Arkansas becomes fifth state with broad K-12 choice

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed SB 294, the Arkansas Learns Act, which has previously passed the Arkansas Senate. The bill will require Senate concurrence and then will be off to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The bill will substantially increase public school teacher pay and create the Education Freedom Account program. The omnibus bill includes an emergency clause and will go into effect June 30.

This move leaps Arkansas far ahead of the six bordering states on private choice, at least for now. Which state will be next to go green on the map? Stay tuned to this channel.


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BY Matthew Ladner

Matthew Ladner is executive editor of NextSteps. He has written numerous studies on school choice, charter schools and special education reform, and his articles have appeared in Education Next; the Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice; and the British Journal of Political Science. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received a master's degree and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Houston. He lives in Phoenix with his wife and three children.

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