Bearcat Wrap-up Podcast - Week 19: New Year, New Legislative Session

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

Happy Snowy Friday!Well, there was not much to Week 19 at Mena Public Schools. We did get two days into the instructional semester and a day of planning and looking at data to inform our instructional needs to meet our performance targets for the year. Thank you for all the good work done on Monday and the good start on Tuesday and Wednesday. This week’s Wrap-Up highlights several important topics, beginning with a special thanks to our dedicated school board members for their invaluable service. We will also take a brief look at the upcoming legislative session and its potential impact on our school system. Finally, with our recent school closures, I will review our district calendar to explain how these closures affect our schedule and what it means moving forward.School Board Appreciation MonthJanuary is School Board Member Appreciation Month, and we want to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated school board members for their service and leadership. Our board, led by President Cling Montgomery, Vice President Phillip Wilson, Secretary Ty Plunkett, and members Kyle Cannon, Robert Hines, Susan Rowell, and Todd Aynes, works tirelessly to ensure the success of our students and the strength of our schools. Their commitment to our district and community is invaluable, and we are deeply grateful for their vision, guidance, and support. Please join us in thanking them for their hard work and dedication to making a positive impact in the lives of our students.Potential New LawsAs the 95th Arkansas General Assembly prepares to convene, educators must stay informed about proposed legislation impacting public education. The decisions made during this session will shape the policies and priorities that influence your classrooms, students, and careers.Your voice matters. By understanding the bills under consideration, you can advocate effectively for the needs of your students and communities. Whether through direct communication with your legislators, collaboration with professional organizations, or participation in public forums, sharing your insights as educators can guide decision-making and ensure policies align with the realities of teaching and learning.Below is a summary of key bills related to public education introduced in this session:House BillsHB 1017 – Maternity Leave Program: This bill mandates that all school districts participate in the maternity leave program established under the LEARNS Act, with the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education covering additional costs.HB 1020 – Education Freedom and Disability Funding: Proposes repealing the education freedom accounts program while introducing additional funding for students with disabilities in public schools and the community school program.HB 1022 – School Recognition Program: Amends the criteria for the school recognition program, limiting per-student funding to districts in the top 5% and 10% for academic growth only, removing the performance-based category.HB 1024 – Collective Bargaining: Seeks to repeal the current prohibition on public employees, including school staff, from entering into collective bargaining agreements.HB 1025 – Teacher Fair Dismissal Act: Restores the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act entirely but does not reinstate similar protections for classified employees.HB 1028 – Library Material Review: Repeals Act 372 of 2023 in its entirety, including provisions related to the review, removal, and relocation of books in school libraries.HB 1030 – Youth Mental Health Training: Requires school resource officers and counselors to complete Youth Mental Health First Aid training specifically.HB 1031 – Health Curriculum: Mandates health courses for grades 7-12, covering topics such as mental health, substance abuse, diet, tobacco use, and teenage pregnancy prevention.HB 1051 - School Start Date: Makes permanent the changes to school start dates from Act 147 of 2024, removing the specific required date ranges for starting instruction.HB 1058 – Notification Prohibition: This creates a criminal offense for public servants who notify individuals of upcoming unannounced government inspections.HB 1060 – Curriculum on Communism: Requires the development of materials to teach grades 7-12 about the dangers of communism and autocratic governments.HB 1062 – Student Discipline: Requires conferences for students removed from class twice in nine weeks, alternative learning placement for violent students, and prohibits violent students from returning to the original classroom.HB 1069 – Year-Round Standard Time: Proposes Arkansas adopt Standard Time year-round.Senate BillsSB 3 – Equality Assistance Center: Renames the Equity Assistance Center and limits its role to assisting with desegregation and nondiscrimination. Repeals the requirement for districts to have Teacher and Administrator Recruitment and Retention Plans.As these bills progress through the legislative process, consider how they align with the needs of our students and communities. Your awareness and engagement can help shape the future of education in Arkansas.Our Calendar, Closing, and Potential New Legislative ImpactDue to the recent winter storm, we were required to close school for two days. Fortunately, under current state law, schools are required to provide 1,068 hours of instruction annually, and our calendar is built with 1,111.5 hours. This means we are 6.7 days above the required minimum and do not need to make up these two missed days. However, with a little over 4 extra days of instructional time remaining, any additional closures could impact the calendar, potentially extending the school year into May or June.Given the significant snowfall, many impassable roads, and continued low temperatures, there is a possibility that schools may remain closed into next week. Please stay tuned to your email, local radio stations, and our social media channels for the latest updates on future closures or reopenings. Your safety remains our top priority as we navigate these challenging weather conditions.Additionally, there is a potential proposal from the state department to mandate 178 instructional days for all schools. Currently, our calendar consists of 171 days and has proven to work exceptionally well for our students and staff. We will need to monitor all calendar-related legislation closely to advocate for retaining the flexibility that allows us to use this successful method.ClosingWe are thrilled to congratulate our first through seventh-grade students who have excelled in their respective spelling bees. Your dedication and hard work have led you to this achievement, and we are confident that you will represent our school with pride at the upcoming Polk County Spelling Bee. Best of luck to each of you as you prepare for the county contest!A warm thank you to our wrestling and basketball teams for traveling and competing over the Christmas break. Your dedication to Bearcat athletics and commitment to representing our school with pride are greatly appreciated. Thank you to the players and coaches for all the hard work you put into making our programs strong.It was a short but good week for us at Mena Public Schools!At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.Keep the #menareads posts and videos coming and have a nice weekend! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Good afternoon and welcome to the week 19 wrap up entitled New Year, New Legislative Session. As we begin a new year and a new semester, the Arkansas 95th General Assembly begins all further shaping the future of education here and across the state. Happy Snowy Friday. Happy Snowy Friday. Well there is not much to week 19 of MENA Public Schools. We did get two days into the instructional semester and a day of planning and looking at data to inform our instructional needs to meet our performance targets for the year. Thank you for all the good work done on Monday and the good start on Tuesday and Wednesday. This week's wrap-up highlights several important topics,

