Senate Education Committee Rejects Good Bill to Teach Students About Unborn Children

Legislation, , , ,

On Wednesday the Senate Education Committee rejected a good bill that would help teach public school students in Arkansas about unborn children.

H.B. 1946 by Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) requires public schools to provide human growth and development education in grades 6 – 12 every school year.

The bill requires the courses to include a three-minute high-definition ultrasound video and a high-quality, computer animated video depicting the process of fertilization and every stage of fetal development.

Under H.B. 1946, this instruction would be included in biology and sex-education courses.

H.B. 1946 passed with strong support in the Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday, and Rep. Bentley presented it to the Senate Education Committee the following morning.

During her remarks, Rep. Bentley noted that there is no known opposition to H.B. 1946, and she asked the committee members to support the bill. However, the bill failed to pass.

H.B. 1946 is the second fetal development education bill to be rejected by the Senate Education Committee. In February the committee failed to pass H.B. 1180, the Baby Olivia Act, by Rep. Bentley and Sen. Penzo. H.B. 1180 would ensure public schools show students a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video that is at least three minutes long as part of sex-education and human growth and development education courses, and it would let students see a video like Live Action’s computer-animated “Meet Baby Olivia” video that teaches about human development from conception to birth.

Although the Senate Education Committee has rejected H.B. 1946 and H.B. 1180, the committee did pass S.B. 450 by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Kendra Moore (R — Lincoln) — a good bill that lets public school students see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of human fetal growth and development education courses. The bill also lets students learn important facts about how unborn children develop in the womb.

S.B. 450 received strong support in the Arkansas Senate, and it has been sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

It’s good to see lawmakers taking such an interest in teaching public school students about unborn children.

Ultrasound technology provides what some people call a “window into the womb” demonstrating that unborn children are living human beings. Good bills like H.B. 1180, S.B. 450, and H.B. 1946 help Arkansas’ students understand that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas Legislature Passes Law to Make Ballot Measure Summaries Easier to Understand

Legislation,

On Tuesday evening the Arkansas Legislature passed a law that will help make ballot measure summaries easier for voters to read and understand.

By law, all ballot measures in Arkansas must have a ballot title. The ballot title is a summary that is supposed to accurately describe the measure so voters can read it and decide if they want to vote for or against the measure.

Unfortunately, these summaries are often misleading, confusing, and poorly written. But H.B. 1713 would fix that.

H.B. 1713 is a good bill by Rep. Ryan Rose (R — Van Buren) and Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) requiring ballot initiative titles to be written at or below an eighth grade reading level. This would help address deceptive or misleading ballot measure summaries in Arkansas.

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1713 in March. On Tuesday, the Arkansas Senate passed it as well.

Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be, and if lawmakers do not act soon, the problem is simply going to get worse.

H.B. 1713 now goes to Governor Sanders to be signed into law.

The Following Senators Voted For H.B. 1713

  • J. Boyd
  • J. Bryant
  • Caldwell
  • A. Clark
  • Crowell
  • B. Davis
  • Dees
  • J. Dotson
  • J. English
  • Flippo
  • Gilmore
  • K. Hammer
  • Hester
  • Hickey
  • Hill
  • Irvin
  • B. Johnson
  • M. Johnson
  • F. Love
  • M. McKee
  • J. Payton
  • C. Penzo
  • J. Petty
  • Rice
  • J. Scott
  • Stone
  • G. Stubblefield
  • D. Sullivan
  • D. Wallace

The Following Senators Voted Against H.B. 1713

  • J. Dismang
  • S. Flowers
  • G. Leding
  • R. Murdock
  • C. Tucker

The Following Senator Was Excused from Voting

  • B. King

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas Legislature Passes Law Placing Ten Commandments in Public Schools and Buildings

Legislation,

On Monday the Arkansas Legislature passed a law to place a poster of the Ten Commandments in public schools and public buildings.

Current law requires a copy of the national motto, “In God We Trust” to be displayed in public schools and other public buildings.

S.B. 433 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) requires a historical copy of the Ten Commandments to be displayed as well.

Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that items that are important to our nation’s history — like the Ten Commandments or the national motto — may be honored and recognized publicly without running afoul of the First Amendment. The Ten Commandments are one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have had a profound impact in shaping America’s concept of the rule of law as well.

S.B. 433 will make sure Arkansas continues that longstanding tradition of recognizing the importance of the Ten Commandments. The bill already passed the Arkansas Senate. It now goes to Gov. Sanders to be signed into law.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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