Education Committee - Senate
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Bills discussed (19)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1017
Act 904
· 5 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1017 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING PAID MATERNITY LEAVE…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING PAID MATERNITY LEAVE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES; AND TO REQUIRE … | A. Collins | Notification that HB1017 is now Act 904 |
|
HB1945
Act 913
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…TH FLEXIBILITY REGARDING ALTERNATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. HB1945 McCollum TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CH…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE … | McCollum | Notification that HB1945 is now Act 913 |
|
HB1903
Act 911
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…O PAY FOR INCURRED COSTS FOR APPROVED PAID MATERNITY LEAVE. HB1903 Walker TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE TO PROVIDE…”
|
TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH FLEXIBILITY REGARDING ALTERNATIVE … | Walker | Notification that HB1903 is now Act 911 |
|
HB1180
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…RT CARD TO INCLUDE A STUDENT'S CURRENT READING GRADE LEVEL. HB1180 Bentley TO CREATE THE BABY OLIVIA ACT. SB216 J. Dotson TO A…”
|
TO CREATE THE BABY OLIVIA ACT. | Bentley | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1242
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE LIBRARY MEDIA STANDARDS. HB1242 J. Mayberry TO AMEND THE MECHANISM BY WHICH SCHOOL NURSES A…”
|
TO AMEND THE MECHANISM BY WHICH SCHOOL NURSES ARE COMPENSATED. | J. Mayberry | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1283
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HB1283 J. Mayberry TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECON…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION TO INCLUDE DIGITAL MEDIA STANDARDS IN … | J. Mayberry | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1370
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ERNING THE TRANSFER OF A STUDENT'S PERMANENT SCHOOL RECORD. HB1370 J. Mayberry CONCERNING MAKING UP MISSED SCHOOL DAYS; AND TO…”
|
CONCERNING MAKING UP MISSED SCHOOL DAYS; AND TO REQUIRE A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT TO INCLUDE … | J. Mayberry | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1483
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AMEND THE MECHANISM BY WHICH SCHOOL NURSES ARE COMPENSATED. HB1483 Gramlich TO ALLOW A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT TO USE STATE FUN…”
|
TO ALLOW A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT TO USE STATE FUNDS TO PAY FOR AN ADULT … | Gramlich | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1495
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NTAINS A FOUR-DAY SCHOOL WEEK; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1495 Hawk CONCERNING THE TRANSFER OF A STUDENT'S PERMANENT SCHOO…”
|
CONCERNING THE TRANSFER OF A STUDENT'S PERMANENT SCHOOL RECORD. | Hawk | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1684
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…L CALENDAR FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING UP MISSED SCHOOL DAYS. HB1684 McAlindon TO CREATE THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS HELPING STUDEN…”
|
TO CREATE THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED (PATHS) ACT. | McAlindon | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1919
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ANOTHER PUBLIC SCHOOL WITHIN HIS OR HER RESIDENT DISTRICT. HB1919 McAlindon TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND TRANSPAREN…”
|
TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AND TRANSPARENCY ACT; AND TO REQUIRE PUBLIC ACCESS TO … | McAlindon | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB205
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…C SCHOOL TO ADOPT A POLICY FOR ONE OR MORE STUDENT MENTORS. SB205 A. Clark TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CH…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; AND TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL … | A. Clark | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB215
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…LOYMENT TAX ACT TO WAIVE THE "REASONABLE ASSURANCE" CLAUSE. SB215 J. Bryant TO AMEND THE PERMISSIBLE USES FOR REAL ESTATE DON…”
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TO AMEND THE PERMISSIBLE USES FOR REAL ESTATE DONATED BY A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND … | J. Bryant | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB266
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. SB266 J. Dotson TO AUTHORIZE A PUBLIC SCHOOL TO ADOPT A POLICY FO…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE A PUBLIC SCHOOL TO ADOPT A POLICY FOR ONE OR MORE STUDENT MENTORS. | J. Dotson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB436
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…E DEVELOPMENT BOARD RELATED TO SECONDARY TECHNICAL CENTERS. SB436 A. Clark TO AMEND THE ABILITY OF A STUDENT WHO TRANSFERS UN…”
|
TO AMEND THE ABILITY OF A STUDENT WHO TRANSFERS UNDER THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT … | A. Clark | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB482
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…CH OR AN ATHLETICS PERSONNEL MEMBER WHO RECRUITS A STUDENT. SB482 K. Hammer TO REPEAL THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL…”
|
TO REPEAL THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO … | K. Hammer | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB528
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…estrictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. SB528 Gilmore TO ADDRESS THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF S…”
|
TO ADDRESS THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND THE CAREER … | Gilmore | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB607
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…STRICTS; AND TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015. SB607 Crowell TO ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A PUBLIC SCHOOL D…”
|
TO ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT INITIATES AND MAINTAINS A FOUR-DAY … | Crowell | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SCR3
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…LEARNING MATERIALS. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle SCR3 J. Scott TO URGE THE ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO P…”
|
TO URGE THE ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX … | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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- October 6, 2026
Senator Jane English
Unverified
0:00
Good morning. Welcome to the Senate Education Committee. We have a few things this morning, but we have a number of pages with us this morning. Marley Page, if you'd stand up, please. And you're from Maumelle Charter High School. And Camel Hayes, if you'd stand up. Mariah Henson, Maumelle Charter School. All of you are from Maumelle Charter School. Taylor Jamison. Cammie Rhodes, Logan Lane, and Jasper Strode is not, he's from Catholic High School, he's my neighbor.
