Central High students had a walkout to protest the Arkansas LEARNS bill. Brian Chilson

The league of Little Rock Central High students whose testimonies were turned away at a Senate Education Committee hearing Monday shared the remarks they would have made had they been given the chance. Committee Chair Jane English of North Little Rock gave these students the Dolores Umbridge treatment, talking over them and refusing to hear their testimonies.

Only a six-page amendment to the 144-page bill was on the table for discussion, English said in explanation for not allowing their comments. The students said they did want to speak on the amendment, particularly on why the changes it makes are not sufficient. The answer was still “no.” You can watch the frustrating exchanges here. 

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The Senate Ed Committee signed off on the amendment Monday, the full Senate signed off today and Arkansas LEARNS now goes to the governor’s desk. It looks like universal vouchers are coming for schools near you.

These Central High students will probably stay mad, though. As will public education advocates across the state who point to evidence that school privatization on the public dime will increase segregation while not doing anything to improve education outcomes.

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Here’s what the students would have told senators Monday, had they been granted the opportunity.

Rhone Kuta

My name is Rhône Kuta, I am in 10th grade at Central High School. 

And if you sign this bill as it currently is, it will be career suicide. I will be speaking on specifically the lack of amendments in sections 16 and 63. The bill as it currently stands sees a major lack of amendment to the voucher program, the indoctrination sections and clauses, and the censorship of curriculums. A majority of your voting base is lower to middle class white Arkansans and the audience should understand that the only way you get elected next election cycle is if you further demonize minorities to scare these people senseless into voting for you despite the fact that SB 294 will sabotage the majority of your own voter base by taking away their options and reallocating what little opportunities they have into the wealth of the Arkansan upper class. 

I, however, guarantee that we will ensure that they do not forget the absolute destruction of their opportunities, futures and communities. We will stop at no end to empower the voices and raise the lower class awareness of the exact effects of this bill. They know all of your names. They know all of your faces. And if you sign this bill, you might want to start searching for other career paths. 

Now, to the more receptive audience, I would like to ask of you, what do you expect of their pattern of behavior? We have history textbooks, we know exactly what happens when a political movement starts mass banning books to clean our society. We are staring at the roots of a uniquely authoritarian movement that’s staring back at us with a knife in its hand and we, the people, have the opportunity to bleed on the ground with stab wounds or struggle for a peaceful existence.

Max Wiggins

My name is Max Wiggins. I am a 9th grader at Little Rock Central High School with the Young Leftists Club. When I moved from Bethel Middle School in Bryant to Dunbar Middle in Little Rock, I quickly realized how incredibly unorganized the school was. The first day, I had a panic attack because of the chaos. I asked myself daily, “Why did I even think of switching schools?” But during quarantine, I realized it was not the school’s fault. It was the money. Dunbar was still classified as a magnet school because of its exceptional fine arts program and high grades; yet, compared to my previous school, it was in the dumpster. Why? Because Bryant schools have more money than Little Rock schools. Take a look at any fine arts program, any team, and any classroom. Compared to wealthier schools like Bryant or charter schools like LISA Academy, it is unmistakable that our resources are barely on par. 

Governor Sanders’ education bill would only further defund and degrade public school programs like Little Rock and other districts in similar circumstances, including rural districts. It would force students to make the dreadful decision of either fighting for a spot at a smaller, more homogenous school or staying in a school that progressively worsens because of the voucher program. Our classrooms, grades, teachers and extracurriculars will suffer if you succumb to the agenda of the school choice lobby. If this bill is passed, you will see districts like ours crumble like they did in Florida and other states. As a current student of Central High School, I am extremely proud of my school and what it stands for. I beg of you, on behalf of the entire Central High student body, to vote against this bill. Thank you for your time.

Gryffyn May

Good afternoon. My name is Gryffyn May, and I am a senior at Little Rock Central High School. Today, I stand against the proposed LEARNS bill, not only for the public school students of the present and future, but for those of the past, without whom so many would not be here today.

