Education Committee - Senate
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Bills discussed (23)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1938
Act 807
· 4 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…WITHIN THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. HB1938 Joey Carr TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNI…”
|
TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING THE CREATION OF DISTRICT STRATEGIC PLANS AND … | Joey Carr | Notification that HB1938 is now Act 807 |
|
HB1939
Act 808
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…LITY OF THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. HB1939 Joey Carr TO AMEND ELIGIBILITY FOR TEACHER INCENTIVE AND ME…”
|
TO AMEND ELIGIBILITY FOR TEACHER INCENTIVE AND MERIT PAY; TO AMEND REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMATIVE EVALUATIONS; … | Joey Carr | Notification that HB1939 is now Act 808 |
|
HB1941
Act 809
· 3 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…EQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MERIT TEACHER INCENTIVE FUND PROGRAM. HB1941 Joey Carr CONCERNING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BOARDS AND COM…”
|
CONCERNING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS; AND TO PROTECT ARKANSAS STUDENTS BY ENSURING THE … | Joey Carr | Notification that HB1941 is now Act 809 |
|
HB1946
· 3 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…FFICIENT DISPOSITION OF ETHICS COMPLAINTS AGAINST TEACHERS. HB1946 Bentley TO REQUIRE HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTION…”
|
TO REQUIRE HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. | Bentley | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1756
Act 803
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…S A STUDENT MAY OBTAIN IN A COURSE CREDIT RECOVERY PROGRAM. HB1756 Vaught TO ALLOW A PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN, OR PERSON STANDIN…”
|
TO ALLOW A PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN, OR PERSON STANDING IN LOCO PARENTIS TO A STUDENT … | Vaught | Notification that HB1756 is now Act 803 |
|
SB625
Act 920
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “SB625 B. Davis TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNIN…”
|
TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM ACCOUNT PROGRAM; … | B. Davis | Notification that SB625 is now Act 920 |
|
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. |
|
HB1283
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…IONAL FREEDOM ACCOUNT PROGRAM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. 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: “…KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE LIBRARY MEDIA STANDARDS. 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. |
|
HB1484
Act 910
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1484 Gramlich TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CREDITS A STUDENT MAY OBTAI…”
|
TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CREDITS A STUDENT MAY OBTAIN IN A COURSE CREDIT RECOVERY … | Gramlich | Notification that HB1484 is now Act 910 |
|
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: “…avis Sen. Jim Dotson REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle 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. |
|
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…”
|
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: “…ICE ACT; AND TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015. 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. |
|
SB6
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “OK. We're back in session. OK, we are looking at um yeah. Senate Bill 6:25. Yes,”
|
TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF VACCINE HARM. | B. King | 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. |
|
SB634
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…D MAINTAIN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS THE STUDENT OBTAINS. SB634 M. Johnson TO CREATE THE DIVISION OF INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVI…”
|
TO CREATE THE DIVISION OF INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. | M. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SCR3
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…rs and Staff Only'. 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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Senator Jane English
Unverified
0:00
I'll call this meeting to order. Representative Gramlich, would you like to present your bill, please?
Speaker 3
0:09
Yes, Zach Gramlich, State Representative of District 50, Fort Smith. I appreciate the Senate for being efficient in the billmaking and writing process. Earlier today, we talked about an additional exclusion that probably needed to be made. And with that, I'm closed for my bill. Thank you very much. Do pass, second.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
0:30
All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Thank you much. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, committee. Okay. And Senator Davis?
