Liberal education group CAPES has broken away from a coalition of nonprofit groups campaigning for the Right to Education Amendment, which would require private schools that accept state funding to follow the same regulations as public schools.
AR Kids, the Right to Education Amendment ballot question committee, filed a new organizational statement with the Arkansas Ethics Commission on Wednesday indicating that CAPES is no longer a coalition member of the Constitutional Amendment.
Ballot Question Committees are groups formed to support or oppose ballot initiatives that must be submitted to the Arkansas Ethics Commission. For AR Kids was founded in December to create and campaign for the Educational Rights Amendment and includes the NAACP Arkansas Conference, the Arkansas Education Association, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association, Citizens First Conference, and Stand Up Arkansas. Masu. .
Stand Up Arkansas is a new nonprofit organization founded by Steve Grappe, former executive director and co-founder of CAPES.
CAPES was a founding member of For AR Kids, but decided to sever ties with the reform movement after Grappe resigned last month, citing disagreements with leaders. CAPES stands for Arkansas Public Education and Citizens for Students.
Nancy Fancyboy, director of external communications for CAPES, said the organization is currently neutral on the proposed amendment, citing concerns about codifying state-funded private school vouchers into the Constitution. He said that he is taking
“We felt that once we put vouchers into the Constitution and codified them in the Constitution, there was no going back,” Fancyboy said in an interview. “Because we feel the Constitution is clear that public funds should not be used for private institutions.”
The education law reform bill specifically targets the Learning Act, an expansive education law signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last year that creates a universal school choice program. Under the LEARNS Act's Educational Freedom Accounts program, a student can receive her 90% of the funds the state spends per student to cover tuition for students attending private or home schools. Masu.
Private schools that choose to accept state vouchers must follow certain accreditation, assessment, and curriculum requirements, but are not subject to the same laws and regulations as public schools. This is why critics of the LEARNS Act say states should not allocate funds to private schools through vouchers.
In response, AR Kids Treasurer Bill Kopski said he disagreed with Fancy Boy's characterization of the amendment, saying the proposal was not intended to give constitutional weight to school vouchers and that the The aim is to force private schools that accept funding from the government to follow the same rules as public schools.
“Our view is against vouchers, but vouchers exist, and if vouchers exist, it's very important that they are held to an equal standard,” Kopski said. “And we don't believe that what we're doing will give them any additional constitutional protections beyond what they may already have.”
If approved, the Education Rights Amendment would also require states to provide universal preschool. Establish new minimum standards for public schools. Universal access to after-school, summer, and special education programs. Comprehensive services for students who are within her 200% of the federal poverty line.
Grapp, the former executive director of CAPES, has started a new nonprofit, Stand Up Arkansas, as a 501(c)(3) that is “doing much of the field work” for the Right to Education Amendment. He said he plans to raise it.
Grapp, who led the Arkansas Democratic Party's candidate recruitment for the 2024 election cycle, said Stand Up Arkansas will “increase citizen participation, advance direct democracy, and improve voter turnout across Arkansas.” He said it would be a bipartisan organization with the aim of
For the Education Rights Amendment to be on the November ballot, 90,704 signatures must be submitted to the Arkansas Secretary of State's Office by July 5.
