Education Bills Get Support In House, Senate

The legislature approved several education-related bills Thursday, looking at K-12 and higher education.

Meanwhile, the House Education Committee approved a bill that would allow school boards to decide on advertising on school buses.

HIGHER EDUCATION TASK FORCE ADVANCES
The House voted 89-0 Thursday to approve a plan for a 12-member legislative task force to look at realigning the higher education system in the state.

The bill, House Bill 1581, was sponsored by House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia. Gillam told the House Thursday that the idea for the task force came after working last summer and fall on the issue.

He said he met with education officials and House members to get feedback and the state faces different priorities now.

If approved, the task force would study the issue until Nov. 1, 2016. From there, a report would be put together showing the pros and cons of realigning the system.

The education debate has changed in the state in recent years, Gillam told the House.

Gillam mentioned that in his first term in office, the main focus on education in the state was getting more college graduates.

Now, he said there has been a push to develop workforce training programs in the state.

Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, has sponsored four bills to revamp and reform the state’s workforce education programs.

Among the reforms involve getting feedback from industry leaders on particular needs as well as having each community college in the state compete for funding specific programs.

Gillam’s bill now heads to the Senate.

WAIVER BILL GETS SENATE APPROVAL
The Senate voted 22-0 Thursday to approve an education bill that supporters say would reward school districts who face consolidation under state law.

House Bill 1263, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs and Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, would allow school districts under 350 students to ask for a waiver from the state Board of Education.

At a House Education Committee meeting last month, Cozart said the district would have to provide information on its average daily membership, proof that the district is not facing any probationary status on standards, a copy of the district’s budget for the year, a copy of a fiscal audit over a two-year period and a statement that the district is not in academic, fiscal or facility distress.

Lawmakers set a 350-student limit after debate happened in the aftermath of the Lake View school funding lawsuit in 2003.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that education was a right found in the state’s Constitution and ordered lawmakers to come up with a solution.

However, in the past, lawmakers have said the 350-student rule has harmed rural districts like the former Weiner School District.

Cozart told the committee that the district had great test scores and good finances, but was caught in the 350-number.

The district was later annexed into the Harrisburg School District.

The House voted 95-0 Monday to approve the bill.

SCHOOL BUS ADVERTISING BILL PASSES
A bill from Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, got the go-ahead Thursday from the House Education Committee.

The committee approved House Bill 1495, which would permit school boards to allow for advertising on school buses, as long as it meets the requirements established by the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.

Douglas told the committee that the rule would help school districts bring in much needed revenue. Under the bill, any revenue generated from the ads could be used for school transportation purposes only as determined by the school board.

The bill now goes to the full House.