The Arkansas LEARNS Act represented Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signature piece of legislation in 2023. Among its components were the implementation of school vouchers, increased pay for teachers and higher literacy standards for elementary school students.
Arkansas Money & Politics sat down with Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva, who provided a comprehensive deep dive into the details of the LEARNS Act and its impact.
AMP: What is the provision for teacher training under the LEARNS Act, and how is it being put into motion?
Oliva: So when you think about the LEARNS Act, I like to look at it as three distinct kinds of priorities that are outlined in the overall comprehensive educational reform initiative. It’s really about supporting early learning, making sure that when students come to school in kindergarten they’re ready to learn, how we’re supporting choice options and pathways for students in K-12, and making sure third graders are reading at above grade level — and then that post-secondary transition for students beyond high school, students are graduating with the skills to be successful in life. We know the greatest investment we can make is the teacher standing in front of that classroom. That is the greatest predictor of improving student performance, so every piece of LEARNS is about recruiting, recognizing, retaining, and supporting the best teachers we can possibly get in each and every single one of our classrooms to make sure the students have access to high-quality learning environments.
AMP: What is the state’s anticipated outcome for the additional training initiative?
Oliva: Well, it’s more than just training. It’s about reimagining education. It’s about empowering parents. It’s about creating choice opportunities. It’s about making sure that we’re creating a system that’s grounded on what students’ needs are and making sure that those needs are being met. If you look at any different number sort of metrics that grades overall education in the state of Arkansas, you’ll find that historically, even going back pre-[COVID-19]-pandemic eras, Arkansas tends to rank between 40th and 50th somewhere. Whether it’s measuring students’ ability to read on grade level, to do math on grade level, hit post-secondary attainment — that’s not good enough for the state of Arkansas, and it’s not just anticipation. We know when implementing these priorities with fidelity, we’re going to see rapid growth, and we’re not going to stop until we’re ranked No. 1 in the nation.
AMP: Is there a belief that elements of the LEARNS Act will aid in teacher retention?
Oliva: Yes, absolutely. One of the greatest parts of LEARNS is recognizing that teachers are the ones that make a difference and we’ve got to bring the best talent that we can to the classrooms and the schools in the state while recognizing the incredible talent that we already have, so one of the big priorities of LEARNS was to raise beginning teacher salary. We went from being ranked about 45th in the nation in starting teacher salary to top five, and in fact, there was a study recently reported by the New Teacher Project that said when you adjust for cost of living, we are now the No. 1 state in starting teacher salary with the $50,000 minimum while ensuring that every teacher above that [initial salary] got at least a $2,000 increase in their pay. We’re also in the process of rolling out our teacher merit pay system where we’re going to award about another $10 million by the end of this month to our top most talented teachers.
AMP: With the increase in starting salary under the LEARNS Act, have districts across the state seen more interest among a pool of potential young teachers?
Oliva: Yes, anecdotally we’ve heard from several superintendents who have said this is a game changer. When they would post a job, historically, they may only get three, four or five interested applicants. Now they’re posting the job, and they’re getting 10 to 20 applicants. They have plenty of talent to choose from. Definitely our neighboring states are hearing about teachers moving in from across state boundary lines to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities we have right here in Arkansas.
AMP: Are there provisions under the LEARNS Act that allow unlicensed teachers who have been working in districts around the state to expedite licensure?
Oliva: Yes, we have many different pathways toward becoming a licensed teacher. In fact, that’s something that we’re really proud of because we want to make it realistic, especially with the increase in starting salaries. We’re seeing a lot of career-changers, people who may have worked in industry. I’ve heard of bankers that are saying, “I want to go back and become a math teacher. This is an enticing salary. I may not have gone to school to be a math teacher, but I’ve got real-world, relevant experience that students can benefit from. Is there a path for me to become licensed?” Absolutely. We have a path for everyone. If anybody’s interested in joining the best profession of all professions, we want them to reach out to our agency, and we’re going to put them on the right path.
AMP: Can you assess the state’s efforts to improve literacy tutoring and educator preparation programs to this point?
Oliva: One thing that we know that our state data metrics show is our students still to this day are below pre-pandemic levels, and when we’re looking at students, maybe only a third of them are meeting literacy and numeracy rates. We know that’s not enough, and we need to accelerate learning opportunities, so this past year, we rolled out competitive grants to school districts — just over $10 million — to participate in what we call high-dosage tutoring, which is an evidence-based strategy to help students be put back on an accelerated path. We’re also empowering parents who we know have students in grades K, 1, 2 and 3, students who have been identified as needing a little bit more support in their literacy initiatives. Those parents can now have access to $500 to participate in a tutoring program of their choice, so we’re excited about investing in accelerated opportunities for our students through many different initiatives, and we’re already seeing some progress in monitoring data where we take snapshots of how students are performing — and gains are exceeding what we would’ve expected.
