Sponsors Mathew Shepard and Jonathan Dismag proposed HB1512, the “ACCESS Act,” to reform higher education. ACCESS, standing for Acceleration, Common Sense, Cost, Eligibility, Scholarships, and Standardization, aims to streamline education and hold higher education accountable. The bill also applies to public and charter high schools in section 23, affecting students.  

“We started out about the last year-and-a-half, putting pen to paper and saying, these are barriers stopping students from achieving what we call the three “Es” when they leave high school. Are they ready to be enlisted, employed or enrolled,” Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said Feb. 14 after releasing the bill. “All of those obstacles and barriers need to be removed so the system is seamless and we can make that transition be successful.”

The bill also changes “Advanced Placement” courses to “Accelerated learning” courses as well as doubling Arkansas Challenge Scholarship from $1,000 to $2,000, allowing eligible students to receive more merit money– “Scholarships and Standardization.”

However, the Bill will end excused absences for political protests, social and public policy advocacy, and attempts to influence legislation or other policy making at the local, state, or federal level. School’s cannot authorize student walkouts. 

The bill was released Feb. 14, but introduced to the state legislature in both the chambers February 17. 

“No more excused absences for protest. And if a student vandalizes the school property, we will not let them graduate until they pay for the repairs themselves,” Sanders said in her statement about the bill Feb. 14,  “We will make sure that if a student decides to attend college, they actually get the real-life skills that they’re paying for. We will consider return on investment and our productivity-based funding model so that taxpayers are funding degrees that contribute to our state and to our economy.”