House Bill 1830 pulled from committee for revision after members question scope and named legal defender
April 12, 2021 | EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Arkansas
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The committee considered House Bill 1830, a proposal to prohibit discrimination against students expressing religious viewpoints, but members elected to pull the bill down for further drafting after multiple questions about its language.
Senator Charles Beckham introduced the bill and said it was brought by a House sponsor who referenced a similar Texas law. Committee members asked for examples of where the problem occurred; Beckham said he did not have a specific incident and that Representative Dodson brought the measure forward.
Members raised multiple concerns: the bill’s draft names a private entity (First Liberty Institute) as the party that would prepare and present a legal defense, which several senators said was unusual statutory language; other senators questioned how the bill’s protection for student religious viewpoints would interact with teachers’ ability to grade assignments and with classroom relevance requirements. Senator Chesterfield warned the language could force teachers to accept content unrelated to assignments and said creating a required public forum at all public school events was “a bridge too far.” Senator Beckham agreed to pull the bill and work on language.
No vote on the substance was taken; the sponsor withdrew the bill for further work.
Senator Charles Beckham introduced the bill and said it was brought by a House sponsor who referenced a similar Texas law. Committee members asked for examples of where the problem occurred; Beckham said he did not have a specific incident and that Representative Dodson brought the measure forward.
Members raised multiple concerns: the bill’s draft names a private entity (First Liberty Institute) as the party that would prepare and present a legal defense, which several senators said was unusual statutory language; other senators questioned how the bill’s protection for student religious viewpoints would interact with teachers’ ability to grade assignments and with classroom relevance requirements. Senator Chesterfield warned the language could force teachers to accept content unrelated to assignments and said creating a required public forum at all public school events was “a bridge too far.” Senator Beckham agreed to pull the bill and work on language.
No vote on the substance was taken; the sponsor withdrew the bill for further work.
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