Arkansas groups declare neutrality, opposition to proposed education ballot initiative

For AR Kids spokesperson Bill Kopsky points out polling data the group collected regarding a proposed constitutional amendment it hopes to submit to voters during a press conference on Dec. 21, 2023 in the Old Supreme Court chamber of the Arkansas Capitol. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

The landscape in an effort to place a proposed education-focused constitutional amendment on the November ballot shifted last week as one group declared a neutral stance on the initiative and another formed in opposition.

The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 aims to hold private schools that receive state funding to the same standards as public schools. The measure is backed by For AR Kids, a ballot question committee and coalition of organizations that previously included Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES).

CAPES is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting tax dollars remaining in public schools, but it wishes to remain neutral on the ballot initiative, according to a press release issued Thursday. 

“It has come to our attention that there may be some confusion regarding CAPES’s involvement in the current education petition process,” the press release states. “CAPES has opted not to take a public stance on the petition collection organization, ForARKids, and its efforts. This decision was made in light of the CAPES’s commitment to remain non-partisan and to ensure fair representation for all stakeholders.”

CAPES no longer had representation on the ballot question committee when former Executive Director Steve Grappe left the organization in March, according to the press release. 

For AR Kids filed a new statement of organization on April 3 that lists its members as the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, Arkansas Education Association, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Citizens First Congress and two new groups — Arkansas Retired Teachers Association and Stand Up Arkansas.

Grappe is the founder of Stand Up Arkansas, which he told the Advocate on Friday is going through the process of obtaining its 501(c)(3) status. While Grappe focused on education through his work with CAPES, he said Stand Up Arkansas is “focused on using direct democracy to improve civic engagement and overall impact the voter turnout.”

For AR Kids has until July 5 to collect 90,704 signatures from at least 50 counties to qualify the measure for the 2024 ballot.

The group’s proposed ballot initiative stems from a new school voucher program that provides state funding for allowable educational expenses, such as private school tuition. 

Created through the LEARNS Act, critics say the Educational Freedom Account program is unfair because private schools receiving state funding don’t have to follow the same requirements as their public counterparts, such as admitting all students, providing transportation and administering certain standardized tests. 

The LEARNS Act does require private schools to administer approved annual exams for EFA students.

CAPES pursued a referendum to overturn the LEARNS Act, but the group failed to gather enough signatures last summer to place the measure on the 2024 ballot. 

As CAPES clarified its neutral stance on the education amendment last week, a new ballot question committee led by people with ties to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced its opposition to the measure.

On April 1, Arkansans for Students and Educators filed its Statement of Organization with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. The group’s stated goal is “the disqualification and/or defeat of the The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024.”

“Our measure follows the best research on how to provide [the] highest quality education to every child in Arkansas and that’s our goal,” For AR Kids spokesman Bill Kopsky said Friday. “We don’t understand why anybody would be opposed to that goal.”

Arkansans for Students and Educators’ three officers could not be reached for comment Friday.

The group’s chair is Randy Lawson, whom the governor appointed to the Oil and Gas Commission last year. Lawson also served on the Arkansas State Board of Education following his appointment by Sanders’ father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Sanders appointed the group’s vice chair, John Schmelzle, to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission in 2023. 

The ballot question committee’s treasurer is Chris Caldwell, a political consultant selected to be Sanders’ 2022 and 2026 gubernatorial campaign manager.

Caldwell is also the chair of Stronger Arkansas, a ballot question committee focused on the defeat and/or disqualification of the education amendment, as well as proposed amendments focused on medical marijuana and abortion access.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansans for Students and Educators’ daily operations will be managed by Jordan Powell, the governor’s former public affairs director. 

Powell served as deputy campaign manager for Sanders’ gubernatorial campaign and formerly her father’s presidential campaign. Sanders also appointed Powell to a six-year term on the Arkansas Cyber Response Board in 2023.

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