As expected, the tug of war between school choice advocates and defenders of traditional public schools played out in Arkansas’s 91st General Assembly, which concluded its flurry of lawmaking last week.
A bill that would grant Arkansas charter schools the right to buy or lease unused or underutilized public school buildings passed in the House 53-32 Thursday.
A bill that would grant Arkansas charter schools the right to use “unused or underutilized” public school buildings advanced out of the House Education Committee late Monday afternoon on a voice vote with some dissent, drawing criticism from some opponents of the bill who cried foul at the unusual timing of the committee's action.
A bill that would allow superintendents to waive the requirement that a student attend public school for a year before being eligible to participate in a special-needs education voucher program passed 69-7 in the House Wednesday.
The House State Agencies committee gave approval to a measure to require voter ID in Arkansas by means of a constitutional amendment on Wednesday.
An Arkansas House committee has approved a plan to alter the funding formula for higher education. The House Education Committee advanced a bill by Rep. Mark Lowery (R-Maumelle) on Tuesday that would send state dollars to public colleges and universities based on performance. The state now awards colleges and universities money mostly based on enrollment.
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