Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES) began filing ballot language for a proposed veto referendum with the Arkansas attorney general in May after the Arkansas State Legislature adjourned its 2023 legislative session. After two previous attempts were rejected, Attorney General Tim Griffin certified the ballot language submitted by CAPES. The ballot title contains 8,154 words and spans 16 pages. Griffin noted it was the longest ballot title in Arkansas history.
CAPES is seeking to place a veto referendum on the November 2024 ballot to repeal the LEARNS Act, an education bill supported by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R). The 145-page bill was designed to make various changes to education in the state. The acronym, LEARNS, stands for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking, and school safety. Changes made by the bill include:
- creating the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program, which is designed to allow parents or legal guardians of students to opt-out of public schools, receive 90% of what the state would have funded the district for the student, and spend the funds on private school tuition or other eligible education expenses;
- raising the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $50,000;
- requiring the Department of Education to review materials that would, according to the bill, “indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory,” and other materials that would be defined as prohibited indoctrination;
- prohibiting sexual education before fifth grade;
- expanding high-speed internet access;
- expanding career exploration in schools;
- repealing the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, which required school districts to notify teachers of dismissal before May 1 of each year.
