Education Committee- House
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Bills discussed (8)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1172
Act 678
· 5 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…COMPLETION OF THE INITIAL ACTIVE DUTY TRAINING REQUIREMENT. HB1172 Tollett TO REQUIRE CERTAIN NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES BY THE S…”
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TO REQUIRE CERTAIN NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPON THE STATE BOARD … | Tollett | Notification that HB1172 is now Act 678 |
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HB1101
· 3 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1101 Evans TO AMEND THE AMOUNT OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED TO PETITIO…”
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TO AMEND THE AMOUNT OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED TO PETITION A SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS … | Evans | Died on Senate Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1102
Act 182
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…D TO PETITION A SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET. HB1102 Evans TO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON SCHOOL SAFETY AND S…”
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TO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON SCHOOL SAFETY AND STUDENT DISCIPLINE FOR BOARD MEMBERS; TO STANDARDIZE … | Evans | Notification that HB1102 is now Act 182 |
|
HB1200
Act 282
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1200 J. Mayberry TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS REHABILITATION SERVICES F…”
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TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS REHABILITATION SERVICES FORGIVENESS OF STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM; AND TO CLARIFY REQUIREMENTS … | J. Mayberry | Notification that HB1200 is now Act 282 |
|
HR1009
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HR1009 J. Mayberry TO COMMEND ARKANSAS SCHOOL NURSES FOR THEIR DED…”
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TO COMMEND ARKANSAS SCHOOL NURSES FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO CREATING A HEALTHY AND … | J. Mayberry | READ AND ADOPTED. |
|
SB100
Act 69
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ION'S REVIEW OF WAIVERS GRANTED TO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS. SB100 Irvin TO ENHANCE HIGHER EDUCATION FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND…”
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TO ENHANCE HIGHER EDUCATION FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY; AND TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS … | Irvin | Notification that SB100 is now Act 69 |
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SB34
Act 75
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…Y WHICH A BOARD MEMBER MAY CURE A TRAINING HOUR DEFICIENCY. SB34 J. English TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COMPENSATION FOR TEA…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COMPENSATION FOR TEACHERS IN THE NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH CHALLENGE PROGRAM. | J. English | Notification that SB34 is now Act 75 |
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SB35
Act 76
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB35 J. English TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING TUITION BENEFITS FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING TUITION BENEFITS FOR SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN OF THE ARKANSAS NATIONAL … | J. English | Notification that SB35 is now Act 76 |
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I'd like to call this meeting to order. If you want to find a seat, you're welcome to find one wherever you can. All right. Good morning, everyone. Nice, chilly Thursday morning out there. Windy, yeah. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. right off the bat we're going to move HB 1101 and 1102 to the deferred list
those are not quite ready yet so we're going to move those down and we'll pick them back up when the sponsor has time to get everything straightened out on those I'm not sure reps in fight which
We will defer SB 34 and SB 35 to the, uh, deferred list. All right.
We're going to have a fun week. They're stacking up. So, um, I know. Yeah. That's no problem. That's no problem. I know those two are pretty, pretty good bills, no problem. They're not like some of the other bills that our vice chair tries to run. All right, Representative Tollett, you back there somewhere? You're recognized to come to the table and present HB 1172.
Speaker 10
1:42
If you are ready, just state your name for the record. I'm David Tollett.
Speaker 11
1:51
I am state representative of District 12, and I serve as the superintendent of Barton School District. I would just like to first say thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to be able to present this, and thank you, Education Committee, for what you do. In some small part, this committee has been influencing my life personally for over the last 40 years
because every decision that's made in this committee affects approximately 600,000 Arkansans. And it's something that is very important, and it's an awesome responsibility. And I want to thank you for taking on that responsibility and ensuring the best quality of education for the state of Arkansas. Today, I would like to introduce to you House Bill 1172. This bill deals with what is commonly known as Act 1240 waivers.
If you are new to the education scene, an Act 1240 waiver is essentially our waivers as a public school to be able to obtain waivers that charter schools enjoy to be able to maximize what we can provide to our students and maximize efficiencies within our school district. And I would like to give credit to Representative Murdoch for the Act 1240 waiver and the flexibility that it's provided for us, as well as Secretary and Commissioner Key for allowing us to implement such flexibility, because it is invaluable moving forward to educate our kids.
