The Arkansas Education Association is deeply concerned by the actions of the State Board of Education to strip educators in the Pine Bluff and Little Rock School Districts of their due process rights. 

At a special board meeting on December 20, the board voted 8-1 to use the powers granted in Act 930 of 2017 to waive the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and the Employee Fair Hearing Act in the Pine Bluff School District and 6-3 to waive both laws for educators in the Little Rock School District. 

The Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and the Employee Fair Hearing Act were instituted to ensure students have the best educators in their schools and to allow them to advocate for what is best for students without fear of retaliation. These laws have ensured integrity in the work educators do with their students every day as well as provide a path to support continued educator growth in the profession.  

Both districts are classified as in Level 5 Intensive Support Status, giving the State Board the authority to grant the waivers. However, neither superintendent requested the waiver, and Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore struggled to answer board members when they asked directly if he wanted the waiver. Multiple board members, as well as the newly appointed Pine Bluff superintendent, said they believe most issues are not with teachers in classrooms and are instead at the administration level.  

Dozens of parents, community members, elected officials and educators spent hours testifying heartfelt opposition to the proposals. Their effort to stand up for students and educators fell on deaf ears. 

The waiver for the Pine Bluff School District is for the 2019/2020 school year. The waiver granted in Little Rock will take effect immediately.  

Thursday’s attack on educators is yet another in a series of efforts to undermine public education in Arkansas. This sustained and wanton effort to erode, waive and undermine long-standing educational standards only serves to harm students and the education professionals supporting them every day.  

Following the brazen disregard for public comment by the State Board of Education, we fear the attack on public education will only continue in January as the 92nd General Assembly convenes. 

2019 marks AEA’s 150th year of advocating for public education, and we will continue to stand up for Arkansas’s students and educators in all forums where public policy is decided. We invite you to join us.

The Arkansas Education Association is a professional organization for teachers, education support professionals, students and advocates. Our fundamental objective is to work for quality and equitable public education for all of Arkansas students, the betterment of the Arkansas state education system and quality working conditions for educators.

Elections are how we hold our elected officials accountable. For this reason, educators must be involved.

Election Day:

You can vote at your poll on Election Day, November 6 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Find your polling place at Arkansas Voter View.

Bring your ID:

In March 2017, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. Under this law, a voter who does not possess the required form of identification may cast a provisional ballot after signing a sworn statement attesting to his or her identity.

Vote Early:

During the preferential primary early voting is available October 22nd, through November 5. Voting locations are open between the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Early voting ends at 5 p.m. on the Monday before the election. Off-site early voting hours may vary by county; watch your local newspaper or contact your county clerk for information.

You can find more information about elections in Arkansas at the Secretary of State’s website.

AEA is excited to announce a new opportunity for members to save through a partnership with Magic Springs! AEA Members can now receive 50% off the daily admission rate to the Hot Springs water park, as well as discounted season passes.

You can check out the park at this website, but be sure to buy your tickets at this link to access the discounted rates.

AEA Online Flyer

Magic Springs Calendar Dates

Upcoming Events at Magic Springs

Q: I am about to file my taxes, isn’t there a new state law to help educators? 

A: Yes! As of July 1, 2017 most public school educators in Arkansas are now eligible for a new state income tax deduction called the Teacher’s Classroom Investment Deduction.
An educator is eligible for a deduction of up to $250 or $500 for two educators filing jointly. Note that this is in addition to the existing federal tax deduction.

Q: What can I count toward this deduction?

A: Qualified classroom investment expenses – This means materials used in the classroom, including books, school supplies, computer equipment and software, athletic equipment, food for the teacher’s students and clothing for the teacher’s students.

Q: Who is eligible for this tax deduction?

A: In the new law “Teacher” means a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide for students in any grade from prekindergarten through grade 12 who is employed for at least 900 hours in a tax year at a school certified by the state to provide public preschool, elementary, or secondary education.

As baby-boomers begin to retire and more students enter our schools, Arkansas faces a serious dilemma: a shortage of teachers.

Unfortunately, we also face an effort to deprofessionalize education by privateers hoping to cash in on the public dollars currently going to our students.

Long-term solutions are needed to keep educators in the profession by improving working conditions, increasing preparation and mentoring, reducing over-burdensome paperwork, and providing adequate resources that will enable them to do their jobs.

Summed up in a word: respect.

We know having qualified educators in the classroom is the biggest factor in student achievement. We also know teachers become more effective as they spend more time in the classroom.

Unfortunately, across the state and nation we are seeing declining numbers of new people pursuing teaching degrees, as well as epidemic levels of teacher attrition.

Teacher turnover has serious implications on the quality and stability of the education profession and student success. When early career educators leave the profession, districts encounter tremendous economic turnover costs, and often resort to back-filling vacancies with out-of-field teachers or substitute teachers, canceling program offerings, or creating larger classes.

The state Bureau of Legislative Research found that the five-year teacher attrition rate was over 36 percent. That’s more than one-third of new Arkansas teachers leaving the profession before they make it to the most effective years of their career.

As the teacher pipeline dries up, it is becoming harder and harder for schools to attract and retain qualified educators, especially in lower income areas.

The attrition rate is even higher in rural areas where districts can’t afford to keep up buildings, let alone pay teachers the same salary as more populated areas with higher property tax collection.

In addition, teachers in these schools often face greater challenges associated with students living in poverty.

Arkansas is working to incentivize teaching in rural and high-poverty schools, but the current bonuses don’t make up for the incredible difference in salaries you find in school districts across the state.

The people most likely to commit for the long term to these communities are those who grew up there and already know it as home.

Arkansas needs to develop a more comprehensive support network for new teachers, and we need to do a better job of encouraging students from underserved communities to become the next generation of teachers in their hometown.

This “grow your own” strategy should include increased scholarships or student loan forgiveness so there is no income barrier keeping these students from pursuing an education career. We also have an opportunity to ramp up the Arkansas Department of Education’s Teacher Cadet program, created to recruit homegrown educators. This program is already working in dozens of schools across the state to attract our best and brightest high school students to the teaching profession.

We must bolster this increased access with better help for new hires. Arkansas should ask its longtime educators to coach their new colleagues. Engaging and supporting educators as early as possible will stem the tide of departures and create a strong and sustainable teaching force. This will give experienced educators the opportunity to share their incredible knowledge, while training the next generation of teacher leaders.

Finally, we need to understand this issue is bigger than school districts or even the state Department of Education. If we want more people to become educators, we need to make teaching an attractive and respected career again.

Everyone in the community, from local chambers to legislators, parents and other city leaders must come together to acknowledge these problems and work together to support their schools and the educators who fill them.

How much voice, how much say, do teachers have collectively in the schoolwide decisions that affect their jobs? Are teachers treated as professionals? Are we providing safe and comfortable working (and learning) environments for educators and their students?

Achieving affirmative answers to these questions depends on having strong educator leaders who will advocate for their profession and their students. It also depends on the rest of us to support their efforts and treat the teaching profession with the respect it deserves.

Cathy Koehler is president of the Arkansas Education Association.

Read more Big Ideas HERE.