Two new tutoring programs established under the LEARNS Act could soon take effect.
The House and Senate Education committees on Monday unanimously reviewed and approved the emergency rule for the grant programs, which still need to be signed off on by the Arkansas Legislative Council Executive Subcommittee before the programs can take effect. The subcomittee is scheduled to meet later this month.
If approved by the Legislative Council, the emergency rule would immediately take effect so the grants could be in place for the current school year, said Kimberly Mundell, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education.
The Department of Education has proposed a permanent rule for the grant program, as the emergency rules will expire 90 days after they are approved.
The two grants fall under the LEARNS Act, the expansive education overall Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law in March. The rule sets up regulations for two kinds of grants -- literacy tutoring for kindergarten to third-grade students, and high-impact tutoring for under-performing students at all grade levels.
The literacy tutoring program will allow students who have not met the state standards on reading to apply for a $500 grant that can be spent on tutoring services from a list department-approved vendors. In total, the department has set aside $8 million for literacy tutoring and $20 million for the high-impact tutoring programs.
The High Impact Tutoring Pilot Program is for public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools and can be spent on a wide-range of services including hiring tutors, administrative expenses, or to develop instruction materials. Tutoring under the program will take place during the school day, for a minimum of three times a week, according to Andres Rhodes, chief legal counsel for the Department of Education.
"This tutoring is not a substitute to core subject matter learning. It can only supplement instruction," Rhodes said.
Passing the LEARNS Act was an early priority for Sanders after she took office last January, coining the name which stands for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, networking and school safety.
To boost the state's low reading scores, the LEARNS Act calls for increasing the state's literacy standards for elementary students, hiring 120 literacy coaches and creating a grant program for families to seek additional help.
The law has been met with some opposition, mostly because of its voucher program, which allows students to use state funding to cover the cost of attending a private or home school.
The voucher program, referred to as Educational Freedom Accounts by the state, will be phased in over three years beginning this school year.