Will Arkansas Parents Finally Be Heard

Arkansas school boards were stunned when parents voiced their outrage over forcing their children to wear masks during school in 2020 and 2021. Not only did it infuriate parents when they were ignored, but those same parents began pouring through school policies and quickly realized they were not even allowed to speak at public school board meetings.

Senate Bill 90, titled “TO REQUIRE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO BE AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT PUBLIC COMMENT AT EACH MEETING OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS”, authored by Senator Jane English, will be brought before the Senate Education Committee next week. This bill requires school boards to allow public comment at every public school board meeting while removing the restrictions that allow superintendents to stifle and restrict any comments.

Currently, most Arkansas school boards have a policy that requires any parent or citizen to fill out a form at least 5 days before a regular school board meeting and hand it over to the superintendent. That form forces the speaker to write down what they will be presenting and sometimes requires a photo ID to prove they are citizens. Sadly, many superintendents deny the speaking requests, while those who are allowed to speak will have their microphones shut off if they “stray” from their previously mentioned topic.

How did the largest Arkansas taxpayer-funded entity ever get the right to silence the very people who elected the school board members and pay the salaries of the staff? This has been the dominating question of parents across the state as they requested over and over to speak at school board meetings and were denied.

I urge everyone in the State of Arkansas to watch for updates and the presentation date for SB90 (linked here) and sign up to speak on how important this bill is. Every taxpayer, especially parents, who entrust these schools to educate and protect Arkansas children, should have a right to voice their concerns to board members over things that are being ignored in the classrooms and by administrators.

Missy Bosch

Missy is the author of “Crushed, but Not Broken”, a story detailing her daughter’s diagnosis and her family’s fight with CNS HLH. She has a passion to improve education and help children with disabilities receive the education and respect they deserve. Missy and her husband are AF veterans and have 4 children.