LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued a statement today following the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision reversing a district court’s decision exempting four school districts from Arkansas’s school choice law. The decision upholds Arkansas law and protects the right of parents to select schools that best fit their educational needs.

“This win reaffirms that a student’s access to educational opportunities should not be limited by a family’s checkbook or zip code,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I have always argued that we must empower parents by allowing them to decide what’s best for their children’s education. This ruling confirms that.”

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision after Rutledge asked the Court to reconsider its earlier December ruling affirming the lower court’s decision.  

The case is United States of America v. Junction City School District, No. 19-1340, and the opinion is available here.