Oh, still waiting for the amendment to get here. give
it one couple more minutes they're waiting for the amendment to 6:25 yeah
Senator Jane English
Unverified
3:57
Thank you. If you'll do the, if you'll be the captain of the ship, I'm going down here, we're going
to run these bills through. Okay. there's a way to do it okay senator if you would introduce yourself and what
Senator Jane English
Unverified
5:10
bill number are we looking at senator Jane English district 13 and I have
house bill 1938 and I've brought my two compatriots with me to explain the Jacob Oliva Department of Education Courtney
Speaker 48
5:28
Solis Ford Department of Education and you're
Speaker 46
5:31
welcome to present your bill Go ahead. So the first
Speaker 52
5:35
bill we have a couple bills here that I think are Trying to maintain efficiency and streamline some processes here at the state. The first one really works at Giving the authority for school districts to develop a strategic plan and put all of their resources
Initiatives in one plan instead of having to do multiple different plans that ask for the same thing all over again So an example of this is because of different federal and state requirements districts would have to write 17 individual school improvement plans do 17 needs assessments do 17 surveys Collect the data on those 17 plans What we want them to do is write one plan that meets all of those needs and then talk about in that plan how they can work with their educational cooperative work with your charter school
networks and make sure that one plan for the district all the resources line streamlined makes it a lot more efficient and a lot easier to achieve sounds
like what the libraries ought to be doing but that's
Speaker 48
6:33
for another bill members anybody have any questions 38 1938 no questions Anyone here to speak for or against the
Speaker 54
6:42
bill? Senator, you're welcome to close. I'm closed
and I move to a not. Have
Dowson. All in favor say aye. Aye. Congratulations your bill passes. Next bill. I guess for the record you'll need to introduce yourself again. It's not like the reports they're doing where you can combine it all. You have to make it say your name
Speaker 48
7:16
again and then the bill number. House Bill 1939. 1939. Jay Believa, Department of
Speaker 62
7:24
Education. Courtney Salsford, Department of Education. So the purpose
Speaker 63
7:27
of... Just a second. Senator, we're going to get her a bill. 1939.
What we're doing right now, yes. All right, Senator, you're
Speaker 64
7:43
welcome to present your bill. So the purpose of this bill is to make some minor improvements to the operation of
Speaker 52
7:50
the teacher merit pay that was established in the LEARN program where we want to recognize and celebrate and elevate our teachers that demonstrate outstanding performance. What we're doing with this bill is just clarifying some of the obligations around the teacher evaluation input
because we have some teachers that may not have specific student data, but we don't want them to be left out even though we know based on teacher observations principal evaluations they can be rated highly effective we want to make sure that there's an
Chair
Unverified
8:17
established requirement annually to evaluate those teachers which will help make sure they're eligible for teacher merit
pay members they want to have any questions senator you're recognized
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
8:32
and about how many teachers are we talking about this would
Speaker 52
8:37
affect so we have approximately I'm
going to just round about 35,000 teachers in state of Argosaw last year we had about 10% of those teachers receive teacher merit pay which was just over 3,000 we want to make sure more teachers are eligible and have the ability to qualify at we are our hope or our intent is maybe we'd like to double the amount of teachers we recognize because we know we have some outstanding educators that deserve this recognition but do we have
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
9:04
a list of those teachers that got this merit pay yeah I don't
Speaker 64
9:12
have it with me but there's a list yes ma'am and and
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
9:16
then how much money is set aside for increasing the numbers that
might qualify under these new rules or this bill do you think so the allocation that we had in learns towards teacher merit
Speaker 52
9:32
pay was ten million dollars and how much of that is has been spent
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
9:38
for so for last year we
Speaker 52
9:40
were able to obligate all of it this is why we're also asking for some amendment to a current pot of money
that the legislature designates for recognizing teachers that get national board certification but that pot of money historically or an annually we haven't been we haven't really been using all of it so we want to make sure that we can recognize those national board certifications but then also increase the qualifications under teacher merit so that there's dollars that are already been allocated but they're being untapped this is going to help us allocate those
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
10:17
dollars to recognize more teachers and so total amount that you'll have available for awarding these merit paid it's about
Speaker 64
10:24
18.7 million okay thanks and if you would get that
information to the staff and they'll send that out to everybody members other questions thing no
more questions anyone here to speak for against the bill senator you're welcome to
Senator Jane English
Unverified
10:43
close I am close my bill and I move
to pass a second all in favor say aye opposed like sign thank you congratulations your bill passes have
Senator Jane English
Unverified
10:56
another one house bill 1946 19 house bill 1941 1941 if you would go through the identification process
again take a believe a department of education Courtney Salas for Department of Education. And you're welcome