If you don't know how an Act 1240 waiver is obtained, let me educate you for just a second. In order to obtain this, a school district, and my school district is going through this right now, you have to write a plan on how these waivers are going to be used. And then this plan goes to the department, and then you have to go before the State Board of Education at an assigned time and basically defend your plan before the State Board, and the State Board votes if they want to go along with your plan or not, how that's going to work,
and then, of course, the length of time that you would have with the waivers. The first time we went up, it took, I think, an hour, maybe an hour and a half of me before the State Board of Education to obtain these waivers. The second time, it was a lot easier. The first time, it was new, and everybody was trying to figure it out, and we were trying to figure out what we were doing, and so it was a little bit more arduous process.
What 1172 does is since that time, since Act 1240 was passed, since that time, the State Board of Education has promulgated rules to govern this. These rules and what House Bill 1172 does is it transfers a part of these rules into law. so basically what is section 5.0 of the rules by the state board which which it governs the
review and revocation of waivers it transfers into into a law and so the state board pretty much has written this out this this transfers it in it gives it requires the state board of Education to give school districts 15 days worth of notice prior to considering a review or revocation of an Act 1240 waiver. The state board must give a reason for the review. It grants
powers and law for the state board to make a decision. This bill transfers that into law with three notable changes number one it specifies on the 15 day notice instead of saying it goes to the district it specifies that it goes to the superintendent of the district and then it specifies how that notice is to be sent which is by email and by mail and then it also adds that the state board may not conduct a review unless notice is given to that district
um so it's my take that government always functions best with full transparency if we're asked to go through a process to obtain something if that waiver is going to be revoked or reviewed prior to its expiration date then we should be given due a due process on how that's going to transpire so if if it's going to be revoked for
my district then we should be given 15 days notice sent to the superintendent and that allows us to review or at least take a look at or be present at the state board meeting and so it gives a due process. And so with that, I will be glad to answer any questions that you may have. Representative Love, you're recognized. Thank you,
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
7:25
Mr. Chair. So with this bill,
okay, so let me understand this first. When you say they send notice to the district, is it to the board? Is that where they're sending the notice to?
Speaker 15
7:39
Currently in a rule, it doesn't specify. It just says it is sent to the
Speaker 11
7:45
district. What this bill would do would specify who it is to be sent to, which would be the superintendent. Okay.
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
7:53
Well, then my question is, would there be a reason why the board wouldn't be included in this notice?
Speaker 11
8:03
Well, it's up to the superintendent to notify the board at all times. I mean, the superintendent is the, I guess, liaison between the district and the board. Okay. So if
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
8:13
the superintendent chose not to notify the board, could the superintendent choose not to notify the board? Yes,
Speaker 21
8:21
they could. Okay. All right. Thank you. Representative Ball.
Speaker 25
8:33
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this not already
Speaker 11
8:38
in our rules process? It is in our rules, but it does not, again, define where the notification, specifically to who the notification is sent, and it does not give any kind of recourse that if notification is not sent through rules that there's basically no recourse for districts
unless there's a legal action. So with the rule, a follow-up?
Speaker 25
9:07
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So with the rule being
Representative DeAnn Vaught
Unverified
9:10
written the way it's written, who gets the notification right now? It's
Speaker 11
9:22
supposed to be the district. Do you get notified? I had a case this year, and this is where we were not notified that the state board was going to revoke our waivers. And because we were not notified, I received a letter basically in the mail later on that said our waivers had been revoked
or our waiver had been revoked as well as a bunch of other school districts' waiver. We were not given notification, nor do we have any inkling that the state board was taking action on this. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question.
So you just said you were not notified by the state board that they were taking notice or taking action
against your school on the waivers? Correct. So how did you know they did?
Speaker 11
10:07
Well, we were sent a letter after the fact saying that one of our waivers had been revoked.
We'll get Commissioner Key up here in a little bit. Let me go ahead and get some of these other
Representative Mark Lowery
Unverified
10:27
questions answered. Representative Lowry. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In that particular situation that you just described, did
Speaker 41
10:34
you ever find where notice had come to the district, but it just
Speaker 11
10:39
didn't make it to your desk? No, I actually FOI'd the department on what notification was sent, and I was sent a letter from the department attorney on August 21st, 2020, at 3.34 p.m. that said,
Good afternoon, Superintendent Tollick. Concerning your FOI request, there is no written notification. Okay, so written
Speaker 43
11:00
notification was not even sent to the district, let alone to the superintendent in that case. And your feeling is that if we codify this by law rather than it being a rule, which I think even rules have some power, but this is going to have more strength behind it in terms of who it's going to go to, that there's going to be the 15 hours, the 15 days prior notice, all of that.
