In The News

The Joint Education Committee on Tuesday questioned why the Arkansas Department of Education has, for the past several years, carried forward significant balances. Read More

Members of the Joint Education Committee appeared leery of a software giant’s pitch on Monday to analyze state student data with the purpose of predicting achievement growth and evaluating teacher effectiveness. Read More

The State Board of Education voted today to approve Act 1240 waivers requested by 191 school districts – most of which were represented by Education Service Cooperatives – that will allow for an earlier start date than what is specified by state law. Read More

Only seven states, including Arkansas, received high marks for the their ESSA plans, according to a report released on Tuesday. Arkansas submitted its plan on September 15, 2017, to the U.S. Department of Education. (Click here to review the plan.) The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a non-profit education advocacy organization that conducts educational research and analysis, reviewed ESSA plans in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Read More

The Legislative Task Force on Workforce Education Excellence met Monday afternoon to discuss the funding available for workforce development programs, as well as how to expand industry’s reach into classrooms. According to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Legislative Research, six state agencies currently receive a combined $248 million in state, federal and other funding to support programs that include workforce development activities. Read More