Speaker 83
11:16
to present your bill. So this bill is again about increasing efficiency and has to do with three different boards or committees that are under the purview of the Department of Education. So the first one is
the Professional Licensure Standards Board that deals with ethics complaints and ethics violations from licensed teachers. This would establish terms for those board members whereby they have not had terms before. It also ensures that people can submit complaints electronically. Historically, we have only allowed them to submit hard copy papers, so we're going to allow that electronically. Regarding the School Worker Defense Program Board, that board has not been operational for many years,
and there may actually be a few legal issues with how that board was established and why it hasn't met, so we are just going to dissolve that board, continue to administer the funds and make those available for teachers and other staff of school districts, but just, again, creating that efficiency by eliminating that board. And then finally, the Academic Facilities Review Board. This was kind of an interim board that would hear appeals from decisions of our facilities division regarding
partnership funding. What would happen is school districts could appeal to this interim board and then if they still didn't agree then they could elevate that up to the commission. Every single appeal we were seeing get elevated up to the commission and so we just thought it would be more efficient to eliminate that middle intermediate level board and let
Speaker 84
12:55
those appeals go directly to the commission who ultimately has final say anyway. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Was any did we have a committee that made recommendations on how to combine the boards or did y'all
Speaker 87
13:15
decide that on your own? So as part of Governor Sanders for Arkansas
Speaker 83
13:20
Forward Initiative we were tasked with looking at efficiencies and governance and ways that we could eliminate red tape and it was part of that process that we really came across again some of these boards that were either not meeting or we're
Speaker 84
13:34
kind of not not performing probably the way they
should be and so that's how we identified these okay
members any other questions Senator Fliar, if you have a question, you need another minute or two to look
Speaker 92
14:06
through the bill. How many complaints are lodged in a year?
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
14:14
how many complaints are lodged against teachers in the course of a
Speaker 83
14:20
year? I don't have the exact numbers with me, but hundreds of complaints. Now, not all of them end up resulting in an investigation. Every complaint that is submitted is reviewed by an internal committee and determined if there is enough evidence to have a formal investigation, but there are multiples of hundreds of complaints that are filed,
and they, again, are reviewed to determine if
Speaker 84
14:47
they are investigated, and then if they're investigated, they go to
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
14:53
the PLSB board for a final determination. About how many
Speaker 99
15:00
are referred for investigation? I would, oh gosh, I would
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
15:07
say probably 80%. Do you all keep a running list of what the result of the investigation is?
Speaker 83
15:16
We do. That's all recorded and kept. Is that open to the public? It's not. So under law, those files are private unless they go to the State Board of Education. Those
Speaker 84
15:30
decisions are public and are on our website. But if it doesn't go to that level, then by law, those are
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
15:43
kept confidential. And actually, they can even enter into a settlement agreement?
They can, yes. Are the settlement agreements published? No, those are kept confidential as
Speaker 84
16:01
confidential? That's what the law provides. Now, if that educator, through the settlement agreement, agrees to give up their teaching license or their teaching license, there is a record of that. The specific details for anything that led up to that settlement agreement by law is we have to keep that confidential.
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
16:21
well the person that makes the the complaint against the individual teacher that agrees to a settlement agreement do they get to to know what's in the settlement agreement or that they don't even
get to know no ma'am not under the law we were required to do that they're a party they brought the complaint it seems like
they would have a right to to know what the result was
Speaker 84
16:53
of their complaint the way the law is written we're not permitted to
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
17:00
share that information is it the law or the rules
Speaker 84
17:03
that I've been it it is in the law in it in the sections of hope that are cited here no ma'am I can get that for you but it's not in anything that
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
17:13
we're addressing well do y'all keep a record that's open to the public about how many settlement agreements have been entered into we can tell you the number we just can't tell you any of the specific
Speaker 84
17:23
information yes is that in the form of a report to the education
committee no that's not something we're required to report but we can certainly make that
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
17:32
information available to you I'd like to
see that information do you even have it from different school districts I
mean can you even inform where what school districts the complaints arise out of under specific
Speaker 83
17:58
to the teachers under the law it says that we are required to keep all information related to the complaint confident confidential and exempts it from FOIA seems like that needs to be changed thank you mr.