Lucas Mazzoni from Maumelle High School, and Baxley Vaught from Wynn High School. Very nice to meet you. Glad to have you here. Thank you very much. Okay, we have four bills today. Senator Davis, I think you have House Bill 1017.
If you'll identify yourself, you will be recognized. Breanne Davis, State
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
1:15
Senate, District 25. House Bill 1017. So we know when we passed the Learns Act, we had paid maternity leave, that schools could match 50-50 with the state. Not a lot of schools utilized it and just, I think, citing costs and other things. And so all of the money that we had in there was not fully utilized, that we had set aside in state budget for maternity leave.
So this has the school, excuse me, has the state funding 100% of the paid maternity leave. The total is around $3.4 million. We had allocated around three million dollars for it and the Department of Ed said that they are able to absorb this Addition little additional cost on top of what we've already budgeted. I'm happy to take any questions Senator Brian Thank you
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
2:07
madam chair, I noticed the additional comments from DFA
It makes foster placement a qualifying event, but do they have any Statistical data on how many teachers or employees of school districts take on the role of a foster? I don't have that information. I don't
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
2:23
know if someone from the department does. I don't know if someone from the department is... Do you know? Yeah, we don't know that. But that was the way that it was set up originally with LEARNS. So we just
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
2:39
extended it. So we're going to exceed the current budget potentially by about $400,000 and then add on.
employees that want to get into the role of foster under one year of age. Yeah, I'm
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
2:53
going to let someone from the department come up and speak. I think I'm saying something incorrectly about this. Clarify. uh greg rogers department
Speaker 21
3:13
education now uh our analysis 3.3 million dollars was done on worst
Speaker 22
3:18
case scenario this year we've only paid out like 160 870 000 total for paternity leaves so we believe that the three million at least in this first year to give us like what you're talking about the different things we wouldn't be enough to cover it
Speaker 23
3:31
and then if we need additional we'll come back to the fiscal session and ask y'all
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
3:36
and have that data at that time okay so while you're here so the schools that are they're choosing not to participate currently in the current law we asked for 50/50 match and if they have a qualifying employee that meets these definitions they're just and that employee reaches out says I
would like my paid 12 weeks the school districts are just saying we're not gonna pay for that so it is an opt opt-in to
Speaker 22
3:58
the school districts of up to 12 weeks I know some districts have gone anywhere in between there four weeks to 12 weeks and that that is a local decision that is up on them which is some of what senator davis was talking about that we're hoping by adding this to that the state covers the full cost that we do get more buy-in from the districts and they do go more
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
4:19
to that 12 weeks so but the cost to the the cost of the school currently is just the acquisition of a substitute correct the additional
cost yes because they've already budgeted for the teacher salary so that additional cost would be the subsidy and they're choosing not to engage in that process because of i i think
Speaker 22
4:36
just in the first couple years just the implementation looking at it they were looking at what was the overall cost in how much was it going to be with them and how many were going to participate and so that's why it kept low there's a lot of different factors why some districts might not have opted into this first year but like i said by going with the state paying 100 of the maternity leave costs we're hoping that the buy-in gets
better. Thank you. What was the cost sharing prior to this
Speaker 28
5:12
that we're now eliminating? It was a 50-50 share it was we would pay half and they would pay the other
half. Okay and that's a we we've also passed multiple maternity bills this session. Does this how does this interweave I
think we have how does this interweave with
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
5:33
those? Well those are separate those are dealing with state employees and not teachers and so when we passed learns it
was up to six weeks the district could choose and then the state would match that up to six weeks
and so this just has the state taking on 100 percent of that cost um we know you know we want teachers to stay in the classroom especially teachers who've been teaching a while but they also want to grow their family and spend time with their new babies and we think that that's really important um so this is something that the state can already had the money allocated to absorb the cost on and was anticipating that and i know we lose women regularly um in the teaching field that go home or choose something else to have more time with their kids and so this was
just a way that we think we can support moms with new babies that choose to teach our children every day and do it in a way that we've already got budgeted and support that and not have to put that burden on districts to decide what their maternity leave policy will look like but to give these new moms the ability to stay at home with their new babies for up to 12 weeks. Thank you. Senator flowers I
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
6:49
Like the bill and the fact that you have some restrictions
