LEARNS Act lawsuit cited in State Board of Education takeover of Marvell-Elaine School District

With the Marvell-Elaine School District’s status uncertain because of a lawsuit over the LEARNS Act, the Arkansas State Board of Education voted Friday (July 7) to permanently remove the Marvell-Elaine school board and superintendent and have the Department of Education administer the district.

State Board members voted to dissolve the school board and remove the superintendent, Dr. Katina Ray, who had been the district’s superintendent since July 2022. Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva will appoint an individual in her place to administratively operate the district under his supervision.

The district is no longer operating under a transformation contract with the Friendship Education Foundation, but one could be created once the LEARNS Act takes effect no later than Aug. 1.

Oliva said the department’s intention is to work in the district the next few weeks and move forward on its relationship with Friendship to start Aug. 1.

The district has been categorized as being in Level 5 – Intensive Support, meaning it was most in need of academic support. In November, the State Board voted to consolidate Marvell-Elaine with a neighboring district because of its low enrollment numbers and poor academic performance.

In April, it was put under state control with the local school board put into an advisory capacity. Meanwhile, the State Board directed the department to pursue a transformation contract with an outside entity, which ended up being Friendship.

The contract was made possible because of a provision in the LEARNS Act, the comprehensive education reform law passed by legislators and signed by Gov. Sarah Sanders earlier this year.

But the LEARNS Act has been in a state of flux due to legal action, and therefore so has the Marvell-Elaine School District.

Legislators passed the LEARNS Act and its emergency clause simultaneously. A group of Marvell-Elaine residents along with education advocates sued, arguing that doing so violated the Arkansas Constitution, which they said requires the votes on the measure and its emergency clause to be separate votes.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herbert Wright placed a temporary restraining order on enforcing the law during a preliminary hearing. The Arkansas Supreme Court lifted that restraining order June 15. On June 30, Wright ruled the emergency clause unconstitutional, meaning LEARNS wouldn’t be in effect until Aug. 1, and the contract with Friendship is null and void. The state has appealed the ruling to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the matter.

In the meantime, Deputy Commissioner Stacy Smith told the Board of Education that preparations for the new school year, which starts in August, have been put on pause. Friendship began preparing to administer the school in May but had to stop because of the court activities.

“What are our policies? What are our salary schedules? What is our calendar? Who is the staff? What’s the bus route? Who’s providing us our meals? Like, those decisions, today, for this district are not decided because what we were working towards is null and void,” Smith said. “So if the state is to move forward, we need the full authority to be able to make the decisions and go.”

She recommended the state assume full authority over the district, dissolve the superintendent and school board, and then look to enter into a transformation contract with Friendship or another entity after LEARNS goes into effect Aug. 1.

Smith said preparing for the school year will be a “very difficult situation” but must continue. The district has more than 190 students enrolled for the next school year – down from more than 320 last year. Many of the rest have transferred to neighboring districts.

Friendship had taken actions prior to the first temporary restraining order and is continuing to show an interest. It is hosting a community event this weekend for which it won’t be paid.

In brief remarks, Ray said her interest is the children, and she would like to remain.

The next regularly scheduled State Board meeting is July 13.

Calling the legal delay “a politically motivated lawsuit,”

Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said the state action was taken to do what the state can to reduce putting Marvell-Elaine students further behind.

“At the April board meeting in Marvell, community members overwhelmingly expressed their desire for the district to remain open,” Oliva said. “It’s unfortunate that a frivolous, politically motivated lawsuit is interfering with the department’s efforts to carry out the wishes of the school and local community. Every day that passes that delays enactment, student learning is in jeopardy.”

A statement from CAPES (Citizens for Public Education and Students), which is a party to the plaintiffs in the LEARNS litigation and is pushing a referendum petition to seek a repeal of the law, said the failure in Marvell-Elaine rests with the state education department.

“The LEARNS Act was created by special interest, out-of-state groups and passed without input from the People. The People of Arkansas have a Constitutional right to demand redress through the veto referendum process. The government officials elected by us consistently go against the will of the People and make that process harder. They don’t follow the rules or procedures, and then they attack those who ask for accountability. These elitists plan to starve our public schools of resources and give tax breaks to their wealthy friends and donors, all while hoarding a billion dollars of surplus in the state’s coffers,” the group’s statement said.

“The decision made by the State Board of Education today puts the burden of supporting the Marvell Elaine School District (MESD) back into the hands of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). ADE’s decades-long failure to provide the resources and support MESD needed, along with their intent to sell off the management of the district to an outside group, provides the incentive for ADE to fail more districts in our state. And they will. As CAPES works to collect signatures to let the People decide if the LEARNS Act is best for Arkansas, we ask that everyone do their part by signing the petition. Let ADE, the Arkansas Legislature, and the governor know our communities and our public schools are NOT for sale,” CAPES statement said.