AEA in the News

• November 14, 2024 - Arkansas could benefit from potential elimination of federal Department of Education, according to Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva

Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva spoke Tuesday on the possibility of the U.S. Department of Education being shut down by the forthcoming presidential administration.

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• Mar 6, 2024 - Arkansas schools implementing new ‘Science of Reading’ curriculum (ualrpublicradio.org)

AEA was asked to weigh in on privatizing reading instruction. We need public money to stay in public schools so that students can get quality education from qualified educators.

Read the entire Little Rock Public Radio article here.

• Mar 5, 2024 - Arkansas charter schools ‘raise some red flags’, after getting D and F grades (katv.com)

There is a growing issue of charter schools in Arkansas receiving D and F grades. Poverty is a real issue here in Arkansas, and that certainly leads to poor performance at school. Kids need to have their basics taken care of like food, safety, shelter, and love, before they can even think about learning. We need to have some sort of measuring tool for school performance, but it cannot only be based on a final test at the end of the year.

Read the entire KATV article here.

• Mar 3, 2024 - Arkansas group pushes for a constitutional amendment to boost Arkansas education (katv.com)

As part of the ForARKids Coalition, AEA is all in on making sure our students and staff have all they need to grow and thrive.

Read the entire KATV article here.

• Dec 12, 2023 - New poll shows favorability for Arkansas LEARNS Act as education association calls foul

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A new statewide poll on education in Arkansas shows a majority of parents polled are in support of key elements of the LEARNS Act but some in educational leadership roles are calling foul.

Robert Coon, managing partner at Impact Management Group, a public affairs and public research firm in Little Rock, said ExcelinEd, a nonprofit organization out of Florida asked his group to conduct the survey.

The poll, conducted between Aug. 24 and Sept. 8, surveyed 800 registered voters who have children in K-12 grades.

“We tested a couple of different components of the LEARNS Act,” Coon said. “One dealt with Education Freedom Accounts (EFA’s), one dealt with teacher salaries, but we wanted to make sure that we were looking at what are the viewpoints of folks in various demographics.”

Read the entire KATV article here.

• Dec 11, 2023 - Gov. Lee looks at Arkansas program to create Tennessee’s private school voucher proposal

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Gov. Bill Lee was joined by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders as Tennessee proposed a statewide school voucher program in Tennessee.

Arkansas families were already using tax dollars for private schooling.

“The voucher program is something we’ve been fighting for a long, long time,” Arkansas Education Association president April Reisma said.

Reisma was against the program in Arkansas and Tennessee. She said she wants to keep this money for public schools.

“Taking that money away from public education and taking it away from students; don’t do it. It’s a horrible, horrible hole going down,” Reisma said.

Read the entire WVLT article here.

• July 25, 2022 - #payAReducators sit-in at ALC

Grassroots parents, educators and public-school advocates attended the July 21st meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council and called on lawmakers to prioritize educator pay increases during the upcoming Special Session.

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