Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is on a roll. On Tuesday, the Arkansas Senate passed legislation that will create a new school voucher program that establishes school choice for all students. The bill also bans critical race theory and ends the teaching of gender identity to students below 5th grade.
Sanders is expected to sign the bill into law on Wednesday.
“I’m ready to sign it into law tomorrow and end the failed status quo that has governed our education system for far too long,” Sanders said in a statement. “Every kid should have access to a quality education and a path to a good paying job and better life right here in Arkansas.”
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“Over three years, the plan will phase in an ‘education freedom account’ to pay for private and home schooling costs equal to 90% of the state’s per-student funding for public schools, which is currently $7,413. It’s part of a renewed push for such voucher programs following the COVID-19 pandemic that’s been fueled in part by fights over school curriculum,” reports ABC News. “Other provisions include a prohibition against classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before 5th grade, similar to a Florida restriction that critics have called the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. Another part of the legislation writes into law an executive order Sanders signed in January that prohibits teaching critical race theory.”
The bill passed 78-21 in the Arkansas House and 26-8 in the Arkansas Senate.