Almost 66 years ago in 1957, the Little Rock Nine desegregated my public high school for the first time in the country’s history. Earlier this year, I met four of the Nine. I listened to them talk about the effects that that event — that they themselves — had and continue to have on the entire country, and I remember the gut-wrenching realization that the Nine had given up not only their childhoods, but their entire lives, to create a world that still isn’t just or equitable — and they are still fighting for it.

Not only does the LEARNS Act essentially erase the Nine’s story by banning the study of the way racism impacts society, or CRT, but it goes even further to reverse all the advances the Nine made by creating “school choice” policies that would ultimately re-segregate public education. But this isn’t only an issue because of the dishonor it does to the Little Rock Nine — this bill is an issue for all of the disadvantaged Arkansas students whose public education is being sacrificed for that of a private one. It’s an issue for public school teachers whose rights are being stripped away behind a veil of empty promises of salary increases (promises this bill will not, despite its claims, solve due to lack of funding). It’s an issue for students whose families cannot afford the private education that will be receiving more resources and funding than it already has once this bill is passed. There is no denying that public education has flaws that need to be addressed, but the proposed LEARNS bill will only set public education further back instead of moving it forward.

The proposed bill directly impacts the students and educators of Arkansas public schools, and yet when these people speak up in opposition of it, they are ignored and silenced. Please hear us when we tell you how harmful this bill is. Please hear us when we ask you, before you vote, to think of the many, many disadvantaged students who need a well-rounded, equitable, and quality public education. Please hear us when we ask you to think of the Little Rock Nine, who, at the very least, deserve to have their legacy upheld.

Beckah Jackson

Hello and good afternoon. My name is Bekah Jackson and I am a senior at Little Rock Central High School, alongside my fellow Young Leftists. I’m speaking against the bill as amended and more specifically I will be speaking on the apparent lack of desperately needed amendments to Section 16 of the LEARNS Act. Today I am here to represent my peers, my teachers, and everyone who is not able to be here to speak on the dangerous effects of SB294. This monstrous bill is a convoluted jumble of over 70 clauses; most unrelated, some regressive, some productive, some illegible, and some so vague no sufficient conclusion could be drawn by any one of you. One of the most centered issues surrounding this bill, as I’m sure all of you are aware, is Governor Sanders’ warped misconception of CRT and her overused dog whistle, “indoctrination,” found in Section 16. As a daughter and niece of long-time public educators who have both served for almost three decades, I have seen firsthand the frustration from teachers, and the hurt that they experience from their own districts. It’s easy to forget that teachers are the backbone of our society. Children spend so much of their adolescence in schools, under the protection and instruction of these mentors. So many of my own memories and life lessons I experienced in school. So many of my teachers I still remember beyond just a name and can pinpoint the impact they had on me. These are devoted public workers who have been reduced to machines, expected to read from a script. Expected to completely disregard the pledge that they made as public servants to enrich and prepare our future generations. They’re forced to sacrifice this autonomy to a stricter “curriculum” that ignores our history and the world we are growing up in. Teachers who I must leave unnamed for their own safety from this emerging oppressive regime have already expressed their anger with this bill. How it threatens to silence them and how every day they will be risking their livelihoods to properly educate us.

I want to STRESS, I want you to understand fully, so please hear this if nothing else. Our teachers are not in support of this bill. Our students are not in support of this bill. Please do not take for granted those truly qualified to speak on how this is dangerous. Do not push down the voices that are screaming. Does this not seem ludicrous to anyone? Are you not enraged by the prospect of controlling education? Can any of you even remember the oh-so-integral theme of George Orwell’s “1984”? Do we need to sit down and have a lesson on the dangers of controlling the narrative of the past, or would you rather hide behind Governor Sanders as she screams “indoctrination” at this, too? You can’t close your eyes to the reality of our world today. You can’t pretend that “shielding” children from this reality will protect them. Indoctrination does not lie in teaching history. Indoctrination is not a result of speaking on the disgusting truths of oppression. Indoctrination is rooted in the tailoring of history, clearly marked with an agenda to hide a reality which makes our corrupt, white politicians uncomfortable.