AMP: The LEARNS Act is still relatively young. How would you assess implementation to this point?
Oliva: I think it’s going great. Once the bill got signed into law last March, we began working with school districts, stakeholders and educational supporters around next steps, which is implementation, and one of the biggest parts of implementation was taking the parts of law and codifying them into rule so that we can tell districts exactly how this is going to look and how we want to work with them as a collaborative partner in building those rules and supporting implementation. So many of those rules are getting across the finish line. Districts are becoming more comfortable with the expectations that LEARNS provides, but it’s creating coherency in a seamless manner, and we’re already seeing the benefits and rewards.
AMP: You have talked about the increase in salary. Are there other elements of the LEARNS Act that will help with retention?
Oliva: Yes. I think when we look at the retention of teachers, salary is a big, big part of it, but we also want to invest in professional growth and development and create opportunities. Many educators will go into the classroom, and they may stay there their entire career. Some of them may look for more growth within that field, so we’ve invested in supporting coaches where we have added additional literacy coaches throughout the state to support teachers with perfecting their craft or implementing strategies. We’re also pretty proud of the fact that the LEARNS initiative for teacher recruitment and retention has a maternity leave partnership. We’ve had many districts reach out to us to participate because that’s a big factor in many families, and we’re working with districts to make sure that they can take care of their teachers while they’re out on maternity leave. We’re in the process of rolling out our teacher merit pay program where we’re continuing to recognize the rock stars that are in our classrooms, as well as creating opportunities for teachers to become lead teachers and master-designated teachers where they’re able to mentor new teachers and give back to the profession. When you create a culture around excellence, people tend to want to be a part of that, and that’s where we’re seeing our educators thrive.
AMP: The voucher provision has been a hot-button topic. Can you assess its adoption to this point?
Oliva: When we looked at the fact and the belief that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for all families and students, we knew a key part of that was to empower parents. Parents have a right to have a seat at the table and to look at different educational opportunities, environments that work best for their students and families. We were very diligent in about a three-year process to roll out the school Education Freedom Accounts where in Year 1, it started a little bit smaller. We had just over 5,000 students participate, and many of the students were already participating in the state scholarship program. (The Succeed Scholarship Program was rolled into the EFAs.) State scholarships weren’t new to the state of Arkansas. They were just expanded, so a lot of the people that were already in the program are parents of students with special needs who needed to get more educational support for their child, and they were participating in the scholarship program.
We also opened up eligibility to first-time kindergarten families and students that were zoned for a failing school, and we know that they may not be able to thrive academically in some of those environments while other families may, so Year 1 was a little bit smaller. We’re ramping up for Year 2. We’ve doubled or almost tripled the amount of folks who are eligible because we’ve expanded it to not just children of military families but also first responders, D and F schools (schools that have a D or F letter grade), kindergarteners and first graders, and all in all, it’s going well. We had to create the right conditions for private schools to feel comfortable to participate but also make sure that we’re able to hold those schools accountable to ensure that students are learning so that when parents are making an informed choice about educational options, they’re of high quality, and they’re not just creating choice options to have choice options. We want high-quality choice options for our families.
AMP: When you use the term “state scholarship,” are you using that interchangeably with the term “voucher”?
Oliva: We don’t really use the term “voucher.” It’s an educational freedom savings account. So historically the state had what they referred to as a Succeed Scholarship. The Succeed Scholarship through LEARNS has now been rolled into the Education Freedom Account. It took two systems and merged them together. We had a scholarship program; now we have a savings account.
AMP: Was the Arkansas LEARNS Act influenced by public policy from other states?
Oliva: I think when you look at additional opportunities, all states are always engaging in a cycle of continuous improvement, and one of the things I think many states have learned, especially when we looked at the pandemic era where schools were closed, where schools had to be creative and look at hybrid options and virtual options, parents tended to like some of those options and wanted policy to support being able to participate in virtual options, hybrid options, whether it’s charter schools, magnet programs, participating in neighbor schools. They felt like they had a little bit more access to what’s happening in the classroom, and they liked the increased transparency, and they liked the options that were being brought to them, so nationally, I think you’ve seen a movement among a lot of states and a lot of educational institutions that say, ‘How do we embrace this? How do we meet the needs of our families but also maintain the integrity of why we’re here?’ That’s to make sure that every student is in a learning environment that works for them to be successful.