You're just trying to strengthen something that where the intent should already be there.
Speaker 11
11:35
Yes. And I want to clarify what this does is it not only gives notification or requires the department to give that notification to the board or from the board to the district to take action, but it also gives the state board the authority to do what's already in law, which is to take action however they see fit. I mean, it doesn't prevent the State Board from taking action in any way.
It just takes what's in rule already and puts it in law. And in the actual law, if you look on page 2, and it's lines 4, 5, and 6, it says the following review of the waiver granted under this section, the State Board may modify in whole or part or revoke in whole or in part a waiver granted under this section. So it doesn't in any way limit the State Board's authority from taking action how they would see fit,
but it just makes sure that districts are going to receive notice, and if that notice is not sent, then they do not have the right to take action on that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Chair
Unverified
12:48
Chair. Representative Beck, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I may
Representative Rick Beck
Unverified
12:54
be beating a dead horse here a little bit, but there seems to be a lot of concern around notification. And I think that stems from the fact that if you've been on this committee very long, we've had cases where school boards don't know
what the superintendent knows and vice versa. And I believe that's probably where most of those questions are coming from. So is there any reason that you didn't put the school board and the superintendent
Speaker 11
13:23
into this legislation? Currently in law, I mean, currently in the rule, it doesn't require that. And so I didn't put the board because I guess my assumption as a superintendent is you would always keep your board notified. I mean, that's what I do, but that's not necessarily the case.
But as it's written in the rule right now, that's not the case as well. I mean, it just says that the district shall be notified. I mean, they could notify a teacher. They could notify a principal. They could notify, I mean, pretty much whoever they want to right now, as long as some going in the district receive that notification. The follow-up? Would you be
Representative Rick Beck
Unverified
14:01
opposed to modifying your bill to include the board? I'm not opposed to it.
I can only speak for myself. I know that would make me feel – I like to intend the bill. I do like to intend the bill. But I think that we – a lot of people would get a lot more
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
14:30
comfortable with it if you did that. I would suggest that you consider that. Representative Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I share my colleague's concern. But of even bigger concern to me is on page 1, beginning on line 32, the section 2 there. it says if they fail to notify the public school that it results in a waiver of the right of the
state board to conduct a review so if there's a clerical error if there's some mistake where the board says notify and their people don't notify the school suddenly now according to this language the state board of education no longer has the right to review that waiver whatsoever for the school district and that's very concerning to me you know how long does the board lose that right do they lose that right in perpetuity? And I don't think, I hope at least, that's not the intent of where you're trying to go. So what I would ask is that you maybe pull the bill down,
work on some of the issues that we've talked about, and as part of that where it says failure to review, maybe change it so that it says that until notice has been given or something along those lines instead of saying if the school doesn't receive notice, because obviously we want to address the issue that you came across, but at the same time, we don't want to make it so that the State Board of Education can no longer review waivers in the state because of a clerical error on somebody's part.
So you kind of see what I'm saying? So I don't know if you have any comments on that or agree or disagree, but I just want to make sure that that part gets addressed in order for me to
Speaker 11
16:09
be able to support what you're trying to do here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for that question. It's my understanding that that just basically says that if notification isn't given, then they can't review it until notification is given, or until that notification is, I mean, or at least at that board meeting.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
16:25
But that was my understanding of that. Right. That's not how the language is written down, So you might need to get that clarified before moving
Speaker 59
16:38
forward. Okay. Thank you for bringing that. Representative Murdoch. You recognize. Thank you, Chair and Representative Tollett. So, and we spoke about this a little bit when you told me the things that you were bringing. So what you're saying here, you're talking about notification, and then post-notification is generally a hearing, a conversation between the district and the department or the state board, excuse me,
to talk about whatever their decision has been. What you're wanting to make sure happened is that. So in this particular case, do you think it just was an oversight, maybe, you know, a mistake? Like, I think the committee, what we're concerned about is reaching too far with some legislation for something that may have just been a clerical error. Did you talk with the department and the powers that be
Speaker 63
17:20
and say, hey, can we make this better? And if so, what was the response?
