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Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders signs education reform package into law: ‘The failed status quo ended today’

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Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders signs education reform package into law: ‘The failed status quo ended today’


Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed her academic reform invoice on Wednesday.

“The failed established order ended right this moment when Governor Sanders signed the most important, boldest, most conservative schooling reform into regulation. By the passage of AR LEARNS, Arkansas will likely be a blueprint for the nation,” Alexa Henning, the communications director for Huckabee Sanders, stated. 

“It raises instructor pay, empowers dad and mom, and offers our college students the talents to achieve life. Each child ought to have entry to a high quality schooling and a path to paying job and higher life proper right here in Arkansas,” Henning stated.

STATES PASS UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE AMID PARENTAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: ‘TEACHERS UNIONS AWAKENED SLEEPING GIANT’

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Arkansas is the newest of the Republican-led states to cross faculty alternative laws, turning into the fifth state to cross common faculty alternative. The laws handed the Republican-held Arkansas State Legislature on Tuesday afternoon and can head to Huckabee Sanders’ desk for her signature.

Senate Invoice 294, also called “Arkansas LEARNS,” handed 26-8, marking the newest win for varsity alternative. 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders indicators into regulation an schooling overhaul invoice on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, on the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Picture/Andrew DeMillo)

The Arkansas laws will broaden faculty alternative and features a plan for the state to undertake common alternative by the 2025-2026 faculty yr. The invoice will regularly present vouchers by way of “Training Freedom Accounts,” which equal 90% of funding allotted per scholar to every public faculty district within the earlier yr. 

“It is greater than simply tackling faculty alternative, it is about taking a complete strategy to our schooling system right here in Arkansas. I frankly am bored with seeing our state on the backside on the subject of our efficiency and our outcomes,” Huckabee Sanders informed Fox Information Digital. 

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UTAH GOVERNOR SIGNS MAJOR EDUCATION FUNDING BILL, BECOMING THIRD STATE TO ENSHRINE SCHOOL CHOICE INTO LAW

Shortly after delivering the response to the SOTU tackle, Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., introduced a common faculty alternative proposal that will be unprecedented laws within the state.

Huckabee Sanders’ proposal consists of schooling reform measures like schooling freedom accounts and a “three-year, phased-in strategy to fund college students” that may present common alternative for all households by 2025-2026.

The proposal would additionally prohibit a restrict on the variety of constitution colleges allowed to function and the variety of faculty alternative transfers a scholar can use. Different items of the proposal entail boosting instructor pay, offering incentives for instructor efficiency, and banning “important race idea and indoctrination.” 

Reacting to Huckabee Sanders’ proposal, American Federation for Kids senior fellow Corey DeAngelis informed Fox Information Digital that “Arkansas is now the fifth authorities faculty monopoly domino to fall in simply two years.”

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“We’re releasing households from the clutches of the lecturers unions as soon as and for all – and there is nothing they’ll do about it,” DeAngelis stated.

Speaker of the Florida House Paul Renner announced the "largest" school choice legislation in the state had been filed Thursday.

Speaker of the Florida Home Paul Renner introduced the “largest” faculty alternative laws within the state had been filed Thursday.

IOWA GOV KIM REYNOLDS SIGNS HISTORIC SCHOOL CHOICE BILL: ‘WE WILL FUND STUDENTS NOT SYSTEMS’

Final yr, Arizona grew to become the primary state within the nation to cross schooling scholarship accounts, increasing this system to all 1.1 million Okay-12 college students within the state. Different purple states have now adopted go well with in pushing faculty alternative laws.

The latest instance of main faculty alternative laws being handed occurred when Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, R., established scholarship accounts on behalf of all Utah Okay-12 college students to pay for “accredited schooling items and providers” beginning within the 2024-2025 faculty yr.

Widespread calls for varsity alternative and parental rights have emerged after states applied lockdown measures in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. College alternative grew to become a salient subject after the COVID-19-induced lockdowns sparked a dialog on the scope of the federal government’s authority and the kind of content material that must be taught to kids from public faculty curricula. 

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks while delivering the Republican response to President Biden's State of the Union address in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Biden tonight vowed to not allow the US to default on its debt, calling on Congress to raise the debt-ceiling and chastising Republicans seeking to leverage the standoff to force spending cuts.  

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks whereas delivering the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union tackle in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Biden tonight vowed to not enable the US to default on its debt, calling on Congress to boost the debt-ceiling and chastising Republicans searching for to leverage the standoff to power spending cuts.   (Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)

Republican governors made vital inroads in pushing common faculty alternative laws, which didn’t exist wherever within the nation a yr in the past. As of now, 5 states handed common faculty alternative. 

