National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Home / State Updates / Arkansas

Spread the word!

Arkansas

Arkansas's Opportunity Gap

59%

47th

Over 200 members of the Arkansas OTL Campaign made their way to Little Rock on Wednesday, Feb. 20th, for an Education Advocacy Day! Their goal: show their support for educaiton reforms that provide every student with a fair and substantive opportunity to learn and highlight the progress the state has made in the past decade by implementing sound, research-based policies. Read more here!

Keeping Kids in Class: Arkansas Ally Releases In-Depth Analysis of School Discipline

Black students in Arkansas schools are more likely to be suspended and receive corporal punishment than their white counterparts, according to this comprehensive state-level analysis from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), a member of the AR OTL Campaign. School disciplinary policies that disproportionately keep students of color out of school reduce their opportunities to learn and increase gaps in educational achievement. As this report shows, Arkansas schools rely far too often on disciplinary approaches that bar students from the classroom.

Arkansas Passes School Discipline Reform Bill

Apr 17

(0)

Great news coming out of Arkansas on the school discipline front! A soon-to-be-signed bill is heading to the governor's desk that will make big changes in how the state gathers, examines and acts on school discipline data. Under the new law, the state Department of Education will submit a report each year to the State Board of Education containing district-level data on suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement. The Department will provide districts with strategies and resources for implementing positive discipline reforms.

Mar 20

(0)

A report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that "a sea change is underway in our nation's approach to dealing with young people who get in trouble with the law." Though the US still leads the industrialized world in youth incarceration rates, that rate has dropped more than 40 percent over a 15-year period. However, five states – Arkansas, Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota and West Virginia – bucked the norm and saw an increase in youth confinement.

Feb 21

(0)

Over 200 members of the Arkansas OTL Campaign made their way to Little Rock this week for an Education Advocacy Day! Their goal: show their support for education reforms that provide every student with a fair and substantive opportunity to learn and highlight the progress the state has made in the past decade by implementing sound, research-based policies.

Feb 12

(0)

On February 27th, the Opportunity to Learn Campaign will be hosting a webinar on racial justice with the Applied Research Center, an OTL ally. The webinar will provide advocates and organizers with valuable tools for framing and combating racial disparities in our nation's education system. Sign up here!

Jan 30

(0)

The Arkansas Opportunity to Learn Campaign and other education groups in the state held a press conference this week to voice their opposition to several bills introduced in the state legislature that would expand the state's charter school network and undermine the principles of equity and adequacy that have guided the state's progress in public education over the past decade.

Data

Out of School and Off Track – The Overuse of Suspensions in Schools

The Center for Civil Rights Remedies – The Civil Rights Project , Apr 2013

A new report from UCLA's Civil Right Project is a one stop shop for all the school discipline data advocates or organizers needto fight the overuse of out-of-school suspensions. Out of School & Off Track uses data from over 26,000 U.S. middle and high schools for the 2009-2010 academic year and breaks it down by district, race, gender, elementary/secondary school level, English language learners, and disability status.

Download the Data >

Report

Juvenile Justice in Arkansas: Building on Success

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families , Apr 2013

In the past five years, Arkansas has been deliberately and successfully moving toward a juvenile justice system that relies less on confinement and more on holistic, community-based approaches that effectively engage youth in constructive life choices. This report describes Arkansas's success in juvenile justice reform to date and summarizes the steps still needed to best serve Arkansas youth and their communities.

Download the Report >

Graph/Visual

Arkansas OTL - Real Education Reform

Arkansas Opportunity to Learn Campaign , Feb 2013

Ahead of it's February 20th Advocacy Day in Little Rock, AR, the Arkansas OTL Campaign released this fantastic flier highlighting the progress the state has made in the past decade by adhering to sound education policy and the dangers of new proposals aimed at privatizing the state's public school system. Check it out!

Download the Graph/Visual >

Report

Keeping Kids in Class: Fixing Racial Disparities in School Discipline

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families , Feb 2013

Black students in Arkansas schools are more likely to be suspended and receive corporal punishment than their white counterparts, according to this new state-level analysis from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF). School disciplinary policies that disproportionately keep students of color out of school reduce their opportunities to learn and increase gaps in educational achievement. This report is evidence that Arkansas schools rely far too often on disciplinary approaches that bar students from the classroom.

Download the Report >

Policy

Personal Opportunity Plans

National Opportunity to Learn Campaign, Dec 2011

In the first in a series of policy proposals, the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign advocates the creation of Personal Opportunity Plans for every student who is one grade level or more behind in reading or math, giving them access to the academic, social and heathcare supports they need to get back on track.

Download the Policy >

Subscribe feed

| Designed by ThemeSnap.com