Speaker 11
17:27
Yes, thank you. Thank you for that. My conversation with the department was primarily around the notification that was sent. It was my understanding from department's attorneys that their take on the notification was, and just for all clarity, this was a revocation of the early start date waiver, which we all knew that the governor had pushed back the start date my concern was that it wasn't
just for my district and the language of the letter that was sent to me made it seem like there were other school districts and that other school districts had multiple year early start date waivers that continued on past this year and so that was my conversation around it And I think it was my understanding from the department's attorney, and if I'm wrong, they can clarify this, but that the governor basically pushing back the start date was our notification, which I disagree with.
I didn't know, I mean, everybody knows that the governor has the authority under his emergency act powers to be able to push back the start date. I don't know that necessarily the State Board of Education's revocation of all early start date waivers in the state falls under that. Okay. Thank you. Thank
Speaker 64
19:06
you, Chair. Representative Bragg. I'm sorry. Oh, you're still there? Yeah, we will hear from the department.
Speaker 66
19:13
Yes, we will. Okay. Representative Bragg. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Are these reviews done on a periodic basis? I mean, do you anticipate a review of all the waivers, or
Speaker 50
19:25
what would initiate a review of a waiver? The department's probably more apt
Speaker 11
19:31
to speak to this. I don't know exactly. I would say if there's something wrong or if a district is stepping outside the bounds or the intent of the waiver, then the department would review it if it's causing some kind of problem.
I mean, that's my understanding, is if there's some misuse or problem with the waiver. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions for the committee? Seeing
none, I'd like to have Commissioner Key, Secretary Commissioner, come up and ask him a couple of questions. I know I have a couple of people that are ready to ask one.
Speaker 8
20:16
I think Reggie Murdoch, I believe, is ready. Are you, Reggie? Johnny Key, Department
Speaker 59
20:26
of Education. Go ahead, Reggie. Well, just simply, obviously, Secretary Key just wanted to address some of the things that Representative Tillett mentioned because, you know, the intentionality or, excuse me, the oversight of it and that it was not intentional. and kind of the department's position on what happened in this piece of legislation as it relates to notification and then the subsequent things you have in here.
Because it seems to me that it probably could be something that hopefully maybe can be worked out if Representative Tollett feel the same. Obviously, it's his legislation, but hopefully
Speaker 74
21:03
it can be worked out. Yes, sir. Thank you for that question. July 9th is when the governor announced that all schools in Arkansas would start, obviously not private schools, but public schools in Arkansas would start either the 24th, 25th, or 26th.
There are a number of districts that had waivers to start as early as the 13th of August. And just as we were, through the summer, trying to determine how ready are we, if you all remember, that was a time where PPE was in short supply. It was difficult to get technology. There were a number of things that were, you know, things were on back order. And we advised the governor that a two-week, up to two-week delay in the start of school would be appropriate.
So on July 9th is when the governor announced that. On July 13th, Dr. Pfeffer sent an email to all superintendents in the state alerting them of this change and that we would be seeking at the state board meeting in August a revocation of those early start waivers. So we would submit that notification was given to all superintendents and that the districts were notified appropriately. Our rules that have been referred to, Representative Tallett's correct, we do have notification on our rules.
Those went into effect July 6th of 2020. So it was very timely in that, and we believe that we follow those rules, even in spite of the pandemic and the emergency situation, and the need to make what would be a relatively quick decision on pushing back the start of school for the 2021 school year. Representative, I think Representative Love has a question for you.
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
23:06
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Senator, I want to say Senator Key, Secretary Key, Is there a reason why a notification wouldn't be sent to both the school board
Speaker 74
23:21
and the superintendent? There are situations that are specified, and I think some may be in law, some may be in rule, where a notification is sent to the president of the local school board. Those are very specific instances, and we can get that information to you when those are in play.
But generally, Representative Tallett's correct. It is the responsibility of the superintendent to notify his or her board of any of the types of actions being considered. So, you know, if that's the pleasure of General Assembly to put that in statute for this particular type of situation on Act 1240 waivers, we don't have any problem making those notifications. Usually they do go to the president of the school board, though, trying to look and see.
Are there any situations where we send all members of
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
24:16
the school board? Well, I mean, I guess if you send it to the president of the school board and the superintendent, I mean,
Speaker 74
24:25
that should suffice. And in those situations, we agree with that. Were that specified, yes,
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
24:31
we would agree. I have one more question, Mr. Chair. And just from my knowledge, why would an early start waiver be granted? I mean,
I know it's not, but I just.