on Having the teacher Being in the employee of the school district for at least a year and no discipline nary Issues popping up For the past year So those are good things And I wanted to mention
foster children we can kind of see how many foster children this might apply to our mothers with foster children either in their home
or Adopting that are one year of age or younger by knowing what the what our Number is on foster children Do you know that no ma'am we
Speaker 22
7:44
didn't we didn't have that data because we don't have access that I don't know that
But we did try to do and count for that with the worst case scenario And that's why we went to that 3.4 But like I said, we don't think we're going to hit to the 3 million this first year And if we do if it does come in that then in the physical session I will have that data at that time. We'll be able to bring that
Speaker 21
8:09
to y'all and ask for more preparation at that time I don't anticipate
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
8:12
needing any additional funding on it. Maybe just some appropriation Well, when I served on aging children and youth We always got a report on how many foster children there were and the ages
Speaker 39
8:24
As well so that's something that DHS probably could provide and we will be reaching out trying to get better to make sure that we can't cover that Thank you Further questions?
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
8:41
Senator Bryant. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just going to dive a little bit deeper. Do we know that districts are denying this 12 weeks, therefore we have a surplus in the budget, or is there just not that many employees that are utilizing it through?
Speaker 22
8:55
So when we did the $3 million before, that we did that on worst case scenario, too, and like I said, the districts that had opted in, I don't remember how many we had. 22. 22 have opted in this year. So that's why we're seeing the cost lower than we had budgeted for. But by moving up, we're hoping to get more buy-in to it. So they
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
9:14
had to opt in prior to knowing what the condition of an employee may be? Yes. Yeah,
Speaker 22
9:19
we had to get them to go ahead and say they wanted to participate in this without knowing all that up front.
But now we're getting better information, and we do think more districts want to
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
9:29
participate. So the ones that did not opt in early on, if they had an employee that met this
condition, they were just going to offer them six weeks because the state would technically pay for six weeks? That would have
Speaker 22
9:40
been up to the district for the going with their FMLA and how they do it at the district policy. So districts even
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
9:45
that didn't opt in, they could have probably came to the state asking for cost sharing. They could have
Speaker 47
9:50
been, yeah, they could have. I think if I understand your question right. Yeah, I'm just,
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
9:56
I'm just, I can't, I can't see a world where a school district
would not maximize to the extent allowed by law this reasonable accommodation for employees. So I'm just I'm still struggling with the state absorbing all that cost when the districts could partner with the state and continue this program. So state because it is
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
10:16
a school district policy maternity leave that's part of policies that they've got to approve and you know they approve them all year long but I would assume most of them have them approved before the start of a school year so that it's clear with teacher contracts what those school policies are. So in
the first year it was offered in 23, 24, it was 22 schools opted in. In the following year, 27 schools opted in. I think there's probably a lot of different reasons that school districts chose not to. And you may say like additional cost of substitutes, having a teacher out, like there's a lot of just logistics maybe they would say um where they just chose not to I certainly don't want to speak for those school districts but you kind of hear the arguments over time of what that
looks like um and every district is different in the way that they offer maternity leave to their employees um you know some it may just be two weeks and then FMLA and taking you know teachers will save days they'll go to school sick miss doctor's appointments do everything so they don't have to take days off so they can save it for their maternity leave and take their paid days contracted that they've saved up to be able to stay at home an extra week or two with their baby and so some people may just be off for four weeks or you know not have that much time
and so anyways like I said it's up to the school district they determine that policy so this lets them lets us pay for it up to 12 weeks to have that paid
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
11:46
maternity leave for teachers and prior to learns the school district absorbed any cost that they chose to allow for their employees so we went from 20 up to 2023 school districts took it all 2023 we're going to partner 50 50 2025 let the state absorb it all yeah and that's where
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
12:03
i would say i think the districts were probably
pretty uh stringent on what they allowed and which is why you saw teachers i mean that's what i saw being on the school board for nine years um teachers saving up over time their days off um excuse you know their days off that they had to be able to stay at home for an additional two weeks with their baby thank you are there further questions from
Senator Jane English
Unverified
12:27
the committee does everybody in the audience speak for or against the bill are you closed for your bill i'm closed and motion
do pass. Any discussion on the motion?
