As the holidays approach and we focus on our families, we need to continue to focus on the future of the children of Arkansas. Arkansas has a statute that many Arkansans may be unaware of. Arkansas Code Annotated Sec. 21-4-216 allows for state employees to take eight hours of unpaid leave to participate in educational activities of their children and grandchildren. This includes attending parent-teacher conferences, field trips, participating in school-sponsored tutoring, and many other educational activities listed in the statute.
The Arkansas statute is a step in the right direction. State employees should absolutely take advantage of it. But, there's still a lot of room to grow as a state. Many states have more expansive statutes than Arkansas. California's statute requires that employers with 25 or more employees at the same location allow up to eight hours of unpaid leave per month (no more than 40 hours per year). North Carolina and Washington, D.C.'s, statutes cover all working parents, not just state employees. D.C. provides 24 hours of unpaid leave during any 12-month period. Vermont's statute requires that employers with 15 or more employees allow four hours leave in any 30-day period (not to exceed 24 hours in any 12-month period).
Why is leave for participation in children's educational activities important? Parental involvement has a huge impact on the educational success of a child. The National Coalition for Parental Involvement found that children with involved parents generally earn higher grades and test scores, attend school more regularly, and are also more likely to graduate and continue on to post-secondary education, regardless of race or income level.
Arkansas is already a step ahead by having a statute of this kind, but we still must improve. We need to expand the statute to cover all working parents, not just state employees. Parents who most need flexibility to help their children are least likely to have such benefits on the job. We need to work together as a state to fix this problem and make it possible for all working parents to be involved in their children's education.
Brooke Magness
Centerton
Editorial on 11/26/2015