Arkansas
U.S. judge delays ruling on Arkansas' motion to dismiss LEARNS Act lawsuit • Arkansas Advocate
A federal judge on Friday postponed a final decision on most of Arkansas’ motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the “indoctrination” portion of the governor’s education overhaul law.
In a 60-page order issued shortly before 5 p.m., Judge Lee Rudofsky of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock said he was holding most of the state’s dismissal motion “in abeyance.”
But he granted the part of the motion involving the plaintiffs’ claims that Section 16 of the LEARNS Act on its face violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. He directed the plaintiffs and defendants to submit additional briefs on whether Section 16 as it is applied is discriminatory.
Little Rock Central High School parents, students and teachers filed the lawsuit in March against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Education Secretary Jacob Oliva.
One of the plaintiffs, Ruthie Walls, teaches AP African American Studies, a course that received scrutiny after Sanders signed an executive order banning “indoctrination” on her first day in office.
Similar language was later incorporated into the LEARNS Act. The state education department abruptly removed a pilot version of the AP course from its list of approved courses days before the start of the 2023-2024 school year last August.
Attorneys for the state and plaintiffs argued their case regarding the motion to dismiss in an October hearing that ended without a ruling from the judge.
Walls said after October’s hearing that, while the course is now fully accredited and students are earning AP credit for completion, she struggles to provide students with detailed explanations of the “fast and rich” curriculum because she isn’t sure what falls under the state’s definition of Critical Race Theory, one of the subjects included in the anti-indoctrination provision.
Rudofsky issued a narrowly tailored preliminary injunction in May preventing the state from enforcing the provision of the LEARNS Act that proscribes what can be taught in certain courses regarding race, gender and sexuality. The state appealed that injunction to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has decided it wants to hear oral arguments. A hearing date has not been set.
Under the preliminary injunction Rudofsky granted in May, Arkansas teachers can discuss Critical Race Theory, but they may be disciplined for “[compelling a] student to adopt, affirm, or profess a belief in a theory, ideology or idea (including Critical Race Theory) that conflicts with the principle of equal protection under the law.”
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Reasons for delaying
Rudofsky’s rationale in holding off on ruling on most of the state’s motion to dismiss involves waiting for the appeals court to resolve what he describes as unsettled legal questions regarding the free speech rights of teachers and students in a classroom setting.
Much of his Friday order deals with whether the plaintiffs made compelling arguments for their claims that the LEARNS Act’s anti-indoctrination provision on its face violates the equal protection clause and affects African Americans disproportionately.
“If discussing the idea and history of Critical Race Theory is allowed — and only compelling a student to believe in Critical Race Theory is prohibited — the Court struggles to understand how anyone is adversely impacted,” Rudofsky wrote in one part of his analysis.
The judge cites differing interpretations of the 14th Amendment’s anti-discrimination provisions in his reasoning on granting that part of the state’s motion to dismiss.
“Many Americans of good faith strongly believe that the answers to the racial problems we face as a country lie in governmental and societal color-blindness,” he wrote.
Treating people differently based on race is morally and often constitutionally abhorrent to such Americans, he says, and they believe suggesting that racism affects every part of society “makes racial problems worse, not better.”
Other Americans of good faith, however, “strongly believe otherwise,” he wrote.
“To these Americans,” he says, “the answers to our racial problems lie, at least partially, in recognizing that race often matters, that certain groups (including African Americans) have long been discriminated against by both government and private society, and that active measures are necessary to rectify past injustices and present inequality.”
These citizens see treating people differently based on race as “often morally and constitutionally acceptable or even obligatory,” Rudofsky wrote. And they see an emphasis “on racial identity, systemic racism and unconscious bias” as necessary to dealing with the historic effects of racism, he added.
“These Americans see color-blindness as a pretense that reinforces racial inequality by refusing to confront systemic racism and unconscious bias. They believe there is a ‘legal and practical difference between the use of race-conscious’ measures to harm (or exclude) disfavored groups and the use of such measures to help (or include) them,” the judge wrote.
In adopting the LEARNS Act, “a majority of elected lawmakers seem to hold the colorblind view,” he wrote. The plaintiffs seem to contend that applying the colorblind view to legislation “is tantamount to discriminatory intent or purpose.”
“It is not,” Rudofsky wrote. “Plaintiffs may not like the colorblind view. Plaintiffs may think that those who hold this view are wrong or ignorant or even naïve. But that’s a world away from intentional discrimination.”
The facts presented by the plaintiffs don’t allow him to reasonably infer that “discriminatory intent or purpose was a motivating factor in the enactment of the LEARNS Act’s anti-indoctrination provision,” he wrote in dismissing the plaintiffs’ facial equal protection claims.
Friday’s order gives defendants until Jan. 31 to file additional briefs on their motion to dismiss limited to the plaintiffs’ Equal Protection claims regarding the anti-indoctrination provision as it has been applied. Plaintiffs’ briefs on the issue are due Feb. 28, and the defendants’ reply brief on March 14.
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Oklahoma put their best foot forward in the second game of their three-game series against No. 17 Arkansas. A great effort was undone by a late eighth inning collapse.
After getting run ruled in the first game on Friday, OU responded with gritty play but fell 12-8 in a loss to Arkansas, dropping the series. The No. 24 Sooners gave their best effort from the mound and the plate, but couldn’t overcome mistakes.