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
12:54
ayes have it. Thank you. Do you have another one? Yes. Brianne Davis, State Senate, District 25. What bill is it? District
25, House Bill 1945. Thank you. This is just a companion bill. We've already passed a Senate bill that is this exact version and it just allows intra school district
choice and also puts that max capacity at 95% back in for school districts happy to take any questions
Senator Jane English
Unverified
13:30
questions from the committee anybody in the Oh sender flowers oh
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
13:43
well the timeline has that changed in your
bill where the choice has to be made is it longer no June
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
13:55
one is still the I'm going to find it. I think that was addressed. Yeah, it's January
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
14:05
I don't know if that is, and I'm not
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
14:16
sure that this is in this bill. I think it was in other bills that we've dealt with.
Okay, that's in a different bill. What? That's, the dates are in a different way. So this just talks about allowing a school district. Well, on
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
14:40
page 11, line 3, May 1 is noted. That was in there already.
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
14:56
There's an there is another bill that amends that to
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
15:06
June 1st And then requiring the the school district the receiving school district
to Accept all the credits from the school.
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
15:26
I imagine that has been an issue in the past. This really deals with school districts. The new language in this is for if you go to a school district that has two high schools and you're zoned for the high school further away from your home and you want to go to the one closer to you, you can do intra-school choice and request that you go to the high school closer to you. If the school is at 95% max capacity, then they don't have to allow you to go there.
But if it's not, then they've got to let you in. So just like we allow school choice across school districts, public school choice, this
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
16:13
allows intra-district choice. and and it also requires that the credits the school credits have to be accepted by that receiving school could that be an issue it's on page or lines
four through twelve I had another question as well about on page one line 32 talking about tuition or fee or fees participate in a tuition agreement for any tuition or fees what what is
anticipated there what could that possibly be fees well it's just it's
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
17:09
saying this section shall not be
construed to restrict a student's ability to participate in a tuition agreement with a non-resident school for any tuition or fees that apply to the student assigned to the school district I think it's just additional clarifying language right there as to what that what a tuition agreement may include but either way I mean this is a companion bill we this was a Senate bill and we've
already passed it through all of the chambers this
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
17:49
is just a house bill coming through and right I don't think I voted for it though I'm pretty sure I I didn't can't remember all the
Senator Bryan King
Unverified
18:39
school district, non-resident school, because I haven't been on education, and this is, I mean, explain non-resident school, And then explain the part about, on 34, a school district may claim a lack of capacity
if, can you give me some situations to understand that
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
19:02
a little bit more? So, lack of capacity, so that's something that we had before LEARNS. And this is, you know, we've heard other bills in this committee dealing with this specifically. But when we passed LEARNS, there ended up being two sections of code. one that had the capacity and then one that struck it. And so when we talked about school choice, public school choice, the capacity was stricken.
So we told schools, no, you can still, if you want to go to a neighboring school district and you don't live in that district, we struck the capacity. So if that school district was full based on grade level, then they still had to take you. And maybe that meant they had to hire an additional teacher because of the student-teacher ratio in classrooms or things like that. And so we are putting that back in. So you can participate in public school choice in a non-resident school district that if you don't live in that school district or within a school district that you live in.
In Russellville, we have six elementary schools. And so say I want to send my kid to elementary school number three, but I'm zoned for elementary school number one. I can request that my child go to elementary school number three, but if that school is at 95% max capacity within that grade, if my child's going to kindergarten, but they're already at 95% capacity, we're giving them room for people that may move in that actually live in that zone so that they don't have to hire a teacher because they're one student
or two students over the ratio, then they can deny that intra-choice request. Otherwise, if they do have capacity, then they have to take my child in that school that I've requested, if I request before June 1. Okay, I mean, I understand a little
Senator Bryan King
Unverified
20:54
bit about the public school. I mean, does this impact the private schools like Shallow Christian or Little Rock Christian or Flasky Academy, any of those? I mean, what would apply to them in this, or this doesn't apply? No, this does not apply to them.
