court decision or law. See How your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Bad Bills Filed So Far
H.J.R. 1008 (Abortion): This bad amendment by Rep. Deborah Ferguson (D – West Memphis) would amend the Arkansas Constitution to recognize a fundamental right to abortion. Read The Amendment Here.
H.B. 1301 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) would legalize abortion in cases of “fetal abnormality incompatible with life.” The bill does not define what is or is not a “fetal abnormality.” It is not clear how a federal judge might interpret this language. Unborn children should not be aborted simply because a doctor thinks they may be at risk for a fetal abnormality. Family Council strongly opposes this bill — and any other bill that would weaken our state’s pro-life laws. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1174 (Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death): This bill by Rep. Richard Womack (R – Arkadelphia) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) changes Arkansas’ fetal homicide law and wrongful death statute. Among other things, the bill makes it possible to prosecute or sue a woman for the death of her unborn child. It is unclear how a court might interpret and enforce this bill in light of Arkansas’ laws prohibiting abortion. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1204 (Nonpublic School Testing): This bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires nonpublic schools that receive any form of state funding to assess their students with a standardized test. Read The Bill Here.
S.J.R. 13 (Marijuana): This proposed constitutional amendment by Sen. Joshua Bryant (R – Rogers) would “legalize marijuana for the purposes of craft or home growing and adult use by Arkansas residents of a certain age.” Read The Amendment Here.
H.B. 1349 (Gambling): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R – Bentonville) legalizes paid “esports tournaments” in Arkansas, which could expand a form of gambling in the state. The bill says that casinos in Arkansas can conduct wagering on esports tournaments. See How your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1162 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Justin Boyd (R – Fort Smith) would expand alcohol sales via microbreweries. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1498 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. Matt Brown (R – Conway) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) would expand alcohol at microbrewery-restaurant private clubs and let municipalities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts outside microbrewery-restaurant private clubs. Read The Bill Here.
On Wednesday the House Rules Committee at the Arkansas Legislature failed to passed a measure that would help protect children in Arkansas from Internet pornography.
S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to implement an age verification process to protect children from pornography.
The bill passed with nearly unanimous support in the Arkansas Senate earlier this month, but it failed in the House Rules Committee on Wednesday.
S.B. 66 is a good bill that requires pornographic websites to verify users are 18 or older using a government-issued ID or another commercially available method.
In practice, this means pornographic websites would rely on IDs like a driver’s license to prevent minors from accessing pornographic material online.
Websites that violate S.B. 66 would be held liable under the law.
The measure is similar to a law Louisiana recently passed.
Technology has given children unprecedented access to pornography. Among other things, pornography is believed to contribute to mental health problems.
S.B. 66 would help address this problem in Arkansas.
