EFA Rules Approved, Teacher Labor Union Donates to Keep Ballot Initiative Process Wide Open, and More: New This Week

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

💵 Teacher Labor Union Gives Nearly $1M to Arkansas Ballot Measure Campaign. On Monday, Arkansas Ethics Commission filings revealed an out-of-state group gave nearly $1 million to a campaign to place the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment on the November ballot. The measure would amend the Arkansas Constitution to keep the ballot initiative process wide open and prevent the state legislature from enacting safeguards against petition fraud and other offenses. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Lawmakers Approve EFA Rules Despite Homeschoolers’ Concerns. On Monday, a legislative subcommittee approved a new slate of Educational Freedom Account (EFA) rules despite strong concerns voiced by homeschoolers in the EFA program. The new rules are slated to take effect July 1. Keep Reading.

🏫 Data Shows 141 Arkansas Students Took Academic Study of the Bible Courses this Year. Data from the Arkansas Department of Education shows 141 public school students enrolled in courses to study the Bible academically this school year. Keep Reading.

💉 Poll: Most Americans Say Suicide Is Wrong — But Many Support Physician-Assisted Suicide Anyway. A new Gallup poll shows most Americans believe suicide in general is morally wrong, but opinions are split over physician-assisted suicide. Keep Reading.

💊 Ethicists Argue People Who Want to Starve Themselves to Death Should be Eligible for Assisted Suicide. Last month, three prominent bioethicists published a paper in the journal Bioethics arguing that people who try to commit suicide via self-starvation and dehydration should be eligible for “terminal sedation” — which other experts argue would be nothing more than assisted suicide. The column underscores the “slippery slope” that assisted suicide leads to. Keep Reading.

🍼 Republican Congressmen Introduce Measures to Prevent Sex-Offenders, Foreign Nationals from Acquiring Children Through Surrogacy. Earlier this month, more than a dozen GOP congressmen co-sponsored legislation preventing sex-offenders from acquiring children through surrogacy and prohibiting foreign nationals from entering into surrogacy contracts in the U.S. Keep Reading.

📉 Support for Sex-Change Procedures, Polygamy Falls Among Democrats: Gallup. Last week pollsters at Gallup released a survey showing support for sex-change procedures and polygamy has fallen significantly among Democrats over the past year. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

The Wholesome Side of Social Media. From Breakpoint.

14 AGs Press EPA on Abortion Pill Water Contamination. From Daily Citizen.

MLB Players are Right to Reclaim the Rainbow. From Daily Citizen.

Louisiana Dad Poisons His Daughter with Abortion Drug in Latest Mifepristone Horror Story. From The Washington Stand.

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

From Abortion By Mail to EFA Hearings to Gambling Legislation, Here’s a Look Back at the Week

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

💊 Family Council Launches Grassroots Effort Urging Trump Administration to End Mail-Order Abortion Drugs. On Thursday, Family Council launched a grassroots effort calling on the Trump administration and members of Congress to end former President Joe Biden’s dangerous mail-order abortion policies and restore the in-person doctor’s visit requirement that must be met before a woman can obtain chemical abortion drugs. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Lawmakers to Hold Hearing on EFA Rules Monday. Lawmakers on the Administrative Rules Subcommittee will hold a hearing to discuss new Educational Freedom Account rules in Little Rock this Monday, June 15. The meeting will be open to the public, and homeschoolers may have an opportunity to testify at the meeting. Keep Reading.

📜 Here is an Overview of Some of the Concerns Homeschoolers Have Raised About New EFA Rules. Since late last year, homeschoolers have expressed concerns about the new rules again and again to the Department of Education and other policymakers. Here are a few examples of the concerns that homeschoolers, our organization, and others have raised about the rules. Keep Reading.

💍 Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Declares June “Fidelity Month.” Learn More.

