A group hoping to put its Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 on the Nov. 5 ballot sent a new draft to state Attorney General Tim Griffin Thursday.
This was the fourth submission for the group For AR Kids.
“Our legal team addressed the concerns raised by the attorney general in the previous rejection, and met once again with the Attorney General’s staff to discuss their concerns and our goal,” Public Policy Panel Executive Director Bill Kopsky said.
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The changes made to the measure were narrowly tailored to the specific concerns that have been raised, Kopsky said.
The initiative aims to amend the state constitution to require any private schools that accept public funding in the form of vouchers to meet the same standards required of traditional public schools. It would also establish minimum quality standards for schools and would guarantee free access to pre-K, after-school and summer programs; quality special education; and wrap-around services for children within 200% of the federal poverty line.
The group’s first attempt was rejected. Griffin said the amendment’s language lacked specificity. Griffin also said it would violate parochial schools’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion if they were required to meet state standards when accepting vouchers.
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Arkansas LEARNS, the K-12 education law passed last spring, created a voucher program that will eventually be open to all students in the state.
On Thursday, the group asked for an expedited review to ensure their volunteers have enough time to collect the more than 90,000 signatures required to put their proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
“We met with the staff of the attorney general’s office to understand their concerns and to seek their input on how to achieve our goal of providing every Arkansas student with an excellent opportunity to learn and excel,” April Reisma, president of Arkansas Education Association, said. “We look forward to putting this measure before voters.”
Steve Grappe, executive director of CAPES, said the group had more than 450 volunteers ready to collect signatures.
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“We are just starting our outreach efforts to train people on how to collect signatures and share details about how the Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment will improve the educational opportunities of ALL Arkansas students,” Grappe said. “We are just getting going to build toward our goal of over 2,500 people helping collect signatures for the measure.”
The For AR Kids Ballot Question Committee is a coalition that includes the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, the Arkansas Education Association, the Citizens First Congress, and CAPES.
Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”
After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.
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He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.
Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.
From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.
Dylan Sherman is a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is based in Northwest Arkansas and focuses on Tyson Foods Inc. and the transportation industry. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he has been with the newspaper since 2023.
The Arkansas Court of Appeals released opinions Wednesday. The court’s ruling and the names of the cases are reprinted here. The full opinions and other court proceedings, including per curiam decisions, orders and submissions, can be found on the internet at arcourts.gov.
PROCEEDINGS OF Jan. 7, 2026
CHIEF JUDGE N. MARK KLAPPENBACH
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CR-23-821. Kenneth Steward v. State of Arkansas, from Benton County Circuit Court. Affirmed. Gladwin and Brown, JJ., agree.
JUDGE ROBERT J. GLADWIN
CR-25-24. Bryce Anderson v. State of Arkansas, from Benton County Circuit Court. Affirmed. Virden and Harrison, JJ., agree.
JUDGE CASEY R. TUCKER
CV-24-537. Flywheel Energy Production, LLC v. Van Buren County, Arkansas; and Van Buren County Judge Dale James, in His Official Capacity as Van Buren County Judge, from Van Buren County Circuit Court. Reversed and dismissed. Abramson and Harrison, JJ., agree.
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JUDGE WENDY SCHOLTENS WOOD
CV-24-209. LRS South, LLC v. Benton County Solid Waste Management District and the Benton County Solid Waste Management District Board, from Benton County Circuit Court. Reversed and remanded. Hixson and Murphy, JJ., agree.
