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Higher education bill receives initial approval from Arkansas lawmakers

Published

6 months ago

March 11, 2025

Staff Editor

arkansasadvocate.com – Antoinette Grajeda – 2025-03-11 01:00:00

Higher education bill receives initial approval from Arkansas lawmakers

by Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
March 11, 2025

Arkansas lawmakers on Monday advanced legislation that would overhaul the state’s higher education system by making changes to its funding model, scholarships, course credits and the admissions process, among other things.

The Joint Education Committee debated Arkansas ACCESS for more than five hours Monday. The legislation was filed as two identical bills in the House and Senate last month.

While lawmakers voiced support for initiatives such as doubling the first-year Arkansas Academic Challenge award from $1,000 to $2,000, there was bipartisan pushback on other provisions, most notably a prohibition on granting excused absences to public school students who participate in political protests or attempts to influence legislation or other governmental policymaking.

Committee members said they were concerned this would take away local control and educational opportunities. Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio, said she was worried this would prevent students, like one that helped her present a Holocaust-related bill in committee in 2021, from participating in the lawmaking process.

Little Rock Central High students protest alumna Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ legislative agenda

Senate sponsor Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, said students aren’t banned from participating in such events, it would just be noted as an unexcused absence. Vaught said that could negatively impact their education because generally students aren’t allowed to make up work they missed without an unexcused absence.

House sponsor Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, said student protests have been an issue across the country, and the provision places an emphasis on going to school to learn.

“They are there to get an education, and they’re not there to have a teacher push them into some type of advocacy or political protest or in some type of attempt to influence legislation,” Shepherd said. “Again, the concern is that who decides what is appropriate for that student to advocate for or not? I think we’re doing our school districts a favor by including this because students are there to learn.”

Little Rock Central High School student Ava Kate White said she opted to miss school to testify against Arkansas ACCESS Monday because it may be her last opportunity to do so and not be labeled truant.

The “aspiring journalist” argued the 123-page bill “further suppresses the voices of the youth” and would pave the way for more harmful laws. She urged lawmakers to look at the statue of the Little Rock Nine on the Capitol grounds as they considered the impacts of the proposed legislation.

“They did not make history by letting themselves be silenced,” White said. “They did not make lasting impacts on the world by giving up when they were denied their rights. These nine brave individuals changed society before they were even of age to vote.”

Democratic Party of Arkansas Chair Grant Tennille speaks in opposition to Arkansas ACCESS at a press conference outside the state Capitol on March 10, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

When the committee meeting resumed late Monday afternoon following a midday recess, the bills’ sponsors presented an amendment that still prohibits excused absences for political protests, but permits public schools to allow excused absences for social or public policy advocacy or attempts to influence legislation or other governmental policymaking with written parental consent.

School districts would be required to provide an annual report by June 30 to the education department that includes absences requested and granted, and purposes for the absences.

The Joint Education Committee adopted the amendment, which members of the public noted did not amend the section of the legislation that would still prohibit these excused absences for college students at state-supported institutions of higher education.

The committee also adopted another amendment that would allow a new scholarship program for concurrent credit courses to apply to virtual courses. Republican lawmakers voiced concern that the original proposal to restrict funds to in-person instruction would negatively affect rural schools that often rely on virtual instruction.

Dismang said he shared those concerns, but said the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of in-person learning. The bills’ sponsors said the issue was brought to their attention over the weekend, which is why they had an amendment ready to present Monday morning.

Stakeholder voices

Arkansas ACCESS would also change the composition and size of a variety of boards and committees. In response to questions by lawmakers about why groups like the Arkansas Education Association and the Rural Ed Association were removed from their positions on various boards, Dismang said the bill eliminates “without bias” entities that were not statutorily created. The bill allows for the appointment of other stakeholders not specifically identified in legislation, he said, so adding these groups could be included that way.

Bills flesh out Arkansas governor’s higher-education overhaul proposal

Sen. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, who said Arkansas ACCESS is a “real-life example” of why inclusion and diversity are necessary in conversations, asked if anyone from the Legislature’s minority party was involved in the development of the bill before it was filed.

“As a legislator, I had discussions with a number of individuals, primarily related to higher education [with] differing backgrounds,” Shepherd said. “I don’t know what their political affiliations may have been. You may not like the answer…”

“No, no, you’re gaming me, [Rep.] Shepherd,” Murdock said. “That’s not right what you’re doing now. No, we ain’t going to do that.”

The exchange prompted cheers and applause from the crowd, which committee chairman Rep. Keith Brooks, R-Little Rock, said could not continue.

Most Republicans probably didn’t see the bill until it was filed last month, Shepherd said, but since then, conversations have continued and input has been asked for.

“And then we came back and filed an amendment to it,” he said. “You may not like the answer, you may not like the answer, but the fact is that we took a lot of time and effort. You may not like what’s in the bill, but don’t demean the process and don’t demean us as far as the work that we do.”

Part of the bill that some have raised concerns about is a section focused on “rejecting discrimination and indoctrination in postsecondary education.” Daisy Onoriobe, a Philander Smith University student who attended a press conference opposing Arkansas ACCESS outside the Capitol Monday, said it’s “extremely unclear” how the bill’s provision will affect Arkansas colleges.

“How does this affect student organizations, scholarships and support centers for women,” Onoriobe asked. “Can staff tell students to stop making racist comments? How does this affect hiring diverse liaisons for colleges? Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are not a problem. They’re good for Arkansas.”

Inside the committee room, Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, D-Springdale, said she’s heard concerns from higher ed employees who are also worried about the bill’s DEI language.

“I think it’s unintentional, but I think it’s having a chilling effect,” she said.

Shepherd said he didn’t think the bill would have that effect, noting that the bill’s specific reference to DEI concerns the accreditation process, a section that Shepherd said was amended at institutions’ request.

“We’re not trying to chill the discussion of legitimate topics within the curriculum of a class,” he said. “…We’re trying to provide those protections and also we tried to give a lot of thought to make sure that this language applies even-handedly across the board, regardless of what may be the viewpoint of the day or what may be the political whims at that point in time.”

Both bills, which were voted on separately by members of the House and Senate, passed on split voice votes.

Reporter Tess Vrbin contributed to this story.

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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post Higher education bill receives initial approval from Arkansas lawmakers appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Hackett student arrested after shooting threat

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-09-02 17:15:16

SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.

Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.

Published

14 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Staff Editor

arkansasadvocate.com – Jennifer Shutt – 2025-09-02 07:40:00

by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025

WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.

Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.

But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.

The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.

President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.

“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.

“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.

“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.

“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”

Another failure

Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.

The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.

The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.

The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.

The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.

Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.

The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.

Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.

Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”

Last shutdown stretched 35 days

It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.

A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.

The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.

Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.

Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.

Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.

Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.

On to the stopgap

Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.

That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.

So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.

Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.

Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.

Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.

Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.

The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.

The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Arkansas Fall forecast: Warmer temperatures and drier conditions expected as drought persists

Published

1 day ago

September 1, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-09-01 11:27:47

SUMMARY: Arkansas is expected to experience a cooler and more fall-like September, starting meteorological fall on September 1st. The last week of August was among the coolest on record, and early September will continue with below-average temperatures. A cold front later next week will bring further cooling, making the second weekend of football season comfortable. Mid-September temperatures will remain fairly mild, with highs dropping from mid-80s to mid-70s in Northwest Arkansas and from low 90s to low 80s in the River Valley by month’s end. Fall colors should appear earlier than last year, likely peaking from late October to early November.