Speaker 74
24:43
I believe in the situation with Bart and Lexa, they had a special program that brought kids in early, and it was a way, and Rich and Todd would have to give a better description than I am, but I think it was very specific for them. So their waiver was different than the others. The other waivers were general waivers that were granted a few years ago because of an anomaly on the calendar where the start date in statute and how we determined the start date would have pushed the starting day of school
until like in the 20th or something. I mean, it was kind of a week later, but that was in one of those years that the calendar fell in that first or that Monday that's specified in the law fell on a different day than normal years. And so districts came to us, and they came to us by their co-op region. So every co-op brought a 1240 waiver for almost all of their districts asking for those, and they were granted in batch.
Other reasons why waivers for start date are provided, you have some districts that have adopted a year-round calendar, or that's what we call it. It's not really year-round, but it's an extended calendar. Other charter schools and virtual charter schools and the conversion charter schools, they may have different programming that they have sought an early start date waiver or a start date
Speaker 78
26:23
waiver as well. So it's built into their charters.
All right, I believe that's all of our, that's all we had. Any other questions from members
for, I have one for you, Secretary Key. I know you said that it would be presented to, can you turn yours off, to the board president. And is that only when it's an issue to do with this dealing with superintendents? Is that the only time the president of the board would be notified only?
Speaker 74
27:00
Can you tell me that? I don't know right here all the instances when the board president is notified as well. I think usually those are for situations such as violations of the standards for accreditation that could lead to probationary violations for the district. That one specifically jumps out at me as a reason why we would include the board president. That was just personal questions.
All right. And if there's no other questions for Secretary Key, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak against the bill? I have no one signed up. Anyone would like to speak for the bill? I have no one signed up. All
Speaker 37
27:51
right, Representative Tollett, if you would like to close
Speaker 11
27:57
for your bill. I'd just like to say something first, if that's okay. The early start date waiver that you were referring to, in my district,
we have a lot of minority and low socioeconomic students. Without the early start date waiver for my district that aligns with our community college, It eliminates, like this year, 80% of my students who could have been eligible and who I could have gotten into concurrent credit classes, into vocational classes through the community college. That didn't happen this year because we had to push the start of our school back.
that early start date waiver allows us to get those kids ready and get them into those situations. And so for us specifically, it is invaluable that we start a hair bit before our community college starts to be able to get our kids eligible to be able to even or comfortable even taking concurrent credit classes and vocational classes so they can get that credit for it.
And so for us, it's invaluable. And that's, I just wanted to say that. I have no issues pulling this down and amending this. I just don't know how to do it. Well, let me tell you the process. If you want
to pull this down off this, you will not go away with a yes or a no vote. And a no vote means you only get one more shot at it. So if you want to pull it down, amend it, look it over, you can bring it. It will go back off.
You'll get with the department or whoever you want to get with and amend it, and it will go down to deferred right now. Then it will come back with an amendment, and you'll go through this process again. Okay, I would like to do that. You would like to pull it down? Yes. Okay, we will. Well, it'll go back to referred. But, I mean, it'll go back after you get it. It'll
go back up. All right. At this time, I believe we have Representative Lowry. Is that correct? Yes, you have SB 100.
While you're going there, I have a couple of, I have like four bills that are coming up for Senator Sturge, and I have Lee Johnson and Stu Smith on those. And if you guys will get with me afterwards, if you're ready to present those next week, I need to know when.
Chair
Unverified
30:41
Thank you. Mark, Representative Lowry, you're recognized to present SB 100. Thank you
Representative Mark Lowery
Unverified
30:46
very much. SB 100 is a bill that came about.
Many of you probably remember the joint performance review hearings looking into what had happened at Henderson State University with their finances. And the question, reports had been provided to the board and even some financial accountability reports had been submitted to the Arkansas Department of Health, I mean, higher education. But this was one of those cases where, and I'm not an accountant, but this was certainly a case where two plus two did not equal four.
The reports that they were submitting were not an accurate picture of the financial standing at Arkansas, excuse me, at Henderson State. One of the questions that was asked in the hearing to Dr. Markham, who is here today, to provide a testimony if necessary, was, is this something that would be useful to the Department of Higher Ed, a better accounting, a better picture of what the financial status is at any of the institutions, but certainly at Henderson?
