The ACCESS Bill was heard in a joint session March 10, drawing almost 55 students to testify. 

The 122-page-long bill proposes legislation that targets a wide scope of topics ranging from scholarships and concurrent credit classes to students’ influence on the legislative process. 

“This is a very lengthy bill. It is that way on purpose to make it long and complicated,” Adam Shaver, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas, said. “I believe they try to sneak a lot of bad things in with the few good things. We just need to do our due diligence on this so it doesn’t do damage, such as not letting us speak out again without the tardiness and truancy, and removing local positions that understand us better. We just need more representation for the people.”

Students from all over the state gathered at the capital to share their testimonies, particularly against section 23, which entailed that students of public and public charter schools would not have excused absences if they were to participate in walkouts, protests, or any other attempts to influence legislation. 

“It’s important to stand up for yourself while you still have the chance,” junior Mira Krain said. “For me, one of my big motivations is when I think about history classes, I always really admire the people who stood up for the things that are now important to me today. I want to be the kind of person that people can look back on and appreciate and respect for that.”

Students noted that such legislation infringes on their First Amendment rights.

“It doesn’t affect me because I’m graduating and in a private school, but I still need to say something about it,” Mick Cline, a senior at Catholic High School for Boys, said. “ I don’t think it takes a genius to know that suppressing someone’s First Amendment right is big.”

After listening to the testimonies, an amendment was made to the bill that allows high school students to have an excused absence if they are actively participating in the legislative process. The amendment does not apply to protests or walkouts, or the actions of college students.

“I’m glad they listened to us,” Krain said. “It’s not what we were looking for, but it’s still a win.”

While some students are grateful for the slight change, others still don’t think the change is sufficient. 

“We can go to the capital for things like testimonies, but when it comes to what we are known for, like we are known for being advocates and a pretty outrageous school in terms of speaking and walking out, we can’t do that as much anymore without worrying about getting in trouble.” Senior Addisyn Grace Cain said. 

The bill was signed into law with no more amendments.