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
21:09
This really applies specifically to the intra-district choice. Okay. And
then it deals with the capacity issue for all schools. It puts that back in so it's clear that schools can deny a student if they're at
95% capacity. And that's what that language is at
Senator Bryan King
Unverified
21:26
the bottom of page 5. So in this bill, it won't impact or cause any things with Pulaski Academy
Speaker 88
21:32
or Shiloh Christian. This bill won't do anything with that. Okay.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
21:40
All right, thank you. there any further questions from the committee seeing no one to speak flowers
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
21:51
you got something in good but bring that closer to you
so it is on page 7 starting at line 20 about the student who accepts the public
school choice transfer may return to his or her resident district or the public school within his or her resident district from during the school year from which he or she transferred during the school
year so does that lock them in it it does not lock them in they can return
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
22:48
back to the school district for which they're zoned if they choose to and half of that language is already
existing of course for public school choice that if I go to a neighboring school district but I decide I want to return to my resident district I like right now you can but because this bill is dealing with intra district choice it includes that language or the public school within your resident district which you
requested to go to you can go back to the one you're actually zoned for in the in
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
23:21
that same school year yes what happens with school funding for people funding when when those kinds of things happen a student transfers from
one so i'd imagine that the per student funding
would go down i mean is it proportionate to how long they were in a school and in the school district
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
23:46
if i remember correctly i'm going to let the department i think probably clarify but schools submit i think either october 1st or october
16th or something like that what their average daily membership is their adm they submit that to the state. And that's how the state determines the funding that they send to the
schools based on that average daily membership. I think schools also submit monthly. Do they submit that to the state or quarterly? So then you can see if that ADM has changed. And I think they give funding based on, oh, prior year, that's right. So prior year funding, we're a year behind on that and which we don't have to get into all that but that's where we have the caps you can't lose more than a certain percent even if you've lost a lot of students that's how our adequacy
funding is set up but yes that's acknowledged in the
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
24:43
way that schools submit data to the state well what if students kind of go back and forth to school districts in that prior year how how is that funding calculated is it given to the last school that had the the student enrolled or I mean how
does this work does anybody from the department want to
Speaker 103
25:09
I don't tell you wrong Courtney Sellers for Department of Education.
Speaker 104
25:20
So one way that that is controlled is that that's why there's timeframes in place for school choice. So if they apply in the time frame and get accepted to go to school one they would be counted on on that school districts quarter one and possibly quarter two ADM. But then if they chose to go back to their resident school school two then
they would be counted on that district's ADM. There's they can't go back and forth because once they return to their resident district they're locked in there until the next school choice window applies so they can't go back and forth unless they just move but even in a situation where a student might be in three different districts each quarter that that school district reports their ADM it's being reflected in that district and through the very complicated funding model when funding is done it's almost like each district gets a portion
For that student for the time that of which they have them But we keep track of all of that and and our finance people make sure that The correct amount
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
26:25
the time that they had that student Well, is the formula available to legislators to see that
Speaker 22
26:41
Greg Rogers Department of Education. Yes, it's just enrollment. When they do the ADM calculations each month on our cycle reports, that enrollment, that attendance is calculated in that, and that's what the district's turning in. That's what's the basis of the formula. So, in a sense, the money will follow the kid. If they go from this resident school district to the next resident school district, when they count that student in enrollment and attendance, that calculation begins. If they go back to their resident district, they'll be enrolled in that, and then that
calculation for their attendance will begin there, too. So, yes, it is available, and you can see that. It's just we're paying for whichever district the kid is in for that amount of time that they're in,
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
27:24
which is the average daily membership calculation. Where exactly do we see that and is
it delineated out, like, does it show there was this transfer back and
Speaker 22
27:35
forth? Yes, because districts have to show an enrollment and they show that enrollment code for their districts.
When they put that into AppScan, which is where we collect all the data from for student information, there's an enrollment code that is entered in, a student code that is entered into AppScan, and that's when we start knowing that that student is enrolled in that district, and they count towards ADM
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
28:00
at that point. So do we get those kinds of reports? Do we see that in the education? I
Speaker 22
28:07
don't know. Do we get those? So we do that, yes, it's based on, we can do that on the ASR, the annual statistical report.