So what’s great about Arkansas LEARNS is it’s probably the most comprehensive package that any state has undertaken when you look at the fact that we like to say it touches everything from cradle to career. We know that if we just maintain the status quo, that was just an equal failure, and we’ve been letting down students in the state for far too long when you’re ranked in the 40s and 50s. There’s too many people working too hard, there’s too many opportunities and so much talent that when we look at getting early childhood right, when we look at getting K-12 right, and when we get everything in higher education right, we’re not going to be ranked in the bottom anymore. That’s what LEARNS is doing, and it’s an Arkansas initiative that’s focused on what’s best for Arkansas students and families.
AMP: How does the LEARNS Act affect durable or variable skills?
Oliva: That’s a great question, and we hear that a lot from the business community. When we ask the business community, “What do you want in our students when they graduate from high school? What are those things that you’re looking for in our future employees?” the term “variable skills” comes up. Do people know how to show up on time? Do our future employees know how to work collaboratively? Can they meet deadlines, and how are we making sure we prepare students for this? So that happens in school in many different factors. For me, I may not have realized it at the time, but I was in marching band, and I learned a lot from my band director about durable skills because in his mind early was on time and on time was late and when the bell rang, we better be ready to perform.
I had to learn how to work with the other people in my team. I had to learn that my role in marching band is part of the whole band being successful. Those are durable skills that relate to the workforce, and that learning may happen on the athletic field, it may happen in a STEM classroom, but one of the great parts about expanding LEARNS and looking at different career pathways for students is really the focus on career readiness planning and making sure that in middle school students are having conversations with their teachers and their school leaders about how do I build out a pathway that works best for me, and what are the skills that I need to learn along the way so that when I get there, I will be successful?
AMP: You referenced science, technology, engineering and math. Are there any specific elements of LEARNS that speak to STEM teaching?
Oliva: Yes. I think a lot of that is recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for every student and family. Not every child is on a pathway from high school to university. While that may be the pathway for some of our students, it’s not the pathway for all of our students, and what we have done and learned is really recognizing that career technical education opportunities can be strengthened. LEARNS actually tasked us with identifying the [specific] career technical education pathways that would lead to high-skill, high-demand [jobs] in the state of Arkansas where we hadn’t had a definition like that before. So we got the workforce cabinet together to come up with those qualifying conditions, and we’ve identified 18 career and technical pathways in this state that will be offered. One of those pathways will be offered at every school next school year to make sure that we’re creating that pipeline of talent for our state and our employers in making sure that students experience relevancy in the classroom. When students can see how what they’re learning relates to their own professional and personal goals, they do better. This makes sense, and we’re getting it aligned, and that’s heavily embedded in STEM and is a big part of those high-skill highways, high-demand pathways, as well.
AMP: Are there provisions of LEARNS that are specifically built for the Delta region?
Oliva: I think all of LEARNS is specifically for the Delta region, as well as all the students in the state. When we started looking at early learning, for example, what we were tasked to do was go out and identify local leads, creating kind of a heat map of where we have high-quality early learning programs, and where do we lack opportunities? It became very clear — very clear — that there were islands and deserts across the state, and the Delta definitely was one of those places where you have families that want to participate in high-quality early learning, and there isn’t much opportunity, so LEARNS is requiring us to go out and create those opportunities. So we know when students are successful in early learning, they’ll come to kindergarten ready to learn. We’ve doubled down on early literacy. We know the metric of making sure students in third grade are reading at our above grade level is important in predicting future student success, which is why we’ve deployed literacy coaches to every D and F school in the state. They are there in the schools every day or at least every week, monitoring and supporting teachers to make sure that students are getting access to accelerated opportunities and interventions so we can move the needle on that metric.
And then there are those current technical opportunities for students and families that we just spoke about, making sure what [educational options are available] in the Delta and in the northwest, central Arkansas, the south, those opportunities are aligned with what’s happening in the regions across the state. LEARNS [applies] to all of that, but I think the No. 1 game changer that I’ve heard from people in the Delta is with the state giving dollars to support starting teacher salary. This came from a different category than their normal allocation, so this wasn’t a burden put on the school district budget; this was funded through a separate state appropriation. They say now they can compete with neighboring school districts when they struggle to reach in their local budget meeting the [previous] minimum salary of $36,500 a year. We had regions or schools districts in the Delta where teachers that had been teaching for over 30 years in that district weren’t at $50,000. There were entire districts in the Delta where not one teacher made $50,000. Now every teacher makes at least $50,000, if not above that. That’s a game changer to not only those teachers for getting access to high-quality pay but for those communities because everybody’s going to benefit from that kind of investment.
AMP: There is a lot of talk about a “culture of literacy.” What components of the act are designated to build a culture of literacy?