And her answer to that question is, well, yes, it would be extremely useful. So this is something that a process that's been taking place. Julie Bates, who is vice president of finance for the Arkansas State University System, really worked a great deal with this particular bill. What it does, the two main areas that it deals with that were specific to the situation in Henderson, but they also could apply to any university, was that they were reporting,
Henderson was reporting that they had an extremely high amount of accounts receivable, money that could come in, tied to student debt. But they didn't have to signify, they did not have to notify the board that the fact is that most of that debt from students was several years in arrears, that it was really beyond the point of ever being able to be collected.
And there really was not any effort in many cases to collect it. Students were being allowed to re-enroll with considerable debt carried over from semester to semester. But as long as you've got that ledger that you're presenting to the board and they see accounts payable, they see accounts receivable, we've got money coming in. It may not be in now, but we'll get it later. It was really just not an accurate picture. So this bill would actually require that when you're reporting accounts receivable
and you have student debt, that you detail an aging report on that student debt, that you know that this is not just 30 days in arrears, that this is several years. The other issue is that it requires that you also report cash on hand. Now, that is the ultimate red flag that would have occurred at Henderson State, is if they had had to report their cash on hand, then the board and others that would be providing oversight,
they would have seen that and realized that there was a problem. Now, I've just covered the basic things. I'm sure, like I said, I'm not an accountant. I'm sure Julie Bates could probably provide you even more precise information as to what some of the other provisions are, but those are two of the main provisions. And I just think there are some positives that came out of a very hurtful, harmful situation.
I think it is going to be extremely beneficial to Henderson State to be part of a system, to be part of the ASU system. And we just need to really applaud Arkansas State Universities for what they've done in going in and riding this ship. Now, as you know, that's not being done overnight. I mean, but they are operating, they are teaching, and they are doing it in a fiscally sound way.
The other benefit, the side benefit that we see from what happened there is that it also is a cautionary tale. that has taught us how and shown us how we can make sure that this does not happen ever again at any of our institutions. And this is not to be critical of other institutions. It's not to be punitive. I actually have spoken with representatives of several other colleges and said, you know, before I present this, along with Senator Irvin, I mean, are you okay with this?
And they went, yeah, I mean, it's what we do. Uh, cash on hand, reporting cash on hand is exactly what we should be doing. And we're not afraid of that, that prism, uh, and not afraid of anyone looking, uh, at, at the books and looking at that particular, uh, aspect. So, um, yeah, I'm open for questions. I certainly, if you're going to make them very difficult, I hope that you'll say that you would like to ask, uh, Dr. Markham
or Julie Bates, those questions, but I think it's a good step forward for our institutions of higher education. Now we want
Speaker 95
36:45
Okay. As long as you don't send an email. Are there any questions from
committee members? Gee, Mark, this is rare. It's the calm before the storm. All
right. But we do have testimony if Julie would like to come up, or if not, are you guys good?
Okay. I don't think we have any questions. Mark, would you like to close for your bill? I am closed, and we'll make a do-pass motion. All right. Is there anyone in the audience before we close out that would like to speak for the bill? We've already been there. Against the bill, there are none. We have a motion of do-pass. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Any opposed? No.
You have passed your bill. Representative Mayberry.
HB 1200, you have a testimony from the back. If you're here to testify with Representative Mayberry, you need to come into the room. And I'm not sure. I have a couple here that are signed up for that. Is that correct? You have two? Okay. all right they'll just sit behind you there we'll get your uh bar you may have room for
one up there that's great we'll do one at a time at the table whoever wants to be first with her you got room yeah that'd be great All right. Representative Mayberry, you are recognized to present HB
Representative Julie Mayberry
Unverified
38:31
1200. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, members. I bring to you a bill that was brought to me by Arkansas Rehab Services. It deals with a student loan program. We are not creating a new student
loan program. This already exists, but there are some problems with it, and Arkansas Rehab Services has come up with a solution to make it more efficient, to make sure that employees are actually doing what they need to be doing to receive the benefits of the student loan program. I believe it's a great bill. I'm going to let the attorney from Arkansas Rehab Services introduce himself and also share the importance of this bill and what it'll do. All right. If you'll state your name and who you're
with, you'll recognize to speak. Yes, sir. Thank you, Representative Cozart.
