ARKANSAS SCHOLARSHIP OR SCHOOL VOUCHERS?- An Arkansas scholarship program called The Capitol Promise Scholarship would take $3.5 million dollars of state money annually to pay tuition for about 500 low-income children. Opponents say it’s a school voucher program. Governor Asa Hutchinson has been against vouchers in the past but yesterday at a press conference in Little Rock, Hutchinson explained why he supports this program.
"Parents, if they have children that are in a poor performing school, I haven’t seen any parents that say 'we don’t want options", Hutchinson explained. "In contrast, I've had parents that say 'we would like to have options. We want our child in a well performing school.'"
Opponents to the scholarship say would hurt public schools and stress statefunds should be used to support traditional programs. If approved by the General Assembly, the Capital Promise Scholarship would be the state's largest school-choice program. Currently, the state offers similar private school scholarships to about 250 students with disabilities under the Succeed Scholarship Program.
