ARKANSAS, USA — Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES) have submitted signatures in time for the deadline of 5 p.m. on July 31. It's still up in the air whether they've reached their goal of over 54,000 signatures, however.
CAPES needed to submit 54,422 signatures to reach the threshold, which they say they believe they met. "This is a number the group believes they reached after a last-minute public plea to citizens and they fully expect to get the “cure period,” which allows them to continue collecting signatures," CAPES said on Tuesday.
CAPES is an organization against Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' flagship education reform, the LEARNS Act. CAPES says passing LEARNS in Arkansas would be "detrimental to public education in the state." Their goal is to put the Act on the November 2024 ballot for people to vote on.
CAPES had to collect more than 54,000 signatures from 50 Arkansas counties for the petition to go on the ballot.
“We were confident we were doing the right thing from the beginning, but have still been overwhelmed with the outpouring of passionate educators, parents, and other citizens. And one thing I know is that when you get a bunch of pro-public schools folks together, there’s almost nothing that can stop them,” said CAPES Executive Director, Steve Grappe. “It’s hard to say exactly where we are, but we are optimistic we’re going to [meet the goal.]”
In the hours before the 5 p.m. deadline on July 31, CAPES said that regardless of whether they're able to gather enough signatures or not, their fight has just begun. "The contempt with which elected officials held for not only the movement, but for individuals involved in it and the citizens signing it was obvious and inspired many to sign and more to volunteer," the organization said.
The LEARNS Act promises a private school voucher program, paid maternity leave programs, literacy programs, and teacher salary raises, which has drawn concern from some who are worried the voucher program would lead to further privatization of Arkansas education.
5NEWS will update this article as more information becomes available.