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
18:13
chair members any other questions seeing no questions is
it anyone here to speak for against the bill being no one senator
you're welcome to close for your bill closed for my
Senator Jane English
Unverified
18:32
bill and I move to pass. You
have a second. Senator Bryant, all in favor
say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Congratulations, you have passed your bill.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
19:15
are looking at yeah Senate bill 625 yes
we were if you identify yourself you'll
Speaker 116
19:35
be recognized thank you madam chair Brianne Davis State Senate
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
19:41
district 25 can we first move to expunge the vote by which we passed amendment number two or was it amendment one I want to be clear amendment one on
Senator Jane English
Unverified
20:04
favor all opposed okay moving right along thank you and the amendment in front of
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
20:13
you is the so then is the only only amendment so we're not confusing amendments but on page 2 line 1 we're deleting offered we're deleting what it says offered within the students public school district in which they reside in saying offered by a public school within the state. Again, stating on page three where we're talking about telephones or devices that students use and clarifying that we also mean a device that could be part or required as part of an
academic modification as specified by a clinician. And then on page three line 18 instead of 1/6 for an extracurricular we're saying 25% and then extending the window from March 31st to May 1st for when students can apply and then cleaning up the language around intends to commit fraud and just saying you know has commit you know has committed fraud happy to answer any other questions on that that's any questions from the
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
21:23
committee seeing no questions do I hear a motion So, Senator Davis, I spoke to you briefly about this bill earlier today. I like what you're trying to do in making sure funds are used appropriately and not just willy-nilly.
So, I just want to compliment you on trying to do the right thing. I would note it's not your fault I don't think probably the Bureau they keep I'm just a stickler about words on line page 3 line 29 course means a discreet program I think they're trying
to say discreet program of study a misspelled
discreet I wish the Bureau would catch they ought to have a word program that catches misspelled words or something this does not look good to put in the
code but I can understand what you
mean so how much money in these this particular fund this educational freedom account is available how much money is
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
23:11
available and well per student it's somewhere around seven thousand dollars the school year that's on the exact amount but it's in
Senator Jane English
Unverified
23:23
that range okay is that the same amount as that foundation 90% of the foundation of
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
23:33
the student funding so per what school districts get pers per student it's 90% of that and these this educational freedom account that's used for homeschoolers that only
for homes and private schools and private schools so does these percentages apply to private school students as well and the use of them well let me have the
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
24:03
department come up to be clear Courtney solves
Speaker 83
24:16
for Department of Education yes the the same limits do
apply now typically students are going to use that are in private school they give the amount to the private school who then provides all the services but if their tuition is less than that six thousand dollar amount they could pay their tuition and and all of those things and then use the other funds for transportation that's allowed in the bill or you know additional therapies or services that they need because of a disability but yes the same the same restrictions apply
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
24:58
does the state get an accounting back from the private schools
and the home school parents or whoever's teaching the home schooler there
Speaker 133
25:10
are reporting requirements and from the private school and all students who participate are
Speaker 83
25:15
required to take a student assessment a student assessment yeah so it's like the summative assessment that all students in public schools take and they don't have to take the same exact test but they have to take a similar test well this bill isn't
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
25:33
really about the test is it no it's not
well I'm asking about the money that's paid out and available for these students that are either in the private schools or that are home school does the department or the state of Arkansas the legislature get a report on how the money
is used so that yes so so when when a
Speaker 83
25:58
student is approved they're set up an account that has this money in there if they want to use it to purchase curriculum then we actually they designate the curriculum that they want
to purchase and the money goes directly to the vendor so we know exactly where every all the money is being spent because they have to essentially tell us what they want to purchase we send it to the vendor if they want to use it for their private school tuition we send it to the private school so yes we have records and I guess what I'm saying is that they don't have to report on the on the end because we know initially up front before the money is even distributed where it's going and we do have records of all
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
26:37
of that well how are we going to know that this bill, if it becomes law, is being complied with as it relates to transportation?
Speaker 83
26:46
Because in order to get the funds, they would have to request that we release those funds for transportation. And so we know that the full amount and we are keeping up with their request as we go. And so at the point that they reach 25%,
Speaker 84
27:01
if they tried to request any additional funds for transportation that request would
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
27:06
be denied. So it's not like we can be assured that
they accept through their word I guess they sign an affidavit saying it what they're saying is true?
Speaker 83
27:17
They don't sign an affidavit but by applying they for the educational freedom account they are signing an attestation that they're going to comply with all state requirements and rules um and if we have evidence that they again are not following those then we can seek reimbursement and they would become ineligible
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
27:37
how how are you all are you all planning to keep up with whether somebody is using no more than 25 or 25 up to 25 because they may not even use up 25
for transportation it's all done
Speaker 83
27:51
through the i don't know what to call it the program um it's class wallet. Again, there's an account set up, so it's all done electronically. If they submit for reimbursement or they submit for purchase, all of that
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
28:10
is kept up within the system. We pay a company to keep that information?