Speaker 101
39:15
Charles Lyford for Arkansas Rehabilitation Services. I'm
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
39:19
agency general counsel. As Representative Mayberry said, this bill solves a problem that agency staff as well as participating employees have encountered with the forgiveness of student loan program that our agency has operated, I believe since 2007, but in any event for some years. So the way the program works is that employees who have been past their probationary period, who are full-time employees and who have a specific type of student loan debt that is connected to vocational rehabilitation degrees, that's primarily what we do, operate vocational rehabilitation programs at ARS.
They apply, but under the current scheme, the statute 253206, as soon as they apply and are determined eligible, we make a payment of up to $2,000 to the student loan lender, to that creditor. And then the employer is required to work two years to earn that payment, so to speak, and to not owe it back. So that process works perfectly well unless the employee is terminated for some reason
or resigns, transfers to another job in that two-year period. If they do and we make the payment up front, then we have to collect it back from the person. And sometimes that leads to litigation. We have to pursue it as an accountant due to the agency. So this bill, and in particular on the second page, line 34, 34, 35, and 36, changes the timing of that payment. So now, if an eligible employee applies, we determine them eligible, then we don't issue the payment to the student loan creditor until they've already worked off those two years.
So it benefits the employee. They reduce their student loan debt. It's a lot easier for agency staff to operate, and the employee will never face a collection scenario because they'll only get the money once they've already earned it. So it changes that timing. There's one other change I should point out to the committee that on the first page of this bill expands the eligibility somewhat from employees who had the title of counselor to any employee who, regardless of their job title, who has that particular type of student loan debt, the vocational rehabilitation degree.
So as long as they have that degree, even if they're not a counselor by name, they can still apply and be eligible. So thank you for your
consideration. I'll answer any questions. We have a
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
42:08
question up here. Representative Love, you're recognized. Thank you. In changing that, does that make more
employees eligible? Well, thank you for the question, sir. I hope it's that it will. This is a retention and recruitment program.
Just checking my phone here. Um, so the idea is that, uh, even if, if you're not a counselor by title, as long as you have that degree and have come to us to do that sort of work, you can still apply and be eligible. There's a cap in expenses, uh, of $80,000 per year. So we
Speaker 104
42:40
won't go past that, but, but yes, it is designed to expand that eligibility. Okay. Gotcha. As long as that
Speaker 79
42:46
cap is there, I didn't see that. Um, okay. Thank you. Ripson Godfrey. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Representative Megan Godfrey
Unverified
42:58
Thank you for your testimony. And I apologize if I missed
this clarification, but it looked like in the old provision, you know, there was a probation period that was needed to be completed, but it wasn't specified as six months. And now the new provision talks about a six month probation period. Can you just explain that difference a little bit and why that change was made? Yes.
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
43:20
And that wasn't intended as a change. If it's not, if the six month period isn't stated in the current code, it is in our program rules. And that's sort of the Office of Personnel Management standard for probationary employees. Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Any other questions? Seeing no other questions. is there any other you have any other testimony you want to bring so you're good are you good okay let me see if there's anybody in the audience who would like to speak against the bill for the bill are you closed for your bill i'm closed you have a motion i have a motion do pass
any discussion on the motion seeing none all in favor say aye Any opposed, no?
Speaker 110
44:15
Congratulations, you have passed your bill. Okay, thanks, sir. Representative Mayberry, would
Representative Julie Mayberry
Unverified
44:25
you like to present HR 1009? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, members. First of all, I want to tell you that in 2013, there were 756 school nurses statewide.
Now, in 2020, the most recent data has 948. We've increased the number of school nurses in our state by 200 in those years, and I believe a lot of it is because of the work that has been and some of the comments and advocacy that we've seen right here through the state legislature. Imagine what situation our state would be in if we had 200 less medical personnel on our school campuses dealing with this pandemic.
Earlier in 2020, the health department declared school nurses as critical infrastructure. They are the only school employee that got that designation. They were determined to be, I'm going to repeat, critical infrastructure. That is why school nurses are not here today. That's why I can't look at them and say thank you for your work because they are busy in our schools, taking care of our kids and our staff during this pandemic.
Just in case you didn't know, little tiny little side fact here. In 2009, Mary Pappas, a school nurse in New York, was the very first to notify officials of the swine flu outbreak, triggering a nationwide response. Our school nurses are on the front lines every day, ensuring the health and well-being of our students and our faculty in our schools. And what do I mean by what they're doing every day?
