Arkansas lawmakers send school ‘bathroom bill’ to House for final approval

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

A bill restricting bathroom usage in public schools is one step closer to becoming law in Arkansas.

House Bill 1156 won approval from the Arkansas Senate Monday on a party-line vote. The bill would require students to use bathrooms and changing facilities aligning with the sex on their birth certificate, and prohibit students from sharing overnight sleeping accommodations with members of the opposite sex.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said the bill’s discriminatory nature means it likely wouldn’t hold up in court.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-13/arkansas-lawmakers-send-school-bathroom-bill-to-house-for-final-approval

Toby Talbot/AP

A sign marks the entrance to a gender-neutral restroom at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. in 2007.

Arkansas lawmakers send sweeping education bill to governor’s desk

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will sign her signature education package into law Wednesday, two weeks after the bill was filed.

The Arkansas Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, on Tuesday.

“I’m ready to sign it into law tomorrow and end the failed status quo that has governed our education system for far too long,” Sanders said in a statement. “Every kid should have access to a quality education and a path to a good paying job and better life right here in Arkansas.”

The LEARNS Act makes sweeping changes to the state’s education system by addressing a variety of topics, including teacher pay, school safety, career readiness, literacy, a new voucher program and “indoctrination.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-08/arkansas-lawmakers-send-sweeping-education-bill-to-governors-desk

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Sen. Breanne Davis (R-Russellville), gives a thumbs-up after the Senate passes SB 294 on Feb. 23, as Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) looks on.

Arkansas bill restricting transgender adults’ bathroom use will be amended, returned to committee

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas legislators will amend a proposed law that would make it a crime if an adult “knowingly exposes his or her sex organs to a minor of the opposite sex” in a public restroom or changing room.

Sen. John Payton (R-Wilburn), the sponsor of Senate Bill 270, pulled the bill from consideration on the Senate floor Wednesday in order to clarify some of the language.

Adults who enter and remain in a facility that does not align with their gender assigned at birth would risk criminal charges of sexual indecency with a child if they are aware that minors are present, the bill states.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-02/arkansas-bill-restricting-transgender-adults-bathroom-use-will-be-amended-returned-to-committee

Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate

Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) explains his opposition to Senate Bill 270 before the full Senate on March 1, 2023. The bill would make it a crime of sexual indecency with a child if a person enters and remains in a restroom that does not align with their biological sex when children are present.