Speaker 47
28:16
That comes to the education committee? Yes, ma'am. We send that to the governor, the senator, the
Senator Jane English
Unverified
28:25
speaker, and the education committees each year. I think we all got that electronically, probably in January, February, something
Speaker 47
28:31
like that. We close out each year, and then January, February, we issue that. It has all
Senator Jane English
Unverified
28:36
those statistics in it for all these schools all across the state. It takes a while, though, but it's worthwhile. I'd like to receive
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
28:45
one I don't I mean I'd like to know it by title or something
I'll email it to you today. To know what I'm looking at. Do we find that a lot of that happens transfer back
Speaker 104
29:03
and forth? Courtney Salisford, no because again because of the school choice time frame typically you might only see a student in their choice district and then they might go back to their resident district. Typically, the only other change you might see is if a student then moves to another district. But no, for the most part, students tend to stay in their same district.
But if they do move, again, we have that data to capture where they are at
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
29:29
each quarter. And the time frame is June
Speaker 104
29:32
1? There is another bill that you all passed that changes the previous May 1 to June 1. So they can apply for school choice upon the passage of that bill. Anytime between January 1 and June 1
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
29:47
So while they're in school they can make the change
Speaker 104
29:52
The the change does not take effect until the next school year. So between yeah, so like in the spring
They would apply to go to a different school starting in August Thank
Senator Jane English
Unverified
30:06
you Any further questions from the committee? Is there anybody in the audience like speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, are you closed for your bill? I'm closed and motion do pass. I hear a second second all in favor All opposed. Thank you very much Okay, so we've got that. Let me see
is there anybody here for House Bill
Senator Jane English
Unverified
30:57
that is. Okay. Let's see.
Okay. Let me see what that says here. I may have this agency come up with me if you want to do this.
would introduce yourself and you're welcome to explain House Bill 1903. Senator Jane English
Senator Jane English
Unverified
32:06
District 13 doing House Bill 1903 and I have Courtney with me to explain the
Speaker 104
32:16
Department of Education. So this is a simple change to to law but that will have a good impact for students. Currently all school districts are required to offer an alternative learning environment for students who may not be successful in the traditional classroom setting. In some of our smaller school districts because this is a requirement and they don't have a lot of students we found that they would enter into consortiums or collaboratives with other school districts and co-ops to make these ALDs available and then because they were paying for a seat sometimes students
were maybe getting over identified not intentionally but over identified to make sure that the seats that were paid for were filled and so by making this an option and not a requirement if a school district feels like they need this alternative setting for their students they can make that available but if they feel like they can continue to provide services and needed supports for that student in the traditional setting or even in maybe a different classroom in their school district they can do that and not have to send this student to an
ALE which again may not be on their campus might be part of a consortium but if they need it they can still offer it so
it just turns that requirement into an option
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
33:44
members any questions senator flowers you're recognized
I'm wondering how how does this provision
that does not require a school district to provide
alternative learning environments how does that compare with a bill that was passed earlier I think it was Senator Hester's bill that set up behavior programs and facilities to send students with he claimed violent but the bill actually says those students that are substantially likely to cause injury to
other students teachers or staff so how does this work
Speaker 104
34:39
though we actually feel like these two bills work really well together because there we are seeing some very severe cases in school districts of students with very violent tendencies, violent behaviors, and in these areas where there might be a cooperative ALE, we can work with the school districts and with DHS through Senator Hester's bill to make that more of like a behavioral health center, and instead of an ALE, again, it would be for the
more severe students so that each school district in that area, if they have a student that they are just unable to provide the the necessary services for on the school campus they could go to the behavioral health center and get the very intensive supports therapies and interventions that they need so they can then be returned to that their traditional school campus so we feel like these are very good companions companion bills that will work together to make sure students are getting the supports they
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
35:38
need so the school district then would choose to have
these behavioral classrooms or settings are ALE they know what would be the difference they
Speaker 104
35:52
don't have to choose they could have both but the difference is really about the severity and the needs of those students again ALE is for students who are just not successful in the traditional setting they might need a smaller classroom setting they might need more targeted interventions they might need counseling therapy that they can get in that ALE setting. The intent
behind that the behavioral health centers is for the, we'll say, the very small percentage of the most severely aggressive and violent students who for a short term are not even being successful in an ALE. They might need much more intensive therapy, much more intensive counseling, so they could get that on a short-term basis at the behavioral health center and then be able to maybe transition back to an ALE and then eventually back to their traditional setting so it's it's providing a continuum of supports and
services based on the the severity of the
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
36:53
behaviors of the student well but like I said I recall senator Hester's bill it wasn't about violence or violent students it was about
those the quote was substantially likely to cause injury yeah
and I really wasn't defined substantially likely subjective by who
we don't know and this ALEs it seems that from this language in the bill that's already in the law it was used ALEs were used for discipline is that