Speaker 83
28:19
Yes. I wonder how much they're paid. Do you know? I believe it's 1.85% of the transactions, which totals about just under $5 million.
Senator Jane English
Unverified
28:34
Wow. Thank you. Are there
any other questions from the committee? seeing nobody in the audience who would speak for or against the bill okay yes we vote on
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
29:16
this full bill I mean we we debated it this morning and so I don't want to you know get in the weeds again although I'm happy to if there's questions so um like I said we want to show that we trust families but we also value education stewardship and it's our job to ensure that funds are going towards students having high quality learning and making sure that money is being spent on educational tools and an education related items so I think the changes we've made are very reasonable, and we know that EFAs have an explicit purpose of improving
educational outcomes, and we knew we'd have to come back and look and see how things were going and tighten up and move around. I mean, that's with any brand new program, and that's exactly what we're trying to do here. With that, I'm happy to take any
Speaker 147
30:11
questions. Motion. Okay. Second. All in favor?
Speaker 14
30:16
Aye. All opposed? No. Ayes have it. Okay.
Speaker 150
30:30
Senator Dotson? No. Senator Dotson? No. Senator Bryant? No. Senator Bryant? No. Senator Murdoch? Senator Murdoch, Senator King, Senator King, Senator Davis, aye. Senator Davis, aye. Senator Flowers, aye. Senator Flowers, aye. Senator Sullivan, aye. Senator Sullivan, aye. Okay, so
Senator Jane English
Unverified
30:55
we don't have enough votes. Thank you. Thank you.
All right, do we have anything else on our
Speaker 157
31:08
list here? Is she running VOTS bill 1756? Is who? Is she running 1756? Oh, I don't know. It also has an amendment. It also has an amendment. What's 1756?
Senator Jane English
Unverified
31:29
Are you running 1756 VOTS bill?
1756, it has an amendment. Are you doing that one?
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
32:38
thank you madam chair brianne davis state senate district 25. you may proceed the amendment just adds me as a senate sponsor uh make a motion do pass on the amendment all in favor aye all opposed you may proceed thank you this is house bill 1756 and All this bill does is allow parents to keep up with the community service hours that are required
under the LEARNS Act, and it just outlines that they've got to keep up with documentation, that their records may be audited by the Department of Education to ensure that they're being properly maintained and documented. This is just due to the volume. I think that it's putting on counselors in some schools to keep up with all of this. So we're saying if a parent requests it, they can keep up with the hours themselves and know that it's subject to being audited, that they've
got to do it properly. I'm happy to
Senator Jane English
Unverified
33:44
take any questions. Are there questions in the committee? Senator Flowers? I'm
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
33:50
trying to understand the process of this community service requirement. Is that something that is plugged into a computer
program or something after well I think each school district does it
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
34:02
a little bit differently I'm sure they just have to students from ninth through twelfth grade have to have so many hours per year of community service and so I don't know exactly how each school
district is choosing to keep up with
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
34:17
that that would be a lot to keep up with with. I mean, a lot of paper, even if a parent puts it in an affidavit, I guess they'd
have a form or something. I mean, is the parent supposed to figure out how to prepare an affidavit? Are the schools supposed to be making rules concerning this, or is it the department's responsibility. I'd like to hear from the department on how this works. Jacob
Speaker 46
34:55
Believer, Department of Education. So the graduation requirement for a senior when they graduate from high
Speaker 52
35:02
school is to garner 120 community service hours by their senior year this one in effect with last year's freshmen so it starts with a cohort so this year sophomores are moving towards that requirement and the way I remember that is because my son has to meet this requirement and what we've done through the rules is given a lot of authority to the local school
districts to determine what they want to recognize this community service so I think what we have found is many of the districts have created their own forms so that if a child, let's say, is going to a hospital or say they're going to a local food shelter, they have a standard form from the district that the adult supervisor would sign or somebody would sign off that they were there, this is how many hours they serve. What we're doing here is giving more flexibility and support for the student and family where the parent can actually sign off and attest that maybe they went to the park