beginning with a special thanks to our dedicated school board members for their invaluable service. We will also take a brief look at the upcoming legislative session and its potential impact on our school system. Finally, with our recent school closures, I will review our district calendar to explain how these closures affect our schedule and what it means moving forward. School Board Appreciation Month. January is School Board Member Appreciation Month, and we want to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated school board members for their service and leadership. Our board, led by President Clint Montgomery, Vice President Phillip Wilson, Secretary Ty Plunkett, and members Kyle Cannon, Robert Hines, Susan Rowell, and Todd Ames, works tirelessly to ensure the success of our students and the strength of our school system.

Their commitment to our district and community is invaluable, and we are deeply grateful for their vision, guidance, and support. Please join us in thanking them for their hard work and dedication to making a positive impact in the lives of our students. Potential New Laws The 95th Arkansas General Assembly prepares to convene. Educators must stay informed about proposed legislation impacting public education the decisions made during this session will shape the policies and priorities in that influence your classrooms students and careers your voice matters by understanding the bills under consideration you can advocate effectively for the needs of your students and communities.

Whether through direct communication with your legislators, collaboration with professional organizations, or participation in public forums, sharing your insights as educators can guide decision making and ensure policies align with the realities of teaching and learning. Below is a summary of key bills related to public education introduced in this session House bills House bill 1017 maternity leave program this bill mandates that all school districts participate in the maternity leave program established under the learns Act with the division of elementary and secondary Education covering additional costs. House Bill 1020, Education Freedom and Disability Funding,

proposes repealing the Education Freedom Accounts Program while introducing additional funding for students with disabilities in public schools and the community school program. House Bill 1022, School Recognition Program, amends the criteria for the school recognition program limiting per-student funding to districts in the top 5% and 10% for academic growth only, removing the performance-based category. House Bill 1024, Collective Bargaining, seeks to repeal the current prohibition on public employees, including school staff, from entering into collective bargaining agreements. House Bill 1025, Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, restores the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act entirely, but does not reinstate similar protections for classified employees. does not reinstate similar protections for classified employees.

House Bill 1028, Library Material Review, repeals Act 372 of 2023 in its entirety, including provisions related to the review, removal, and relocation of books in school libraries. House Bill 1030, Youth Mental Health Training, requires school resource officers and counselors to complete youth mental health first aid training specifically. House Bill 1031, Health Curriculum, mandates health courses for grades 7 through 12 covering topics such as mental health, substance abuse, diet, tobacco use, and teenage pregnancy prevention. House Bill 1051, school start date, makes permanent the changes to school start dates from Act 147 of 2024, removing the specific required date ranges for starting instruction. House Bill 1058, notification prohibitionition This creates a criminal offense for public

servants who notify individuals of upcoming unannounced government inspections. House Bill 1060 Curriculum on Communism requires the development of materials to teach grades 7-12 about the dangers of communism and autocratic governments. House Bill 1062, Student Discipline, requires conferences for students removed from class twice in nine weeks, alternative learning placement for violent students, and prohibits violent students from returning to the original classroom. House Bill 1069, Year-Round Standard Time, proposes Arkansas adopt standard time year-round. Senate Bills, Senate Bill 3, Equality Assistance Center, renames the Equity Assistance Center and limits its role to assisting with desegregation and non-discrimination,

repeals the requirement for districts to have teacher and administrator recruitment and retention plans. As these bills progress through the legislative process, consider how they align with the needs of our students and communities. Your awareness and engagement can help shape the future of education in Arkansas. Your awareness and engagement can help shape the future of education in Arkansas. Our calendar, closing, and potential new legislative impact. Due to the recent winter storm, we were required to close school for two days.

Fortunately, under current state law, schools are required to provide 1,068 hours of instruction annually and our calendar which is linked in the text if you want to look at it is built with 1111.5 hours This means that we are six point seven days above the required minimum and do not need to make up these two missed days However with a little over four extra days of instructional time remaining any additional closers four extra days of instructional time remaining, any additional closures could impact the calendar, potentially extending the school year into May or June. Given the significant snowfall, many impassable roads, and continued low temperatures,

there's a possibility that schools may remain closed into next week. Please stay tuned to your email, local radio stations, and our social media channels for the latest updates on future closures or reopenings. Your safety remains our top priority as we navigate these challenging weather conditions. Additionally, there's a potential proposal from the State Department to mandate 178 instructional days for all schools. Currently, our calendar consists of 171 days and has proven to work exceptionally well for our students and staff. We will need to monitor all calendar related legislation closely to advocate for retaining

the flexibility that allows us to use this successful method. Closing, we are thrilled to congratulate our first through seventh grade students who have excelled in their respective spelling bees. Your dedication and hard work have led you to this achievement and we are confident that you will represent our schools our school with pride at the upcoming Polk County Spelling Bee. Best of luck to each of you as you prepare for the county contest. A warm thank you to our wrestling and basketball teams for traveling and competing over the Christmas break. Your dedication to Bearcat athletics and commitment to representing our school with pride are greatly

appreciated. Thank you to the players and coaches for all the hard work you put into making our program strong. It was a short but good week for us, Amina Public Schools. Amina Public Schools, our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident. Keep the Amina Reads posts and videos coming, and have a nice weekend.