An amended bill by a south Arkansas legislator that previously failed in the state House of Representatives now awaits Senate approval.
State Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, serves District 92, which covers all of Grant County and a portion of Saline County. She filed House Bill 1370, which previously called for each school district to add five makeup days to its calendar and be granted up to five additional days for alternative methods of instruction, or AMI, by the commissioner of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Such methods, including virtual learning, were common during the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
The Arkansas LEARNS Act of 2023, which overhauled education in the state, did not explicitly ban AMI days, although wording of the act regarding in-person instruction led educational leaders to believe otherwise.
The point of HB1370, Mayberry said, was so students would retain what they learned should a school district need to use more than allotted built-in days.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“Perhaps they were learning geometry, and a week later they were coming back in the classroom. They’re not going to remember what they learned more than a week ago. And (if) you had a day or two of AMI or some remote learning, you can keep them on task.”
The measure failed last week, but Mayberry on Thursday filed an amendment to the bill that now calls for each district to build in seven days to its calendar and be granted up to three AMI days. Under Section 6-10-127 of the Arkansas Code, a superintendent may also add at least 60 minutes to the beginning or end of a school day to make up time missed. The House on Tuesday passed the bill 54-35, with five not voting and six counted present.
All three of Pine Bluff’s representatives, Democrats Glenn Barnes and Ken Ferguson and Republican Mike Holcomb, voted for HB1370. The Senate then referred it to its Education Committee.
The AMI days could help students learn more about digital technology they encounter every day, Mayberry suggested.
“I feel that this is a tool that we really give very little instruction to, to our students,” Mayberry said, holding up a smartphone. “Not only are we able to give students some information to handle this power that’s in their hand, both good and bad, that we also help them to help the parents. Because people don’t understand – fake news, real news, how do you verify everything? I think with AI, it’s going to be more challenging because you used to be able to say, ‘If you saw a video of it or saw a picture of it, then it really happened.’ Now with AI, it’s harder to distinguish, ‘Did it really happen?’ or ‘Is that not?’ We want to give them tools to be able to distinguish what’s real.’
“Also, there’s the thing about cybersecurity. How do you protect yourself online? How do you not get scammed?” Mayberry added. “You get that text that says, ‘If you don’t send in this money now, the sheriff’s office is going to arrest you’ or ‘There is a warrant out for you’ or something. There are just so many things out there, and I feel we need to give our students the tools they need.”
Mayberry said last week she sought recommendations from school librarians for amending her bill. The amended version would make clear AMI days may be used, although Mayberry said officials with the Arkansas Department of Education are “not fans” of AMI.
“But I hear from my folks back home and superintendents and teachers that they miss AMI days, that there is an advantage to having these AMI days,” she said. “So, I’m trying to find a compromise.”
A school district and public charter school must provide in-person instruction for at least 178 days or 1,068 hours to be eligible for state funding for teacher salary raises. Mayberry’s bill, if signed into law, would add language to allow each AMI day or hour to be counted toward the in-person minimum.
The Pine Bluff School District, so far, has used two makeup days as a result of time lost from inclement weather this year, Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said. School districts are required to build in potential makeup days within a calendar approved by their respective boards, she said.
“I could make a case for AMI versus not using AMI,” Barbaree said, adding face-to-face instruction is best. “On the other side of the fence, if students come back later in the year, there’s less attendance and instruction is not there. The good thing for us, the year-round calendar allows us to prepare our students before testing. We are required to build those snow days in.”
It’s very rare Pine Bluff or a neighboring school district would miss five or more days of class in a school year due to weather, but if Mayberry’s bill becomes law, the PBSD would take advantage of it “for sure,” Barbaree remarked.