These amendments are insignificant corrections to language which pose no change to the bill. I stand against SB294 in its threat to our educators’ safety, our children’s education, and our institutions’ integrity. Thank you for your time.

Ethan Walker

Hello everyone. I’m glad we could gather here in our Capitol as a student and teacher body to tear down and decimate this capitalistic, bigoted bill. It is now apparent that our politicians, especially Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, do not truly care about Arkansas education or those involved. 

Senator, I’ve heard your speeches about how you want to fight for a small government, but this bill is directly antithetical to that idea. Don’t let the teacher salary raise (which by the way doesn’t even provide enough funding for a proper salary increase) distract you from the fact that, if Governor Sanders truly cared about teachers, she wouldn’t threaten their livelihoods for connecting with their students and each other, by teaching us the history of Black and queer people. The vagueness of “indoctrination” in this bill allows the district to fire queer teachers on the spot, who make an effort to keep their students updated with their lives, or make an effort to explain who they are as a person, as states such as Florida, Alabama, Ohio and even New York as recent as 2021 have. 

Defenders of this bill might argue that, because it has a small clause that protects the discussion of “ideas that individuals may find unwelcoming, disagreeable, or offensive,” this won’t lead to crackdowns on discussions of race. But if history has taught us anything, this is exactly how this will be enforced. The language is purposefully left vague enough that, whoever enforces this bill, likely the board of education will be able to decide who they want to punish. Anything labeled as indoctrination will be stifled. This would even include the beautiful Black history play that our theatre program just showcased. Critical race theory isn’t even a class that’s being taught in k-12 schools. 

Lastly, if Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders truly cared about teachers, she wouldn’t take additional funding from public schools to give to private and charter schools who, by the way, are 64% caucasian. Really makes ya think, huh? 

To close this out, let me just say to our senators, and especially you, Governor Sanders, that we want our teachers and students to express themselves however they’d like within reason and we don’t want teachers to be fired for doing so, or for even simply respecting the teachers and students who do. We want our teachers to teach us where each and every one of us in this country comes from. We no longer want the whitewashed version of our history. We want everyone to have access to an education. We do not want it to only be accessible to those who can pay. 

Poverty stricken and working class Americans will stay in underfunded public schools, or pay to go to a private school, because the voucher wouldn’t even cover the costs. So people, I say all of this to say, let everyone know the injustices our state is committing against us. We cannot let the Arkansas LEARNS Act pass, so help me god.

Blanche Finzer

Hello representatives, my name is Blanche Finzer and I’m a sophomore at Little Rock Central High and the vice president of the Feminist Coalition. I’m speaking against the bill as amended in sections 59, 60 and 63. I’d like to remind the committee of a dark chapter of history with Arkansas public education and Central High. We are all familiar with the lost year when, from 1958-1959, all public schools in Little Rock were closed to prevent the desegregation of public schools. About 3,600 kids were sent away to school outside of the city or to private schools, but those were only the students who could afford it or had a relative there. Other students dropped out, and 1,000 students dropped out permanently, 40% of whom were Black. 

By passing this bill, you will cause many schools to shut down and, in the worst case scenario, we will have the same statistics of students dropping out and moving to private schools as we did in the lost year – especially with the exclusion of foster children. 

Also, most public schools already have limited funding causing teachers to pay out of pocket for their supplies and resources. Private and charter schools do not have this struggle as they have money to spend on quality supplies. If the LEARNS Act passes, the little funding these schools have will go away. This bill will not equitably distribute money across the state’s schools or increase literacy as amendment 63 claims; it is going to put all the money into private and charter schools, causing the privatization of education and the destruction of the public school system, thus making literacy rates go down. 