Cameron Johnson had a day he’d like to forget. Only 2.1 innings of play with three strike outs and four runs off two hits. Despite the lackadaisical play from the mound, OU was able to rebound with hitting and pitching from the bullpen.
Deiten LaChance got things rolling with a single shot in the first inning with two outs. The momentum was short lived as the Razorbacks came to life at the plate.
A single home run and a two-run home run took the lead back for the home team in the second inning. Johnson lost a bit of control from the mound and Arkansas took advantage.
Oklahoma was able to regain control in the third when Camden Johnson grounded out with one out, but Connor Larkin was able to score to cut the Razorback lead at 3-2. OU would have a runner at third but Jaxon Willits flied out to center field to end the Sooners’ chances at tying the game.
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Oklahoma continued to fight despite Arkansas taking advantage of Sooner mistakes.
A fielder’s choice in the third inning increased the Razorback lead to 4-2 — but OU would answer in the fourth.
Dasan Harris hit a solo home run in the fourth with nobody on and two outs, the second time the Sooners were able to salvage a situation with a run. The inning ended shortly thereafter, denying OU the chance to tie.
Another fielder’s choice resulted in a Razorback run to round out the fourth inning. At 5-3, it seemed like anything Oklahoma would do, Arkansas would answer right back.
OU was able to navigate out of a sticky situation in the fifth with runners in scoring position. Xander Mercurius and Kadyn Leon were able to strike out two Razorback betters to keep the score at 5-3.
But just when it seemed like things were going the way of the home team, Kyle Branch — one of the more clutch player in the lineup — hit a two-run homer in the sixth, scoring Harris to tie the game at five a piece.
It was LaChance again in the seventh inning, this time a double into right center — Johnson and Jason Walk scored to put the Sooners ahead for good. At 7-5, OU had the wind at their backs.
Harris had it going once againt to give the Sooners insurance in the eighth. Heading to the plate to lead off, Harris hammered a solo shot into right field to increase the lead to 8-5 in favor of Oklahoma. From there, OU went 1-2-3, but the damage was done.
Kuhio Aloy was able to cut into the Sooner lead in the bottom of the eighth with an error on Willits, scoring a Razorback runner.
Arkansas wasn’t done. Two back-to-back RBIs tied the game at eight a piece. Seven hits, six runs in total in the eighth doomed Oklahoma.
Oklahoma and Arkansas will meet for the third game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
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CONWAY, Ark. – Three months after Friends of Arkansas PBS formed to try to preserve PBS programming in the Natural State, it now looks like a legitimate possibility. After a whirlwind few months, Carlton Wing, CEO & Executive Director of Arkansas TV, is ready for any outcome.
Wing, since taking over the role around six months ago, has spearheaded a rebrand and the disaffiliation from PBS, which was set to take place at the end of June.
The dues cost Arkansas TV $2.5 million a year, and with that cost, they felt they couldn’t stay afloat after federal funding cuts, while retaining PBS programming.
In turn, they became the first state to say they’d end the partnership.
“Whatever politics happened, happened way above us in Washington D.C., we have to deal with the financial realities of how we keep public television alive,” Wing said.
He said they immediately entered into emergency budgeting, attempting to get the network out of the red. A grim financial outlook at the time from his perspective.
“The financial realities are there, and we have to deal with that financial reality regardless of one of our providers of public television content,” Wing said.
When the announcement gained traction, a group, spearheaded by former first ladies of Arkansas Barbara Pryor and Gay White, formed to try and keep PBS alive.
“We recognize that there’s a lot of emotions tied to anything that we like,” Wing said.
Friends of Arkansas PBS gained enough eyeballs to bring top PBS executives, including CEO Paula Kerger, to the state.
“Well, you have to understand what they’re doing when they come is they’re trying to protect that paycheck that has come from Arkansas for decades now,” Wing said.
The momentum was enough to get the Arkansas Public Television Commission to vote to pause the disaffiliation until their next quarterly meeting, creating a window for funds to be raised in the meantime.
Since a pledge of $1 million a year for the next three years coming from an anonymous donor, along with the Arkansas TV Foundation creating a separate dues fund, that’s allowed them to commit to $1.5 million a year as well over the next three.
While Wing has helped the station plan to increase local programming from 5% to 30%, that won’t change, but things may have to be arranged now that they’re closing in on the funds needed to retain PBS.
“People recognized this is a very real situation and stepped up to be able to make that happen. We’re not quite there yet, but everything is heading in the right direction. There’s still money that needs to be raised,” Wing said.
He has maintained his stance throughout, while conversations may be political above him, this decision is strictly fiscal on his and the station’s end.
“I have said many times that people have tried to make this a red vs blue issue. It’s all about green and about whether you operate in the black or red,” Wing said.
Wing has said that despite being painted as his opposition, his relationship with Pryor and White is far from that.
“My wife and I went and had lunch with them just a couple of weeks ago, and they’re so excited to be involved with a cause,” Wing said.
He was also adamant that he doesn’t have some form of vendetta against PBS; in fact, it’s played a pivotal role in helping his own daughter, who’s set to graduate with an MBA from the University of Chicago soon.
“PBS played a very vital role in her enthusiastically learning how to read. Yes we absolutely want that, we just have to be able to afford it because I can’t jeopardize the whole network to be able to pay for one provider of public television,” Wing said.
Still, the commission would need to vote to approve resuming the partnership, a vote that would be held at the next quarterly meeting on June 4th.
“I’m hesitant to predict because I don’t know what’s going to happen between now and that meeting,” Wing said on the vote.
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