LITTLE ROCK - Today is a sad day for public schools, educators, students, and families in Arkansas. The Senate Education Committee advanced Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s LEARNS bill fewer than 48 hours after it was released. During the committee, public and private school educators and parents testified and asked for more time to review.

Senator Linda Chesterfield (D-Little Rock), the only educator on the committee, noted that Republican members had received a draft of the bill several days before she or members of the public had a chance to review. She stated the committee’s actions were "discriminatory" and that she was “totally disrespected” by members of the Senate.

Senator Chesterfield spoke in opposition to the bill as the committee considered a motion to due pass:

“There are parts of this bill that I would support in a heartbeat, if they were separate parts of this bill, but they’re not. For me to sit here and vote to end Teacher Fair Dismissal, in a society that has not been fair, would be disingenuous. Change for the sake of change does not always result in progress. While I’m a big advocate of leaving your comfort zone, too much change can result in confusion, disorganization, and a lack of competence. I think when you shove a bill down our throats and say ‘take it or leave it’ in less than 48 hours, it is causing confusion, disorganization, and a lack of competence.”
Minority Leader Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville), also an Education Committee member, noted that while the bill has good proposals, much of the bill is unsuitable for widespread support:

“We have serious concerns about how some of these aspects of the bill will work and how they will be put in place. It says a lot about the fact that Republicans haven’t successfully passed a voucher program despite having a majority for years. They’ve had to pack the legislation with all this other good stuff like support for literacy, tutor programs, and raises for teachers in order to win support. We need to have more time to go home and talk to our principals, teachers, and superintendents who had a lot of questions I wasn’t able to get to today. It’s not about necessarily opposing the legislation, but just getting a better understanding of how it’s going to be put in place, and the effects it’s going to have.”
The bill will be considered by the full Senate tomorrow.