Protests at Little Rock Central High School over Gov. Sanders education bill

Casey Johnson, Journalist|March 3, 2023

Photo via Flickr under Creative Common License

Arkansas governor Sarah Sanderson sparks controversy over new LEARNS Act bill abolishing leftist ideologies.

On March 3rd, 2023 Little Rock Central High School formed a walkout during the school’s third-period class at 1:00 pm. in which hundreds of students walked out of the school and onto the school’s lawn.

The walkout was in protest of Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders’s new LEARNS Act bill.

According to Sanders, “The bill is intended to revamp education from early childhood classes through the 12th grade, calls for universal teacher raises, universal pre-K and a universal school voucher system phased in within three years. It also bans classroom instruction on ‘gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual reproduction’ before fifth grade — prompting comparisons to Florida — and bans teaching that would ‘indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory’.”

The walkout at the high school was put together by the school’s Young Leftists Club, Student Council committee, Black Student Union club, and the Gay-Straight Alliance club. These groups all formed a letter as a response to the government about their feelings and opinions on the LEARNS Act bill. The letter consisted of the group’s thoughts on the dangers of the bill and how they want Sanders to keep their school’s name out of the bill. The school’s Leftists Club stated,  “

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The Leftist Club members stated, “Middle and upper-class white families take resources from public schools to escape to private ones, leaving marginalized kids with crumbling facilities, an antiquated curriculum, and teachers who are forced to prioritize their job security over the quality of their instruction.” 

Although the school groups presented their personal concerns, the bill passed the Arkansas House 78-21 on Thursday, and 13 days later the bill cleared both chambers of the statehouse with four Republicans in the House and one in the Senate voting no.