It is not fair that just because your parents don’t make $100k or more, you don’t get as good and equal an education as others do. By passing the LEARNS Act — specifically the amended sections 59, 60 and 63 — you are taking our education away and effectively lowering literacy rates among Arkansas children.

Ananya Uddanti

My name is Ananya Uddanti, and I’m a junior at Little Rock Central High School. I’m also the founder of the Indian Dance Club and secretary of the South Asian Student Association. I’m speaking against the bill as amended. I speak as someone who has seen the variation in schooling, from private to charter to public. I can only tell of my experience. 

The years I spent at private school coincided with the years I lost touch with my mother tongue. I realized it wasn’t a coincidence after moving to a public school. It’s the environment around us that shapes our character and actions. My parents’ efforts to get me a better education through private schools washed away my ability to speak to my grandmother. Public schooling taught me to be tolerant, to respect other cultures and to speak my language again. Formerly surrounded by hordes of predominantly white and upper class students, the sudden immersion in the diversity of public schools was something. Public schooling allowed me to enrich my culture without exploiting it. I felt watched and used at private schools, to promote their motives at the cost of my education and wellbeing. 

Never once have I felt this way at public schools. In fact, I have connected with the roots of my culture through dance and share it with the world through public schools. I speak to you today as the founder of the Indian Dance Club and secretary of the South Asian Student Association, a feat only possible because of the support system provided to minority students to explore their identity. But the support system provided by public schools is limited by their funding and unequal in availability. There are schools in my district with similar minority demographics that don’t have this opportunity, and removing funding and providing vouchers to private schools will only move us farther away from allowing our students to develop their identities. I’m privileged to go to Central and indulge in these experiences. 

But Central is the same school with rodents scurrying across my third-floor classroom and English classes with heaters that leak for weeks. The private school, on the other hand, had floor-to-ceiling windows and roller skates for PE. This stark contrast demonstrates who’s in need of funding. 

The teachers who have supported my endeavors deserve the same resources that I would have received as a student at private school. These are the teachers that I, and many of you in this room, hail as heroes who worked through COVID, physical altercations and crumbling facilities. They deserve quality resources to teach generations to come. They deserve pay that honors their contributions to society by creating productive individuals. As a first-generation American student, my voice holds power here solely due to the enrichment provided by public schools. 

The amount of funding that would be taken away from public schools due to this bill will be crippling to our schools. Some students, lucky ones, will be able to escape to private schools. But those who are left will face even more barriers than we do today. The value in public schools is that they don’t turn anyone away. They don’t allow us to live in bubbles, and force us to interact with people from all walks of life.

Furthermore, as a counselor at Aldersgate for three years, I’ve worked with some of the most remarkable children, intelligent in ways we ignore. I advocate for equal opportunities for these kids. The rhetoric used in the bill highlighted the lack of accommodations for them, and leads me to say that there is much more to be done for the students of Arkansas, all of them. 

In every way, we are working to further the gap between our students, while we should be bridging it with equal opportunities.

Amrita Choudhary

Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for providing me with this opportunity to speak to you. My name is Amrita Choudhary, and I am a freshman at Central High and a member of Central’s South Asian Student Association. I have been at Central High for the last eight months and am very excited about the program Central offers. 

I am here today as both a representative for South Asians and as an aware U.S. citizen and Arkansan and a person who is concerned about our community. I am an independent thinker with an open mind and want all decisions made on facts and sound logic. I have done my due diligence on this bill. I would like you all to address a few questions and concerns. 