Oliva: The state, historically, has been pretty invested in what we call the “science of reading,” which I think is what you’re referring to as the culture of literacy. What LEARNS does is double down and say, “We’re a science of reading state.” When you look at the systematic, explicit approach to literacy instruction, that’s what the science of reading is. It’s built around phonics, phonemic fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It’s not whole language. It’s not three cueing. We’re only going to use these strategies, so it aligns our standards around the science of reading. Our high-quality instruction materials must be aligned with the science of reading, and we had to build out a progress monitoring system, so coming this fall will be the first time we have a unified, coordinated progress monitoring system that will assess literacy, numeracy and science — kindergarten through age 10 — where everybody’s doing the same thing.
And in our kindergarten-through-Grade-3 screener, or assessment, as required by LEARNS, it embeds the dyslexia screener, so not only are we measuring students’ performance around their progression in the science of reading, but if we identify that a student may need some additional support, we’re able to provide that, as well. So all the way from early learning to K-12, we have doubled down in the support with literacy coaches, tutoring, alignment around the science of reading, and additionally, LEARNS asked us to do an audit of our teacher preparation programs, programs that are turning out educators or candidates that want to go into the field of education. How strong is their knowledge around the science of reading, and how can we make sure that our professional development, our teacher prep programs, are meeting that benchmark? So we are doubling down as a science-of-reading state and saying there are some non-negotiables in this space. We have to get this right.
AMP: Dyslexia screener?
Oliva: Yes. We have the unified, coordinated progress screener that’s going to measure student growth and performance kindergarten through grade 10, but in the kindergarten-through-Grade 3 space, the dyslexia screening is embedded in that assessment, as well, so a student might be identified as someone that may need additional screening, additional testing and additional support.We’re going to be able to monitor that and work with districts at the state level, as well.
AMP: What do you think is the most tangible thing you can point to from implementation of the LEARNS Act to this point?
Oliva: Well, I think if I had to look at a year and a half of review or things that we’re probably the most proud of, I would say what I’m most proud of is the talent working in our schools each and every day. As we’ve gone across the state and visited every educational co-op, met every superintendent — principals, teachers, leaders, all across the board — the commitment that our professional educators have around doing what’s right for students is remarkable. Watching this kind of progression from, “We’re not really sure what LEARNS is. This makes me a little bit nervous,” to seeing how implementation is coming along with fidelity, and those same professional educators being more comfortable with what’s being asked of them and then hearing from them how they’re seeing their students do better because of what we’re doing is something that we have to be excited about. It is bold. It’s comprehensive. It has a lot of moving parts, but at the end of the day, we’re already seeing more and more students learn, and that’s what this initiative’s about.
AMP: Do you think any specific area of the state has benefited more from this LEARNS Act than others?
Oliva: I don’t know if there’s any specific area of the state that’s benefited more. I think every district has their own unique challenges, and a lot of the policies in LEARNS is really providing support to those districts and the flexibility they need to meet challenges. We can’t micromanage every classroom from the state. We can help create the conditions for school districts and leaders to get it right, and that’s what we’re really here to do.
AMP: What is the Department of Education’s expectation for implementation of the next phase of the LEARNS Act?
Oliva: We talked about once the law was signed, getting those rules codified through the state board. Many of the requirements or deadlines would go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year, so when we look at 2024-2025, the expansion of Education Freedom Accounts — that’s going to happen. In 2025-2026, eligibility is going to be expanded. We’re implementing or finished implementing a new assessment, so we’re going to go through what’s called a standard setting process. We’re going to work on how we can upgrade our accountability system so that when we give school grades, they directly reflect the learning that’s happening in schools, and we can do that with confidence, so that work is going to be ongoing throughout this year, and we’re going to continue supporting students and training teachers and recruiting teachers and supporting principals and leaders and working with our elected officials to get these new opportunities that families and students and school districts have implemented with fidelity.
AMP: Can you access the impact of LEARNS on school/community relationships?
Oliva: Well, one of the things that LEARNS requires and this year’s ninth graders are required to do is meet community service hours. A lot of people kind of put their hands up when they heard that. So you’ve got to require 75 hours of community service, and we’re a little bit nervous about that, but then we provided the guidance and the support that said, “It’s your community. You know what your students need. You have the flexibility to create the environments that work best for students to meet that.” The number of districts and families that I’ve heard from that didn’t even know the jobs or the opportunities that were within their community, a community that they’ve lived in their entire lives, or how [students] could give back, what civic organizations are in the community, the faith-based opportunities, the number of districts that are creating community-minded initiatives within the school day, in the summer, after school or on weekends is overwhelming. People in the community are being more connected to their students, which is one of the greatest things that we can get students excited about because that gives them hope. It gives them hope for the future. It gives them hope for how they can give back. It gives them hope for accomplishing their goals and striving for their dreams because they can see now how that’s going to pay off.
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