Senate Education Committee backs LEARN Act after hours of testimony and calls for fixes

Senate Bill 294, known as the LEARN Act, won a do-pass recommendation from the Senate Education Committee after more than two hours of public testimony and debate. Sponsor Senator Davis closed the hearing by saying the bill represents “the single largest investment in public schools in Arkansas’s history,” then moved that the committee give the measure a do-pass recommendation; Senator Dodson seconded the motion and the chair called a voice vote before announcing, “the ayes have it.”

The hearing drew a steady stream of parents, classroom teachers and education advocates who praised some elements of the bill—most prominently a proposed $50,000 starting salary—but urged the Legislature to slow the process and fix multiple details. “I ask you today to let’s postpone this vote for a little while for everybody to come together and let’s fix it,” said Dustin Parsons, a 12-year classroom teacher who testified in opposition to rushing enactment. Several witnesses urged retaining due-process protections in the Fair Teacher Dismissal Act and pressed sponsors for clearer protections and support for students with disabilities.

Carol Fleming, president of the Arkansas Education Association, said the LEARN Act includes programs the association supports—Pre-K, literacy enrichment, school safety and interventions—but flagged missing details on access for students with special needs and on compensation for veteran educators and classified staff. “Raising the starting pay is a good beginning, but we need to consider how districts are going to compensate experienced and highly educated teachers,” Fleming said.

Other witnesses described personal experiences that they said show why school-choice options are necessary for some families. Jennifer Hood, whose youngest child was diagnosed with autism, said a private school program provided services her local public school could not: “My son got to go on a field trip for the first time, and I’m so grateful for that.” Olivia Gardner of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families praised the proposed starting salary but warned that the bill’s voucher-style Educational Freedom Accounts and repeal of the Fair Teacher Dismissal Act could drain resources from public schools and reduce accountability for privately operated programs.

Committee members spent substantial time probing technical and legal edges of the bill. Senators asked whether payments to schools would follow students on a quarterly basis and what would happen when a child leaves a charter or private program midyear; sponsors said the bill contemplates quarterly payments so money would not be paid to a school indefinitely if a student leaves. Lawmakers also raised a procedural concern: the bill includes an emergency clause and will require extensive departmental rulemaking, which several senators warned could place the Department of Education “in a real crunch.”

Several senators said they expect to work with the House on a single, consolidated amendment package. Senator Hammer said she would support the bill while publicly urging a clear commitment that a set of technical fixes—including language on the Fair Teacher Dismissal Act, private-school expectations and retirement-system analysis—be addressed in amendments. Senator Lehi and others pressed the sponsors to use the time available in session to tighten language in the Senate before sending the bill to the House.

The committee’s action was procedural: it recommended the bill advance with the expectation of further amendments and rulemaking. The transcript records a voice vote and the chair’s announcement that the ayes prevailed; the record does not include a roll-call tally. The sponsor and departmental staff committed to continue gathering stakeholder feedback and to work through rulemaking and statutory clarifications in consultation with House and Senate members.

Next steps: with the committee’s do-pass recommendation, the LEARN Act moves through the legislative process where House consideration and drafting of amendments are expected. Sponsors and staff said they will continue to accept feedback as language is refined.