Arkansas Grassroot Coalition Announces Education Consitutional Ballot Measure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, Dec. 19, 2023
Contact: Bill Kopsky, Arkansas Public Policy Panel Executive Director | 501-658-8816 (text or call) | bill@arpanel.org
Arkansas Grassroot Coalition Announces Education Consitutional Ballot Measure
LITTLE ROCK – The grassroots coalition For AR Kids will announce a ballot measure to amend the Education clause of the Arkansas Constitution.
A coalition of now half a dozen organizations – Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Education Association (AEA), Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES), and Citizens First Congress (CFC) – will meet at noon (12 p.m.) on Thursday, Dec 21st in the Old Supreme Court Room on the second floor of the Arkansas Capitol.
The newly-formed Ballot Question Committee (BQC) named "For AR Kids" will announce its plans to place a ballot initiative on the 2024 ballot that will amend the education article of the Arkansas Constitution to:
Require any school receiving any amount of public funds to follow the same standards that traditional public schools are required to follow;
Establish the minimum quality standards ordered by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2002 in its Lakeview decision; and
Guarantee voluntary universal access to pre-K for 3-4 year olds, afterschool & summertime programming, quality special education, and wrap around services for children within 200% of the Federal Poverty Line.
The coalition includes:
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families:
The mission of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential. It serves as a voice for children at the Arkansas State Capitol and in Washington, D.C., gathers and analyzes data to support public policy that serves all children and families, and organizes coalitions of diverse groups to drive change.
Arkansas Education Association:
The Arkansas Education Association is a professional organization for teachers, education support professionals, students and advocates. Its fundamental objective is to work for quality and equitable public education for all Arkansas students, the betterment of the Arkansas state education system and quality working conditions for educators.
Arkansas Conference of the NAACP: The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel is a 501c3 that advances social and economic justice through respect for human dignity, diversity, empowerment and an inclusive, fair and transparent political process. The Panel organizes groups all over the state, helping them become effective agents of change in their communities and supports the Citizens First Congress, whose 68 member organizations represent over 32,000 Arkansans at the Capitol.
Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES): Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES) is a broad, nonpartisan movement of public school advocates. Over the past decade, teachers have borne the brunt of budget cuts, a pandemic, and the politicization of their classrooms. Instead of elevating teachers that need our help, the Arkansas legislature has chosen to defund them. This cannot stand.
Citizens First Congress is a multi-issue, non-partisan, grassroots coalition of organizations who work together for progressive changes in state policy. Coalition members come from all corners of the state and work on many different issues. At the Arkansas Legislature, the coalition members lobby together on a common agenda. They also watchdog the legislature, and lobby against threats to progressive policy.
