An editorial in Sunday’s Democrat-Gazette, “Why Arkansas needs the LEARNS Act” by state Sen. Breanne Davis (R-Russellville) and state Rep. Keith Brooks (R-Little Rock), is full of ridiculous, misleading and false statements. Sen. Davis and Rep. Brooks urge voters not to sign the petitions to put the Educational Rights Amendment on the ballot. Either they haven’t read the amendment, or they are deliberately trying to deceive the public. You decide.
Here are a few of the space shots from the article: “(The) amendment would effectively end private schools in our state.” What? The Educational Rights Amendment only applies to “schools that receive the benefit of local or State funds.” If a private school doesn’t take state money, it can continue to operate as it has before this amendment. On the other hand, if a private school accepts public money, it has to meet the same academic and accreditation standards as traditional public schools. If those standards are valid and beneficial, what’s the problem?
Zinger 2: “If this union-backed campaign is successful, it will force every single private school to operate exactly as a public school.” What is that about? Again, the amendment only requires schools that take public money to meet the same accreditation and academic standards as public schools. Otherwise, private schools can operate just like they do now.
As to the “union-backed campaign,” there are no teachers in Arkansas who are represented in negotiations by teachers’ unions, so I don’t know why the union boogie man is even raised here. Frankly, the big money put up to fund the anti-Educational Rights Amendment campaign – and politicians like Davis and Brooks – comes from a few strong anti-union forces. Unions are not an issue here. Again, we don’t have any teachers’ unions that negotiate for teachers in Arkansas.
Big Clinker No. 3: Davis and Brooks say generally how much they adore teachers. They ignored teachers when they enacted LEARNS, which took away the due process rights of teachers to have a meaningful hearing if they are fired. Before LEARNS, a teacher couldn’t be fired without “just and reasonable cause.” LEARNS repealed the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, and now a teacher can be fired for no reason at all. I have personally received communications from teachers who are afraid to sign the petition to put the amendment on the ballot because they are afraid of losing their jobs. When LEARNS was passed, Sen. Davis and Rep. Brooks toed the party line and pushed the whole omnibus package, hook, line and sinker. They missed their chance to stand up for teachers.
Wacky Argument 4: “…one study shows it has a potential price tag of at least $1 billion per year. We have heard of additional studies on this amendment reaching a $4 billion annual price tag.” Any time I hear folks say, “We have heard …” I know the next thing is nothing but a baseless rumor. The Arkansas Legislature passed the voucher provisions of LEARNS with no idea of the total cost. In Arizona, which is the model for the voucher provisions of LEARNS, the vouchers are primarily going to high-income families whose children were already in private schools, and the costs are skyrocketing. So now Sen. Davis and Rep. Brooks are concerned about costs? They weren’t before.
The primary concern should be about elevating our state from its miserable near last place finishes in health care, economic growth and education. Instead, Sen. Davis and Rep. Brooks consistently vote to defund the state government. We won’t get out of last place by cutting income taxes. (Keep in mind we have the third highest sales tax burden of any state.)
Here’s the biggie that really demonstrates how ludicrous the Davis and Brooks column is: “This amendment brings back the status quo.”
My goodness. The amendment ushers in universal pre-kindergarten education, requires quality after-school and summer programs, gives disabled children the explicit constitutional right to equal access to meaningful education and mandates assistance to poor children. What is wrong with any of those things, which are validated solutions, and far from the status quo? The status quo now, after LEARNS, is that people who used to pay private school tuition are now getting a state subsidy.
If we as a state are going to spend money on vouchers for wealthier children, why not spend what it takes to help the children of greater need who are not succeeding now? The children who need help are generally not the children from middle- and upper-income families who are currently attending private schools. They get a voucher, but the children of poverty generally won’t be in private schools, and they don’t get anything much from LEARNS.
The kids who are failing in Arkansas are the children of greatest need. Look at the poverty numbers published by the state when it grades Arkansas’s schools. The correlation is direct and consistent. Poverty is the problem. It is best addressed by directing resources and attention to the children who are failing.
The Educational Rights Amendment requires pre-kindergarten education, after-school programs, summer programs, and specific interventions targeted to the students who are failing. LEARNS gives the medicine to kids who are well. The Educational Rights Amendment addresses the problems.
And while we are doing these things, we must target the root cause of student failure, poverty by adequately funding economic development efforts, higher education, rural health care initiatives, and 21st century job training. Other states are doing so, and running circles around us. If we don’t attack the root cause, we will be perpetually remediating failure, rather than eliminating it.
LEARNS is nothing but a voucher bill, with some add-ons designed to blow smoke around the big idea: vouchers for private schools. The state will spend untold millions to subsidize private school educations for children who are already succeeding. Keep in mind that vouchers are available to every child in a private school, including the valedictorian. If LEARNS was designed to eliminate student failure, then it should only have given vouchers to failing students.
Make no mistake. We are a state in crisis. Bold action is required. But LEARNS won’t do it. I know it won’t. Most of the academic interventions in LEARNS were tried for years in the Little Rock School District, and nothing much came from it. The Educational Rights Amendment targets the problem at the earliest stages. We must help children then, and keep them from falling behind.
If the Legislature won’t do the right things, then the people have to step up and vote. Why not let the people vote? If Sen. Davis and Rep. Brooks really believe they are right, they should trust the voters to decide.
Sign the petitions, then let both sides make their arguments and see how the chips fall. Let’s put the Educational Rights Amendment on the ballot, hash it out, count the votes and see where the people want to go as a state.