Both sides going big with schools

There’s a saying in politics: “Go big or go home.” That’s certainly been the approach of folks on opposite sides of the political spectrum regarding education policy lately.

On one side, legislators last year followed the leadership of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and passed the 145-page LEARNS Act.

Among the law’s many provisions was one creating “education freedom accounts.” The accounts give parents access to about $6,600 per child in state funding that would have gone to the public schools their children would have attended. Instead, they’ll be able to use that funding for approved private school or homeschooling expenses. Passed a little more than two weeks after it was filed, the law left many details to the rulemaking process. That part is still ongoing.

Only 1.5 percent of the total school population was eligible this year and 3 percent next. But in year three, it will be wide open.

Sanders and the lawmakers certainly went big.

The education freedom accounts fundamentally reshape education. No longer will public dollars be limited to public schools. Parents will have more choices, and schools will have more competition. Choice and competition generally are good things.

But inevitably, public schools that are the bedrock of their communities will lose funding as some parents seek other options. And what happens to those private schools that take the money? Part of the rulemaking process includes creating ways for the government to

See BRAWNER, page A6

Steve Brawner Arkansas Commentary BRAWNER

From page A4

hold private schools accountable. Which brings us to For AR Kids, a coalition that is going big, too, except in the other direction. Supporters seek to pass a constitutional amendment requiring private schools receiving local and state funds to comply with the same academic and accreditation standards that public schools do. That provision effectively would undo much of the education freedom accounts. Many private schools no longer would take the state dollars, either because they couldn’t comply, wouldn’t want to, or both.

The For AR Kids proposal does a lot of other big things.

For example, it would write into the Constitution the elements of an adequate education described by the Arkansas Supreme Court in the Lake View school funding case. Those are the development of oral and written communication skills; knowledge of economic, social, and political systems; understanding of governmental processes; selfknowledge and knowledge of their own mental and physical wellness; grounding in the arts; training or preparation for advanced training in academic or vocational fields; and academic or vocational skills so students can compete with surrounding states.

Meanwhile, the proposed amendments would list four services as a state obligation: Universal access to voluntary early childhood education from age 3 until kindergarten Universal access to voluntary afterschool and summer programs Assistance to children whose family incomes are within 200 percent of the federal poverty line Services meeting the individual needs of students with disabilities The LEARNS Act was passed by a Republican governor and Republican legislators. For AR Kids approaches the issue from the other side of the political spectrum. It’s composed of Arkansas Public Policy Panel, which advocates for progressive policy solutions; the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP; the Arkansas Education Association; and Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students.

CAPES earlier this year tried unsuccessfully to qualify a referendum for the ballot that could have overturned the LEARNS Act.

In December, Arkansas Public Policy Panel’s Bill Kopsky revealed the results of a poll indicating broad support for the proposal’s various elements.

For example, 77.1 percent of respondents agreed – 57.9 percent strongly – that all schools receiving public funds should have identical standards.

But at the moment, For AR Kids is mostly worried about the opinion of one person: Attorney General Tim Griffin, who is responsible for certifying the ballot proposal before supporters can collect signatures. So far, he has rejected the proposal twice, and For AR Kids is considering legal action. The history of these things is that eventually supporters will be able to start collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot. Like the LEARNS Act, the For AR Kids proposal would fundamentally reshape education. If it passes – and that’s a big if – schools of all types will have to respond to their second revolution in a couple of years.

Since Sanders and GOP legislators will still be in power, there then would be yet another counter-revolution.

There would be wisdom in taking more of an incrementalist approach, but that’s not the direction things are going right now. It’s go big or go home. At the moment, no one’s going home.

Email Steve Brawner at brawnersteve@ mac. com. Follow him on Twitter at @ steve-brawner.