Speaker 104
37:42
they are not supposed to be so by rule they're not supposed to be punitive facilities or settings they are they might be used in lieu of discipline so if a student
perhaps was about to be expelled but the school district said instead of expelling you let's try the ALE setting and maybe with this additional supports and services you you know you can be successful and then transition back into school. With Senator Hester's bill I know that the language that is in there and it's more of a legal standard and a legal term but it would be difficult for a school district who would have to work with DHS and their behavioral threat assessment team to place a student in one of those facilities to say that a student was substantially
likely to injure themselves or others if that student had not already exhibited violent behaviors. It's not like I could look at any particular student and say, yeah, I think they might do this. It's more, I know it's not defined in law, but it is a legal standard that's used in many courts across the country, and it's about based on that child's prior experiences and prior behaviors, is there a likelihood that they will continue to have these behaviors and aggressiveness without interventions without therapies without services so it wouldn't just be
an individual making that decision it would be a group
Speaker 131
39:06
decision of educators clinicians and people knowledgeable about that type
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
39:11
of behavior it seems to me that that has always been a decision that's made by juvenile court upon referral of that student to
juvenile court because if a child is threatening some injury likely to be caused by that child that's either a child a family I
have it under the family in need of services because of the the mere fact of of a child that's substantially likely to cause injury based on something or it can
be seen as a criminal offense for which a child could be sent to juvenile court and then in that same bill Senator Hester's bill you have the sheriff's
department which has authority over the juvenile detention facilities deciding what educational what who's to provide
the educational services for that juvenile in juvenile detention facilities there's run
the juvenile detention facility so now we got the sheriff acting as a superintendent I
guess or something under Hester's bill but I'm not I'm not really understanding what we're trying to do it seems
like we're making subjective decisions have ALEs not been working is that what what prompted this bill no that's
Speaker 104
41:11
situations it is working but again with our smaller school districts we actually found that this was more of a burden to them to
have to set up an alternative location an alternative setting to serve students where they could do it on their school campus and they could do it in other ways instead of having to establish a formal ALE they could do that through other means and so we are just trying to provide more flexibility to school districts too because they they should be making the decisions about the best how to best meet the needs of their students and so we're trying to provide them that additional flexibility to do that well under senator Hester's bill
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
41:52
with the behavioral programs and and referrals to children to these this new thing of behavioral I don't know whether it's a classroom or what but how is that supposed to be different
if ALEs are already set up again it's it's about providing a
Speaker 131
42:15
continuum and based on the severity and the needs of that student that's all I have
Senator Reginald Murdock
Unverified
42:30
Thank you sir. So just for clarity to make sure I understand something because what I want to be clear that we're not going to address the student that has discipline or learning issues by getting rid of ALE programs. Would this legislation allowed districts to not have a LE period which which then would
lead me to the next question of if there becomes a student that has difficulty learning etc then what happens to that student if a district chooses not to buy this
Speaker 104
43:20
have absolute responsibility to serve the needs of every student what requiring an ALE did was require them to set up a formal, very restrictive, very heavily regulated setting where they, again, might send students, might not send students if they didn't feel that that was
appropriate. So if a district feels like this is still the best setting, they can do that. But if they choose not to have an ALE, it does not relieve them of the responsibility to serve that student. If a student has a learning disability, state and federal law still requires them to assess, Evaluate provide resources for that student if they have behavioral needs state and federal law still requires them to address those needs It more just gives them the flexibility to do that in the way that they feel is the best way instead of
Over-regulating it into a particular
Senator Reginald Murdock
Unverified
44:10
setting. So let me look at it this way if we're looking at a smaller district who For financial reasons, let me use that as example May would outsource this service to like their co-op maybe and not have it housed at their in their district per se, but it still is a part of the dashboard of educational Choices and out so okay. So my concern was that a student that runs into difficulty is then
automatically even if they're not real severe placed into that that Hester Situation if you will that I understand for the very very severe as is described But I would I want to make sure that we'd still have even I understand the smaller districts They may not have the resources and some of that then they do still have a Responsibility and a outlet to educate those Students it just may be having some difficulty. Absolutely. This bill does not allow them to opt out. Not at all. Thank you
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
45:28
Members other questions senator Bryant you're recognized. Thank you. Mr. Chairman. This is probably just more of a broad question I appreciate the bill. I appreciate the intent. I've visited many of our facilities up in northwest on their ALE and I think they are Trying to be innovative to address the varying Issues that surround our student population a question for you as the department tries to address what the legislation is attempting to address throughout this 95th is what are you doing as a department to
Get stakeholders and to see what what does it look like that way in two years? Maybe you have a product based on all these Varying policies that are coming out of specifically out of this committee to show
Speaker 104
46:14
us that what we're doing is working So we are working with DHS and groups of superintendents and behavioral health staff in the school districts. Our intent and what we plan is to, again, work collaboratively with school districts in different regions.
