The Arkansas Public Policy Panel is working to rally support to add a ballot initiative to this November’s election, which would require private schools that receive state funding to meet the same standards as public schools. Supporters have until July 5th to collect at least 90,704 signatures from at least 50 counties to qualify.
The initiative is supported by For AR Kids, a ballot question committee formed by the ARPP, along with the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, Arkansas Education Association, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Citizens First Congress, Arkansas Retired Teachers Association and Stand Up Arkansas.
This iniitiative is a response to the 2023 LEARNS Act, championed and passed by Arkansas Governor Sara Huckabee Sanders and the Educational Freedom Account program, which exempts private schools which receive state funding from the requirements to admit all students, provide transportation and administer certain standardized tests.
For AR Kids’ initiative has faced staunch opposition from Walmart heir Jim Walton, a charter-school proponent who has spent more than $407 million since 1997 to support the expansion of private charter schools, and has donated $500,000 to defeat the measure.
The measure would also guarantee universal access to Pre-K programs for three- and four-year-olds, afterschool and summer programs, special education support and assistance for children whose families are within 200% of the Federal Poverty Line.