Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has approved the ballot title of a proposed amendment to hold public and private schools to the same academic and accessibility standards.
“The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024” was put forward by the advocacy group For AR Kids. If passed, it would require “identical academic standards” for private schools getting state money as public ones. This comes after legislation in Arkansas allowed some families to access tax dollars to help their kids attend a private school.
An education law passed last year called Arkansas LEARNS gave over 4,000 families state funds to help enroll their children in private or religious schools. Most families who got the money are getting $6,672, with a total of $7.1 million going to families across the state.
If the amendment is passed, private schools will be required to provide early childhood education and services for students who have disabilities. They will also be required to provide after-school and summer programs. It also lists off general academic standards it wants both public and private schools to follow such as "oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization."
This is the fourth time the ballot amendment has been submitted to the attorney general. He cited misleading and ambiguous language as his reasons for rejecting the proposal in the past.
“Any ambiguity in the text of a measure could lead to a successful court challenge,” the response said.
Now that the ballot title has been approved, For AR Kids will have to collect over 90,000 signatures before the amendment can go on the ballot in November.
“It feels wonderful to finally start the signature process to put these solutions to help our students before voters,” said Elaine Williams, a member of the group.