College alternative, or offering all households with alternate options to the general public colleges they’re zoned for, may be expanded by way of a number of avenues on the state degree, together with faculty voucher packages, tax-credit scholarship packages, particular person tuition tax credit score packages and deductions, and schooling financial savings accounts (ESAs). Constitution colleges, magnet colleges, and homeschooling are additionally types of faculty alternative packages.





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Arkansas

WH art teacher recognized by state | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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WH art teacher recognized by state | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


Susie Maynard was named Arkansas Elementary Art Teacher of the Year for 2023-24, but the White Hall School District instructor is quick to give credit to her coworkers.

“The only thing that sets me apart is that I have the best team,” Maynard said Tuesday. “That’s what makes me so good is the team. We have the best art team.”

The team puts together a district-wide art show every year at the White Hall Community Center featuring drawings, paintings, sculptures and more.

“We try to include every avenue of art,” Maynard said.

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Maynard was acknowledged for her award at a WHSD board meeting. Arkansas Art Educators presented the honor to Maynard during the fall semester.

Maynard teaches kindergarten through fifth grades at Moody and Hardin elementaries. She has taught in the WHSD for at least 15 years and also spent a year in the Little Rock School District.

She values giving students a chance to problem-solve and think for themselves.

“I don’t feel like they have enough of that, and art is such a great avenue for them to make their own decisions, to make their mistakes and figure out, how do I solve this mistake?” she said. “How do I turn it into something really cool?”

Before approaching those questions, students do learn the basics from Maynard.

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“We teach how to use the paintbrush, how to hold your pencil, how to draw different shapes and how to put it together, and then the student picks it up and carries it from there,” she said.

Other teachers nominated Maynard for the award and the AAE board decided on the winner, she said. Despite such a prestigious honor, she remains humble.

“I don’t think I stand out,” Maynard started, “but I …”

“Yes, she does,” Debbie Jones interjected. Jones is the assistant superintendent for curriculum. “There is creativity that she brings to the table, and it’s also opportunity for students to explore within their art.”

Maynard remarked: “She explains that best.”

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Fed report: Arkansas’ economic expansion continued in December | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Fed report: Arkansas’ economic expansion continued in December | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


Arkansas’ economic expansion continued in the last months of 2024 and positions the state to continue building momentum as the year opens, according to a regional economic analysis released Wednesday.

Nevertheless, rising prices could hinder growth and business executives are worried about persisting inflation and the potential economic hurdles that tariff increases could create. Christmas holiday sales were uplifting, coming in better than expected and brightening the outlook for 2025.

Sales were helped by a late Thanksgiving that fueled a spending spree and delivered a kickstart to the year, the Federal Reserve Bank reported Wednesday in its Beige Book economic analysis. The report covers 12 regional districts, including Arkansas and surrounding states in the St. Louis district.

“Retailers in our district indicated that December sales were stronger than in previous years,” Charles Gascon, the Fed economist for the Arkansas region, said Wednesday.

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Diggs '100% cleared' for big return to Arkansas lineup

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Diggs '100% cleared' for big return to Arkansas lineup


Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn gave a long-awaited update Wednesday on the status of senior outfielder Kendall Diggs, who suffered a torn labrum during the 2024 season.

Diggs, who exited a game against McNeese State in March with the injury, was hitting .357 at the time before finishing the year with a lowly .229 batting average.

It seems, after an offseason of recovery, the SEC veteran is on track for a major return for the Diamond Hogs.

“He’s 100% cleared to do everything now,” Van Horn said Wednesday. “Now, it’s all about timing at the plate. Getting that bat speed back that he’s had in the past. Seeing live pitching and just feeling confident…now it’s not about him being part of the team, because he’s going to be a big part of the team. It’s just a matter of how soon. We know what he can do when he’s full-go.”

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A 6-foot-0, 210-pound lefty hitter from Olathe, Kansas, Diggs was named to the All-SEC Second Team in 2023 after slashing .299/.436/.547 with 12 home runs and a team-high 63 RBIs.

“You look at what (Kendall) has done in the past, he played 50-some games last year with major tears,” Van Horn said. “He’s swinging the bat, he’s going to hit live pitching tomorrow. When I say live pitching, not just batting practice, we’re talking live pitching. So, we’ll see how that goes. He’s a little bit behind, but he’ll get there.”

Even after his 2024 injury, many expected Diggs to be selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, and his return gave Arkansas another competitive piece in a loaded outfield full of transfer portal additions.

“He’s stronger than ever, even with the shoulder injury,” Van Horn said. “He’s had a chance to work on his lower half and he’s a full-grown man now. It’s time to go, and I think he’s excited about being out there.”

The Razorbacks will open their season Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

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