The House voted on Tuesday to study the state's program that uses public funds to pay private-school tuition for students with disabilities.
House Bill 1400 by Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs, passed 62-16 after several members questioned the bill's necessity and whether it would violate student privacy laws.
Cozart said that the House and Senate Education committees should study several aspects of the Succeed Scholarship Program -- including program participation and student progress -- to determine whether the program is working as intended.
"We're not trying to shut this program down," Cozart said, noting that it should be expanded if it's working well.
About 250 students participate in the Succeed Scholarship Program, which was created in 2015, and it has been expanded in recent years.
The program provides vouchers for private school tuition for students who have individualized education programs and students living in a group home or foster care that meet the Department of Education's eligibility requirements.
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Lawmakers expanded eligibility further this year to include students who are already enrolled in private schools with an individualized service plan.
Cozart's proposed study would be presented to the two education committees every two years with the first report due in October.
The bill went to the House floor a week after Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced a proposed pilot program that would provide private school vouchers to about 500 students in Pulaski County. That program -- the "Capitol Promise Scholarship" -- wouldn't be limited to students with disabilities, but it would only be available to students from low-income families.
Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, spoke against Cozart's bill from the House floor on Tuesday, saying it would be near impossible to collect the data outlined in HB1400 without violating federal student privacy laws.
Rep. Doug House, R-North Little Rock, also spoke against the bill. He said the data outlined in the legislation were already being collected by the nonprofit group that administers the Succeed Scholarships -- the Reform Alliance. House added that many dislike the Succeed Scholarship Program because it was Arkansas' first "voucher" program.
He emphasized that many of the students who benefit from the Succeed Scholarships are better served in a setting outside of public schools.
Cozart closed by reiterating that his measure wasn't an attack on the program.
"But how can you reinvest in something if you can't know if it's working?" he said.
A Section on 03/27/2019