Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed her educational reform bill on Wednesday.
"The failed status quo ended today when Governor Sanders signed the biggest, boldest, most conservative education reform into law. By the passage of AR LEARNS, Arkansas will be a blueprint for the country," Alexa Henning, the communications director for Huckabee Sanders, said.
"It raises teacher pay, empowers parents, and gives our students the skills to succeed in life. Every kid should have access to a quality education and a path to a good paying job and better life right here in Arkansas," Henning said.
Arkansas is the latest of the Republican-led states to pass school choice legislation, becoming the fifth state to pass universal school choice. The legislation passed the Republican-held Arkansas State Legislature on Tuesday afternoon and will head to Huckabee Sanders' desk for her signature.
Senate Bill 294, also known as "Arkansas LEARNS," passed 26-8, marking the latest win for school choice.
The Arkansas legislation will broaden school choice and includes a plan for the state to adopt universal choice by the 2025-2026 school year. The bill will gradually provide vouchers through "Education Freedom Accounts," which equal 90% of funding allocated per student to each public school district in the previous year.
"It's bigger than just tackling school choice, it's about taking a comprehensive approach to our education system here in Arkansas. I frankly am tired of seeing our state at the bottom when it comes to our performance and our outcomes," Huckabee Sanders told Fox News Digital.
Shortly after delivering the response to the SOTU address, Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., announced a universal school choice proposal that would be unprecedented legislation in the state.
Huckabee Sanders’ proposal includes education reform measures like education freedom accounts and a "three-year, phased-in approach to fund students" that will provide universal choice for all families by 2025-2026.
The proposal would also prohibit a limit on the number of charter schools allowed to operate and the number of school choice transfers a student can use. Other pieces of the proposal entail boosting teacher pay, providing incentives for teacher performance, and banning "critical race theory and indoctrination."
Reacting to Huckabee Sanders’ proposal, American Federation for Children senior fellow Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital that "Arkansas is now the 5th government school monopoly domino to fall in just two years."
"We're freeing families from the clutches of the teachers unions once and for all – and there's nothing they can do about it," DeAngelis said.
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Last year, Arizona became the first state in the nation to pass education scholarship accounts, expanding the program to all 1.1 million K-12 students in the state. Other red states have now followed suit in pushing school choice legislation.
The most recent example of major school choice legislation being passed occurred when Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, R., established scholarship accounts on behalf of all Utah K-12 students to pay for "approved education goods and services" starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
Widespread calls for school choice and parental rights have emerged after states implemented lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic. School choice became a salient issue after the COVID-19-induced lockdowns sparked a conversation on the scope of the government’s authority and the type of content that should be taught to children from public school curricula.
Republican governors made significant inroads in pushing universal school choice legislation, which did not exist anywhere in the country a year ago. As of now, five states passed universal school choice.
School choice, or providing all families with alternatives to the public schools they’re zoned for, can be expanded through multiple avenues at the state level, including school voucher programs, tax-credit scholarship programs, individual tuition tax credit programs and deductions, and education savings accounts (ESAs). Charter schools, magnet schools, and homeschooling are also forms of school choice programs.
