At Capitol, School Choice celebrated as critical right

Kipp Delta College Preparatory School students pose for a “selfie” on steps inside the state Capitol on Thursday. Students, legislators and educators joined to celebrate National School Choice Week, to promote education options ranging from traditional schools and charter schools to online learning and home schooling.
Kipp Delta College Preparatory School students pose for a “selfie” on steps inside the state Capitol on Thursday. Students, legislators and educators joined to celebrate National School Choice Week, to promote education options ranging from traditional schools and charter schools to online learning and home schooling.

About 100 students, parents, lawmakers and educators rallied in the state Capitol on Thursday to celebrate National School Choice Week.

Wearing yellow scarves, speakers said hundreds of events around the country are celebrating education options available to parents -- including public, private and charter schools, home schooling and online teaching.

"School choice is needed by everyone," Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said at the rally. "If you are trying to keep people in, you're failing. You've already failed."

In 1976, he said he was forced to switch high schools because of where he lived. The move, he said, was disastrous.

He said the new school didn't offer "calculus, physics, music, history. My junior and senior English [classes] were actually seventh- and eighth-grade English."

He said people have said that too few Arkansas lawmakers have college degrees.

"I'm one of those," he said. "I shouldn't have been."

Act 35 of 2003 changed the situation for Clark's daughter, who changed schools.

"As a direct result, she got full scholarships and honors [at the University of Central Arkansas]," he said. "No child and no parent should be denied the right to choose the school that they think is best for them."

Clark's daughter recently worked at the United Nations.

At the rally, Rep. Douglas House, R-North Little Rock, touted the Succeed Scholarship, a school voucher program for students with disabilities.

House wrote the bill to create the program in 2015.

He said he wrote the bill because he had a friend with two special needs children who weren't being adequately educated.

"When I saw what was happening to them, I said that's the answer -- they need to be able to take their children and put them in an environment where they can learn something and get through life the best they can," House said.

He said the bill received no dissenting votes in the House or Senate.

The first scholarships -- worth up to about $6,600 -- will be awarded during the 2016-17 school year. About 13 percent of the state's students will be eligible.

About a dozen lawmakers -- including Clark and House -- were honored at the rally.

"We will continue to work to expand choice so that every parent can decide what each of their children need to learn," House said.

Metro on 01/29/2016

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