Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Student bill of rights to be discussed at special session

When the legislature assembles in special session in December, one of the things to be discussed will be a Student Bill of Rights.

This bill is sponsored by Sen. Percy Malone, the senate majority leader. The senate minority leader, Gilbert Baker, has also signed off on the measure as well, saying he was encouraged by this approach to educational goal-setting.

Malone proposed the Student Bill of Rights during the summer, but nothing much happened with it, as the primary focus was whether or not there would be a special session called to pass a plan for education in the state.

"This is the basis," Malone said, "I believe we need to accomplish and work through the legislature to solve the Lake View case."

The 10 principles in the Student Bill of Rights outline the "rights" and desired results Arkansas students, their family and the State should reasonably expect from an adequate and equitable public education.

"This debate has so far been mired in accusations about who wants to take what away from whom. The starting point for any reasonable discussion on education reform should be about setting goals on which all parties might agree," Malone said. "That's what Senators are attempting to do with this Student Bill of Rights."

This bill of rights was adopted in part from the majority opinion written by Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Brown.

Under the measure, every student in the state has the right to benefit from the state's constitutional responsibility to provide a general, suitable and efficient system of free public schools.

Every student has the right to the advantages of an education adequate to give them the opportunity to realize their potential, enrich their lives and be assets to their community.

Every student has the right to basic instruction, within an efficient system of education, providing them with competencies and capabilities including, but not limited to the following:

1. Sufficient oral and written communication skills enabling them to function in a complex and rapidly changing world;

2. Sufficient knowledge of economic, social and political systems enabling them to make informed choices;

3. Sufficient comprehension of governmental processes enabling them to understand the issues that affect their community, state and nation;

4. Sufficient self-knowledge of their mental and physical wellness;

5. Sufficient grounding in the arts enabling each student to appreciate their cultural and historical heritage;

6. Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields enabling them to choose and pursue life work intelligently; and

7. Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills enabling them to compete favorably with their counterparts throughout the nation and the world in academics or in the job market.

The fourth principle in the bill states every student has the right to additional instruction in curricula that will serve as a basis for practical knowledge and skills enabling them to pursue immediate and lifelong employment and career opportunities.

Every student has the right to be assessed in the basic core knowledge of skills and provided necessary instruction and training, including remediation, to achieve appropriate performance and proficiency levels at or above the national average.

Every student has the right to quality teachers and instructors who are compensated through salaries and benefits competitive with surrounding states.

Every student has the right to be educated in safe, functional, comfortable and adequate school buildings with the necessary materials, equipment and supplies to supplement instruction and facilitate efficient and effective learning.

Every student has the right to an educational system that is funded based on the amount needed and necessary  rather than the amount available  to provide an adequate education. This right extends to benefitting from actual expenditures per student, rather than revenues paid to school districts.

Every student has the right to benefit from the State's monitoring, assessment and evaluation of public education programs and systems to determine whether opportunity for an adequate education is being substantially afforded to all.

And, the final principle, is every student has a fundamental right to a State-funded, constitutionally adequate public education.

Malone said this bill should get an 85-90 percent agreement on where the state stands in working to comply with the court order.

Any disagreements or problems with the Student Bill of Rights, he said, can be hammered out during the special session.