LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The leader of a group trying to challenge a massive overhaul of Arkansas’ education system says she’s not playing politics with students’ futures.
A petition to leave the fate of the Arkansas LEARNS Act in the hands of voters is one step closer to being on the November 2024 ballot after Attorney General Tim Griffin approved the ballot language on Monday, 5 june
State Supreme Court Receives First Briefings on Suspension of Arkansas LEARNS Act
Veronica McClane, the president of Citizens For Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES), says her group’s efforts are not about party politics, but personal.
“I’m not playing political games,” McClane said in an interview Tuesday. “My children go to public schools. I’m fighting for my kids.”
He noted that CAPES still needs to get more than 54,000 signatures statewide for the petition to go on the ballot. His goal, he added, is 90,000.
McClane said his main concern is the public education system, and specifically rural school districts.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared on the Dave Elswick radio show Tuesday morning and discussed how the LEARNS Act addresses these concerns.
“If anything, this will empower many rural schools by helping to retain and hire some of the best teachers around by increasing teacher pay,” Sanders said, calling the law one of the biggest investments the state has ever made. done in public education. in decades.
Attorney Filing Lawsuit Against Arkansas’ LEARNS Act Talks Intended Legal Action
Alexa Henning, spokeswoman for Sanders, took to Twitter for address the fight to repeal the law.
“The governor. @SarahHuckabee talked about LEARNS for two years while campaigning and promised to deliver bold, transformative reforms to our education system and that’s exactly what the people of Arkansas elected her to do,” she tweeted.
So does Attorney General Tim Griffin made a statement Monday after approving the voting language.
“The legislature has authorized the attorney general to reject a voting title for one reason only: if it is deceptive. Since this voting title largely cuts and pastes from LEARNS, I cannot conclude that it is misleading. Therefore, I have certified it,” says the statement.
Attorney General’s Office Approves Ballot Language for Arkansas LEARNS Act Voter Referendum
Griffin noted that the ballot title’s 8,000 words make it the longest in Arkansas history “by a wide margin.” He also indicated that the Arkansas Supreme Court may still reject the ballot title because of its complexity.