💵 Congressmen Introduce Bipartisan Proposal to Investigate Harm Caused by Sports Betting. Last week, Congressmen Blake Moore (R-UT) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) introduced the bipartisan Gambling Disorder Health Study Act. The proposal would direct the federal government to conduct a comprehensive, long-term investigation into gambling disorder and evaluate “prevention, treatment, and intervention strategies.” Keep Reading.

🪝 Children, Teens Getting Hooked on Gambling. Researchers and news outlets are sounding the alarm over concerns about kids getting hooked on sports betting. Keep Reading.

🧠 Study Shows Marijuana May Interfere with Adolescent Brain Development. In a study published by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers from Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island found marijuana use during adolescence is linked to differences in brain regions related to motivation and reward. Experts say the brain is more sensitive to the effects of marijuana during teenage development, which raises serious concerns about the long term effects of using marijuana during adolescence. Keep Reading.

🏆 Biological Male Wins Girls Shot Put Championship in West Virginia. A biological male recently won first place in the girls shot put at a West Virginia state track and field championship — beating the second-place finisher by more than two feet. Keep Reading.

📉 Why is Support for Same-Sex Marriage and Other Pro-LGBT Issues Falling? For years, survey data indicated a growing share of Americans were pro-LGBT and supported same-sex marriage. That trend seemed to culminate in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state marriage laws nationwide with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision. But since 2024, polling data has showed a drop in support for same-sex marriage. Keep Reading.

🏫 LifeWise Academy Expands Rapidly Across Arkansas in 2025-26 School Year, Serving Hundreds of Students. In Arkansas, LifeWise currently serves approximately 1,260 students with 12 live programs in 16 schools, reflecting significant year-over-year growth as more families see the significant benefits of released time religious instruction. Keep Reading.

💉 Guest Column: The Slippery Slope Keeps Slipping. Back in April, a reckless assisted suicide bill looked like it was going to pass and be made British law. Instead, it was shut down by the House of Lords. Then, in May, the Irish parliament rejected an expanded abortion bill by a vote of 85-30. On this side of the Atlantic, things are headed in the opposite direction. Keep Reading.

🧱 President Reagan: “Tear Down This Wall.” On June 12, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. There he famously delivered a speech calling on Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Watch the Video.

From Our Friends

Yes, Gay ‘Pride Month’ Most Certainly IS After Our Kids. From Daily Citizen.

When mob action is overlooked, you get more mob action. From American Family News.

Why Do Americans Oppose Suicide But Support Assisted Suicide? From LifeNews.

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

Fidelity Month, EFA Rules, and More from the Week

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

💰 Little Evidence New EFA Rules Will Save State Money. Family Council has recently spoken to a few policymakers who believe Arkansas’ Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program needs to cut costs. Some hope a new set of rules from the Department of Education will do that. But Family Council has analyzed the rules, and there is very little evidence the new rules will help the State save money. Keep Reading.

💍 Governor Sanders Declares June “Fidelity Month” in Arkansas. Last week, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a proclamation declaring June “Fidelity Month” in the Natural State. The governor’s proclamation says: Keep Reading.

🏥 Texas Hospital Opens First-Ever Detransition Gender Clinic: A Texas hospital has opened a “detransition” gender clinic following a $10 million settlement with the Trump Administration. Keep Reading.

💉 Suicide Advocates Continue to Promote “Medical Aid in Dying” in U.S. and Abroad: In Ohio, legislators recently introduced an assisted suicide measure, arguing that “medical aid in dying” provides terminally ill people with a compassionate option. But our friends at the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) rightly called the legislation “a Trojan horse for mandated death” that would pressure vulnerable people to end their lives via assisted suicide. Experiences elsewhere have shown CCV’s concerns about assisted suicide are spot on. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

Gallup Data Reveals Support for LGBT Ideology is Declining. From Daily Citizen.

Another Male Won Awards at Another Girls Track and Field Championship. From Daily Citizen.

“Help Me!” Cries From Canadian Man in Botched Euthanasia are Haunting. From LifeNews.

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