What is the need in your region? How can we maybe use existing facilities, existing programs, and replicate those? Maybe we need to expand some. If something's working, we want to make sure that that's available to all students. So, yes, to your point, this is definitely a plan on behalf of ADE, DHS, and school districts to work together to do what's best for students and make that available to all students. And we hope to have data for you in a year or two years of how that is working. And if it's not working, that what we're trying differently as well.
Members, other questions? Senator flowers you're recognized Doesn't the department already
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
47:15
have that data About how many children are
disciplined how many are in a LE Yes, we do have that data
Speaker 104
47:26
I was referring to data that of how these new types of settings or new programs or Expanded programs if they are working better or if they're not working better But we do have you can't you can't see from
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
47:41
existing data whether a child is benefiting from ALE yes we can again I was
Speaker 104
47:50
referring to the the new types of facilities and new programs and what are children students benefiting
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
47:56
some are so are you trying to reach a certain percentage of students that benefit what
what is this I would say we're trying to
Speaker 104
48:11
reach a hundred percent a hundred percent of students that are getting the supports and services that they need and for the percentage that ALE is not the right setting that that percentage whatever it is is getting the services they need in that setting but ultimately we want all kids to get the
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
48:30
supports and services they need. Well is ALE just something that's boilerplate, one size fits all children or something? What is that? It is
Speaker 157
48:39
not. No, ALE looks different in every
district that has one. And within ALE, inside the various
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
48:46
districts, is there flexibility for students based
on how they present and what what their issues are there is some flexibility some
Speaker 104
49:00
flexibility but again there there are very stringent regulations on an ALE and what it has to look like what it has to do and so districts are afforded some flexibility as long as they meet all of
the requirements, this would give them more flexibility. Members, other questions? Seeing
no questions, thank you. Anyone here to speak for or against the bill? No one has signed up. Senator, would you like to close for your bill? I'm closed for the
Second, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations, Senator, your bill passes. Thank you.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
50:28
everybody all of this committee has been very diligent Thank you very much, and
I appreciate our staff. They have been very diligent Thank you Meeting is adjourned
Agenda
Call to Order
HB1017 A. Collins TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING PAID MATERNITY LEAVE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES; AND TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION TO PAY FOR INCURRED COSTS FOR APPROVED PAID MATERNITY LEAVE.
HB1903 Walker TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH FLEXIBILITY REGARDING ALTERNATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
HB1945 McCollum TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015; AND TO ALLOW A STUDENT TO TRANSFER TO ANOTHER PUBLIC SCHOOL WITHIN HIS OR HER RESIDENT DISTRICT.
Adjourn
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE AND HOUSE MEETING JOINTLY WITH ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION, Apr 15, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Jane English
Unverified
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
Senator Joshua Bryant
Unverified
Speaker 21
Speaker 22
Speaker 23
Senator Dan Sullivan Chair
Unverified
Speaker 28
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
Speaker 39
Speaker 47
Speaker 8
Speaker 62
Speaker 74
Speaker 37
Speaker 85
Senator Bryan King
Unverified
Speaker 88
Speaker 103
Speaker 104
Speaker 105
Speaker 122
Speaker 125
Speaker 119
Speaker 131
Speaker 143
Senator Reginald Murdock
Unverified
Speaker 157
Speaker 92
Speaker 161