LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A group pushing to put education rights before Arkansas voters in November has re-submitted its ballot proposal to the attorney general’s office.
For AR Kids treasurer Bill Kopsky said the group had asked for an expedited review of the proposal so it has time to gather the required signatures to place it on the ballot. By state law, signature gathering can not begin until the attorney general has approved the proposal.
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This is the fourth time the group has submitted a proposal under the popular name Arkansas Education Rights Amendment of 2024. The previous submissions were rejected by Attorney General Tim Griffin due to potentially confusing language.
For AR Kids said the proposal intends to amend the Arkansas Constitution education article to include three requirements:
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Require any school receiving any amount of public funds to follow the same standards that traditional public schools are required to follow;
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Establish the minimum quality standards ordered by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2002 in its Lakeview decision; and
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Guarantee voluntary universal access to Pre-K for 3-4-year-olds, afterschool and summertime programming, quality special education, and wrap-around services for children within 200% of the federal poverty Line.
The For AR Kids Ballot Question Committee is a coalition made up of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, the Arkansas Education Association, the Citizens First Congress, and Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students, or CAPES.
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Arkansas NAACP president Barry Jefferson said the coalition had begun preparations for state-wide signature gathering.
“Volunteers across the state are already lining up to gather signatures for the petition,” Jefferson said. “We have people visiting our website, ForARKids.org, to sign up to help and find out more information.”
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The group will need to turn in 90,704 signatures by July 5 for the measure to be placed on the ballot.
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