The state Senate on Monday approved a bill to reduce the size of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship and change the program's requirements for eligibility.
Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, passed with 22 voting for and 12 voting against the bill.
The bill failed by one vote on Thursday when several senators were absent, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
The bill would reduce the scholarships from $2,000 to $1,000 for freshman at two- and four-year colleges, and increase the scholarship to by $1,000 for college sophomores, starting in the 2015-16 academic year.
Juniors would receive $4,000 and seniors would receive $5,000 from the Arkansas Academic Challenge scholarship.
SB5 would also add that students must score at least a 19 on the ACT or the equivalent on a comparable college entrance exam.
Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, and Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, both expressed concerns that the ACT requirement would exclude black students from low-income areas where people are purchasing lottery tickets but their children can't meet the test score requirement.
"To pass a bill which on its face excludes African-American children — we need to look at a compromise," Chesterfield said as she spoke against the bill. "If only 25 percent of these kids get an education, it's 25 percent more of poor kids who can say to a child, 'You, too, have a shot at the American dream.' We should not take that shot away."
Hickey the bill will help the scholarship program save money and avoid running out of funds starting next year.
See Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
