Affirmative action ban gains final approval; water fluoridation bill rejected

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

A controversial bill to ban all state-sponsored affirmative action programs gained final legislative approval on Wednesday.

Members of the state Senate passed Senate Bill 3 on a vote of 24 to 6 with no debate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan. R-Jonesboro, prohibits any programs which discriminate or provide preferential treatment because of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

While no lawmakers spoke against it Wednesday, Senate Bill 3 has faced scrutiny over its potential to do away with several state-run programs, like the Arkansas Minority Health Commission and scholarships. Lawmakers in favor of the bill have said the programs will still exist, but will consider applicants based on merit rather than race, sex or other characteristics.

Affirmative action ban gains final approval; water fluoridation bill rejected

Affirmative action ban passes Arkansas House

KUAR | By Maggie Ryan

A bill to ban state-run affirmative action programs has advanced through another legislative hurdle. Senate Bill 3 received approval from the House Thursday with a vote of 64-27.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro and Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville. It now returns to the Senate to approve an amendment before heading to the governor’s desk.

Bentley discussed a brief history of affirmative action as she presented the bill on the House floor. She referenced a 1965 executive order from then-President Lyndon B. Johnson which required the government to expand hiring practices and prevent discrimination in government jobs.

Affirmative action ban passes Arkansas House

Affirmative action ban advances through Arkansas Senate

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Members of the Arkansas Senate have approved a bill that would ban state-supported affirmative action programs.

Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, would prohibit “discrimination or preferential treatment” in state entities. Senators voted on the proposal Wednesday, following more than two hours of debate in committee Tuesday.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Sullivan said the bill wouldn’t impact hiring practices in the private sector.

“Preferential treatment and discrimination have always existed… but to say that we’re trying to get rid of that nationwide and statewide is just a straw man and not true,” he said. “This bill only affects procurement, hiring and higher [education].”

Affirmative action ban advances through Arkansas Senate

Image by John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas professors discuss the impacts of affirmative action programs in college admissions

KUAR | By KUAR News

Two weeks ago, the U.S Supreme Court in a ruling that involved Harvard and the University of North Carolina ended affirmative action. In the majority opinion by the Supreme Court, an academic paper written by Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the UA Little Rock Bowen School, was quoted by Justice Clarence Thomas.

During a panel discussion on Arkansas Week, Steinbuch said his paper used data to analyze the effectiveness of race-based admissions programs at law schools.

“What the paper shows is that the success rate for example Blacks passing the bar, after graduation, I should say the failure rate is double that of whites,” he said. “It’s not because they’re Black, but because they are admitted with insufficient credentials and we’re not telling the students this when we take their money.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-09/arkansas-professors-discuss-the-impacts-of-affirmative-action-programs-in-college-admissions

Arkansas PBS

The U.S Supreme Court's decision to undo affirmative action will change the way schools handle their admissions. Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the UA Little Rock Bowen School of Law, said the Supreme Court was correct in their ruling.