Arkansas universal school choice bill clears legislature and heads to Gov. Sanders’s desk

Universal bill to establish a law school choice Program passed the Arkansas state legislature on Tuesday. heads to the desk Go. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR).

The Arkansas LEARNS Act was approved by the Senate in a 26-8 vote. This will make Arkansas the third state to adopt a universal school choice policy this year. The bill previously passed the state House 78-21 as the Republican-controlled legislature rapidly approved the bill less than a month after it was introduced on Feb. 8.

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Sanders, a Republican, who was elected in January and championed this legislation, and she celebrated its passage with a statement, and promised to sign the law into effect on Wednesday.

“My education plan just passed with overwhelming support: 78-21 in the House and 26-8 in the Senate,” Sanders tweeted. “A historic win for parents, teachers, and students that will set the education model for the nation, I’m ready to sign it into law tomorrow and end the failed status quo. Every kid will soon have access to a quality education and path to a good paying job and better life, right here in Arkansas.”

Proponents of school choice were quick to rejoice the passage of the bill, which will allow Arkansas, Arizona, Utah and West Virginia to join the ranks of states that offer universal school choice programs.

“America’s new divide is increasingly between states where students have few options besides geographically assigned district schools—unless parents can afford to send their children to private schools or homeschool—and states that trust parents to make the best decisions for their children’s education,” Jason Bedrick, a educatio