and they picked up trash in their community, they did it as a family outing. I
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
36:05
just wanted to know how is this communicated I mean you got all this paper people submitting all these papers yeah that's what the school districts
Speaker 52
36:18
are working with I think most of the districts least the ones that I've worked with the student would have a designated space that they would turn in their forms maybe it's at their school counselor or their student services office and then those folks would enter it into a database some school districts
may be a little bit more sophisticated than others but there's a way to capture that on the student record
Speaker 169
36:42
to make sure they met that requirement but the documentation has to
Speaker 52
36:47
be retained by the school district it can I think what happens is once they verify it they may log it I don't
Chair
Unverified
36:54
know if they're gonna hold on to it and yeah or scan it
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
36:59
yeah probably something like that I can't imagine they would keep binders of papers. You mentioned 125 hours of community
Speaker 172
37:06
service. This says 75. Is it 125? I might have misspoke. It's 75. 120 I think
was tied to a certain scholarship. It's 75. I
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
37:17
would think that the it's a big burden on the school I mean
to have all these papers and things like just like that school do program with the facilities division they ought to have something like that for logging in these community service hours. I agree I
Speaker 52
37:36
mean that's why we're working with school districts see how we can help make this as seamless and
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
37:41
easy. Maybe that ought to be in that program over there at the
school that facilities and transportation division maybe you can just add another line on that program I think that's worth exploring I think it
be a cost saver to the state of Arkansas since the program is already up in the it's
already available at the school district level so that teachers can even do
punch it in in their classroom right I mean it looks like you ought to be trying to save some money to
Speaker 113
38:19
me thank you are there any further questions
Senator Jane English
Unverified
38:32
second all in favor all opposed thank you very much pass your bill do we have anything else
Senator Jane English
Unverified
38:55
everything I think that's we may we'll have to see how Monday I mean what the house has bills tomorrow and so if they have passed them out we may meet Monday morning again at 8 o'clock beg your
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
39:10
pardon yeah we did that we did that it was adopted
Senator Jane English
Unverified
39:27
it was engrossed We
Speaker 178
39:32
confirmed the vote on the first amendment.
Speaker 182
39:51
going on. I'm going to go down to the hair
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
39:56
mill. Okay. He doesn't even have to come here before he
Speaker 27
40:01
takes it back to the house. Before you came.
Agenda
CALL TO ORDER
SB625 B. Davis TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM ACCOUNT PROGRAM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1484 Gramlich TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CREDITS A STUDENT MAY OBTAIN IN A COURSE CREDIT RECOVERY PROGRAM.
HB1756 Vaught TO ALLOW A PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN, OR PERSON STANDING IN LOCO PARENTIS TO A STUDENT TO DOCUMENT AND MAINTAIN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS THE STUDENT OBTAINS.
HB1938 Joey Carr TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING THE CREATION OF DISTRICT STRATEGIC PLANS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.
HB1939 Joey Carr TO AMEND ELIGIBILITY FOR TEACHER INCENTIVE AND MERIT PAY; TO AMEND REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMATIVE EVALUATIONS; AND TO AMEND SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MERIT TEACHER INCENTIVE FUND PROGRAM.
HB1941 Joey Carr CONCERNING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS; AND TO PROTECT ARKANSAS STUDENTS BY ENSURING THE EFFICIENT DISPOSITION OF ETHICS COMPLAINTS AGAINST TEACHERS.
Adjourn
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE AND HOUSE MEETING JOINTLY WITH ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION, Apr 9, 2025 | Agenda | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Jane English
Unverified
Speaker 3
Speaker 25
Speaker 29
Senator Dan Sullivan Chair
Unverified
Speaker 48
Speaker 46
Speaker 52
Speaker 54
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Speaker 62
Speaker 63
Speaker 64
Chair
Unverified
Senator Stephanie Flowers
Unverified
Speaker 83
Speaker 84
Speaker 87
Speaker 92
Speaker 94
Speaker 99
Speaker 96
Speaker 23
Speaker 116
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
Speaker 133
Speaker 143
Speaker 14
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Speaker 150
Speaker 157
Speaker 169
Speaker 172
Speaker 113
Speaker 176
Speaker 178
Speaker 182
Speaker 27