  1. Will this bill increase racial segregation? This bill will allow students to attend private schools with public funding. This can lead to a situation where all the kids from the privileged community will move to private schools as private schools become more affordable due to public funding. Public schools also provide transportation, which is a big deal for kids from low-income communities, which most private schools do not provide. Kids from low-income communities as well as minorities will be left behind in public schools. I fear this will create a parallel community where each does not know about the other, and without diversity in school. How will these students work in the marketplace as adults when they have not seen each other in school? This can create more conflicts in the future if kids are raised in separated communities. 
  2. What does this do to public schools? Will public school standards decrease if students from more privileged communities leave the school? With less money available to public schools, the standard can go down rapidly. Many middle-income parents are worried they may be forced to remove their kids from public schools and send them to private or charter schools instead. This can create hardship not just for the school, but also for the parents. How will this bill guarantee that the public school standard stays strong and remains a viable option? 
  3. I see that teachers are apprehensive about this economic situation. They think their salaries will not be raised in the future and they will have uncertain job situations. In such a situation of uncertainty, how will teachers focus on their job? 

I want to see the schools and quality of education improve in Arkansas. I would like to know from our esteemed lawmakers whether any study has been conducted to examine facts and how this will impact the community. I want to conclude by saying that I want our lawmakers to address my concerns and share if any study regarding the long-term impact of these proposed laws has been conducted. 

I thank you for providing me with this opportunity to speak in front of all of you.

Alisha Majeed

Hello, my name is Alisha Majeed, I’m co-president of Little Rock Central High’s South Asian Students Association and I’m speaking against the bill as amended. 

At Central I’ve been able to connect with so many other people of color, and I really feel comfortable about my South Asian identity. I went to a majority white middle school and struggled with my identity, as I didn’t see many people like me. Most private schools are majority white and I feel like people of my color wouldn’t thrive in such an environment where Asian representation is lacking. I think taking away from public schools takes away from schools in Arkansas altogether. What makes public schools so special is being able to get a glimpse of the real world outside of education. Defunding public schools would take away a lot from minority groups like mine as we’d be competing to get an education, a basic necessity. 

Please don’t take away from public education because as a student of color, I believe that public schools provide a unique environment for us to thrive.

Addison McCuien

Hello everyone, thank you for this chance to speak. My name is Addison McCuien, I’m a junior from Central High School, and I’m here to testify against this bill and the asinine amendments made to it. 

I feel very strongly in my aversion to this bill for a multitude of reasons, but today I’m going to pinpoint a specific part of this bill that would have destroyed my educational development if applied to me. Section 29 of this bill entails a new plan for youth that would have 3rd graders held back from 4th grade if they do not meet required reading standards. As an Arkansan student with a learning disability, this bill is an outright offense to me and everyone who has similar stories. If this bill was in place when I was a young third grader, discouraged by literate inadequacies and ignorant to the challenges I faced in comparison to my peers, I would have been held back from 4th grade. I would have been left behind from my peers and I would have truly felt like a failure. Because that is what you are telling these students, that they are failures. My school was not able to clock my dyslexia, much like many of our schools now will not be able to notice learning disabilities in students until it is too late. These students with invisible disabilities will be held back and given intervention that is not built to help them succeed.

This bill allocates no money to fix our already failing special education systems or develop training that would help educators better spot these disabilities early on. There is no personalized aspect to the actions entailed in this section, creating the notion that all children learn in the same way at the same pace. 

I know if I was singled out and held back, my hunger for learning would have dissipated, as you can’t tell children they have failed and expect them to want to continue learning. As of right now 65% of Arkansas 3rd graders do not meet literacy requirements and are prospected to be held back. Moreover, 80% of Arkansas’ Black third graders would be held back. This sets a dangerous precedent for the majority of our youth, snuffing out their potential and demolishing their zeal for learning. 

Education is personal, and it is lazy and naive to think an impersonal plan like the one exhibited in this bill would do anything but breed disinterest and apathy for education in our future generations. They deserve better. We deserve better. Furthermore, we deserve to be heard, and the fact that the amendments made to this bill are so inconsequential shows that the public’s opinion was not taken into account, and there is no acknowledgment of perspectives outside of your own echo chamber. Thank you for your time.

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