Lawmakers okay reallocation of $34 million for LEARNS Act initiatives

An Arkansas Legislative Council committee on Tuesday approved the reallocation of $34.7 million in federal recovery funding to support provisions of the LEARNS Act, a new law that changes multiple aspects of the state’s education system, including teacher pay, graduation requirements and literacy standards. 

Members of the ALC’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee advanced a request by the Arkansas Department of Education to use $6.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for literacy coaches, $8.5 million for supplemental education services and $20 million for high-impact tutoring. 

This reallocation of a previously-awarded appropriation must receive final approval by the full Legislative Council, which is scheduled to meet Friday morning. 

As a recipient of ARP Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund money, the state was required to create a plan describing how the funds would be used, and to obligate funds by Sept. 30, 2024. To date, ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has obligated $96.75 billion for projects.

Officials said Tuesday that all other items on the state’s plan will still be funded at their previously-authorized level, but ADE will use other COVID-related federal dollars such as Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) funding instead of ARP funding.

While opponents of the LEARNS Act have criticized a lack of specifics for funding the law’s many provisions, Tuesday’s request was not a surprise. Joint Budget Committee co-chair Sen. Jonathan Dismang, a Republican from Searcy, said during a Senate meeting in February that American Rescue Plan Act funds would be one-time money used to support the intensive literacy coaches proposed in the LEARNS Act.