Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin approves Arkansas Education Amendment for November ballot
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has approved an education amendment for the November ballot, its first step in appearing before voters.
The ballot proposal had been submitted to the AG’s office four times under the popular name Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024. Each time the submission was rejected for its language.
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On Friday, the most recent proposal submitted on Feb. 15 was approved, an important first step in getting an item on the ballot. The next step is for organizers to gather the required 90,704 signatures.
Once those signatures are certified by the AG, the question will appear on the ballot.
In a statement after the approval by Griffin’s office, the ballot question committee For AR Kids said it would “immediately activate its hundred of volunteers across the state and begin collecting signatures.”
Arkansas Education Association President April Reisma said this phase of placing the question on the ballot was “exciting.”
“We have hundreds of volunteers across the state who will now start collecting signatures to give Arkansas voters the chance to make our schools better, and it’s exciting to be able to take the next step forward with them,” she said.
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For AR Kids says the ballot question would amend the education article of the state constitution in order to:
Guarantee voluntary universal access to pre-K for 3-4-year-olds, afterschool and summertime programming, quality special education, and wrap-around services for children within 200% of the Federal Poverty Line;
Establish the minimum quality standards ordered by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2002 in its Lakeview decision; and
Require any school receiving any amount of public funds to follow the same standards that traditional public schools are required to follow.
Griffin did point out in his approval that the 493-word proposed addition to the constitution could face a ballot-title challenge in court.
“As several of my predecessors have noted when certifying certain lengthy and complex ballot titles, the Arkansas Supreme Court has repeatedly warned sponsors of statewide measures about their ballot titles’ length and complexity,” the AG’s opinion stated.
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office issued a statement after the Friday approval, appearing to reflect the ballot measure against her signature LEARNS Act, passed in the last legislative session.
“The governor is proud to have enacted transformational reforms to give every kid in Arkansas access to a quality education and a lifetime of opportunity,” the statement said. “It’s sad that there are some who do not want to give our kids every opportunity to succeed.”
Signatures are being gathered for several ballot questions in the state, including loosening the law regarding medical marijuana and codifying access to abortion as part of the Arkansas constitution.
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