This is pre-pandemic. I don't have numbers from what's currently taking place, but pre-pandemic, according to our school nurse surveys that we've had in the past, We have had 157,694 public school students that had at least one chronic health condition, which represented 33% of the total school student population. 33%.
Nearly 2 million public school students were seen by a school nurse and returned to class. 16,903 public school staff members were administered first aid. I've heard some school nurses describe to me that their office is like a mini ER because what they see can go from I've got a scrape on my knee or head lice all the way to someone is about ready to die and a wide range in between.
and they have to be on the front lines taking care of these students. Unfortunately, there is not a school nurse on every campus and we'll continue to work towards that. I pledge to do that and I hope I can have your support in the future on that. If you are willing to work with me, have comments or whatever, I highly encourage you to do so. But that's not what I'm here today to talk about. I want to give thanks to those school nurses. We've given thanks to doctors. We've given thanks to nurses that are in our hospitals and in our clinics,
but I want to make sure that we give notice to these school nurses that are taking care of our students today and our staff members. And I highly encourage you to give me a thumbs up and vote for this resolution that is to commend Arkansas school nurses for their dedication and commitment to creating a healthy and safe learning environment for students, even in times of crisis. any questions seeing no
questions does anyone in the audience like to speak against the bill
a resolution for the resolution and i didn't figure there was are you closed for your resolution i am closed thank you i have a motion from representative meek for do pass no discussion on the motion so all those in favor say aye
Any opposed? No. You have passed your resolution. Thank you. Thank you. You got two in a row out of here. Woo-hoo. Thank you. All right. That is all on our agenda today. Please, if you have anything laying out there that you have ready with your fiscal impacts,
something like 1231 or something like that. I'm just kidding. There are quite a few that are still laying out there without physical impacts, and I know it's backing up. So we'd love to get some of these off the books. They're starting to stack up pretty good. Lee and Stu, if you would contact me right at the end, I'd appreciate it. And we are adjourned next Tuesday at 930.
Agenda
REGULAR AGENDA
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1101 Evans TO AMEND THE AMOUNT OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED TO PETITION A SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET.
HB1102 Evans TO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON SCHOOL SAFETY AND STUDENT DISCIPLINE FOR BOARD MEMBERS; TO STANDARDIZE THE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS REPORT; AND TO INCREASE THE TIME BY WHICH A BOARD MEMBER MAY CURE A TRAINING HOUR DEFICIENCY.
SB34 J. English TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COMPENSATION FOR TEACHERS IN THE NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH CHALLENGE PROGRAM.
SB35 J. English TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING TUITION BENEFITS FOR SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN OF THE ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD; AND TO ALLOW A TEMPORARY WAIVER OF THE COMPLETION OF THE INITIAL ACTIVE DUTY TRAINING REQUIREMENT.
HB1172 Tollett TO REQUIRE CERTAIN NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPON THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S REVIEW OF WAIVERS GRANTED TO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SB100 Irvin TO ENHANCE HIGHER EDUCATION FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY; AND TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING STUDENT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE POLICIES AND CERTAIN FINANCIAL CONDITION REPORTS.
HB1200 J. Mayberry TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS REHABILITATION SERVICES FORGIVENESS OF STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM; AND TO CLARIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.
HR1009 J. Mayberry TO COMMEND ARKANSAS SCHOOL NURSES FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO CREATING A HEALTHY AND SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS EVEN IN TIMES OF CRISIS.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — EDUCATION COMMITTEE- HOUSE, Jan 28, 2021 | Agenda | 1 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Bruce Cozart Chair
Unverified
Speaker 4
Speaker 10
Speaker 11
Representative Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
Speaker 15
Speaker 21
Speaker 25
Representative DeAnn Vaught
Unverified
Representative Mark Lowery
Unverified
Speaker 41
Speaker 43
Chair
Unverified
Representative Rick Beck
Unverified
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
Speaker 59
Speaker 63
Speaker 64
Speaker 66
Speaker 50
Speaker 8
Speaker 74
Speaker 78
Speaker 13
Speaker 37
Speaker 53
Speaker 95
Representative Julie Mayberry
Unverified
Speaker 101
Speaker 104
Speaker 79
Representative Megan Godfrey
Unverified
Speaker 110