ROGERS, Ark. — An organization called For AR Kids visited Rogers today as they push to get Arkansas educational standards updated and changed in the state constitution.
The Educational Rights Amendment would hold any school that gets public funding to the same standards as public schools and establish certain quality standards.
It would also guarantee what they call "voluntary universal access" for special education, after school and summer programs, services for kids who are within a percentage of the federal poverty line, and Pre-K for three and four-year-olds.
Steve Grappe, the President of Stand Up Arkansas, says there is a big difference in starting Pre-K at age three versus age five.
"A child that starts Pre-K at three, will hear up to a million more words than a child that starts at five. And if you have that kind of exposure, you're more likely to be able to read by the third grade."
His goal with the amendment is to widen the amount of Pre-K programs in the state.
"We want to get universal Pre-K, for all public schools in Arkansas. Right now, only 10% of the public gets funded. And that's the most needy of our citizens."
As Grappe and others with For AR Kids travels around the state to drum up support, he's encouraging voters to look at what their proposed changes to the education article of what the state constitution would do.
"Educate yourself, spread the word to your friends and family. Almost everybody that's like what we're doing in this town hall tonight. Almost everybody that hears this was like, 'I didn't even know this was happening, I absolutely am for that.'"
He believes every citizen's voice in the state matters.
"The thing that I'd like all Arkansans to think about is we are the lowest civic engagement state in the country. We have less people that participate in our politics than anywhere else in the country. And it's mostly what I hear is because they don't think their voice is heard. This is a way for people to have their voice heard. We can make a difference in the laws that govern us and our education system directly and we should take that right seriously and get out there and help get this passed," Grappe explained.
For the amendment to get on the ballot, organizers will need 90,704 votes by July 5.
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