Executive Viewpoint

Merry Legislative Session!

Dr. Mike Hernandez, AAEA Executive Director

December has arrived! School calendars are filled with concerts, ballgames, and class parties. Your staff and parents have become super busy with shopping and family gatherings. Pretty soon, it will be Christmas, which comes with excitement and gifts! I know you have done tremendous work trying to keep high expectations of learning at school when everyone is wide-eyed and amped up about all things Christmas. Christmas music has taken over one of my favorite radio stations, B98.5. I will tune back in around January because I'm not too fond of Christmas music, but I like Christmas movies. I watch Die Hard and It's a Wonderful Life every year. We have just completed a semester of learning, and I am grateful we have done this without significant interruptions like we have dealt with in years past. It will be time to rest and enjoy your family and the holidays. Hopefully, Cousin Eddie will not be there to visit as you celebrate the season.

As you know, we will have plenty of work waiting for us when we return in January. The 94th General Assembly will convene on January 9th to take care of the business of Arkansas. We know from various news sources and social media posts that education will be a hot topic during this session. In some ways, it is good that more and more people are interested in improving student outcomes. On the other hand, problematic legislation happens when educators are not part of the conversation. Assumptions, philosophies and theory are easy to articulate and identify as solutions to problems but often fall short in the practical setting. We have several policymakers that want educators at the table when decisions are made. Our school leaders must ensure that relationships are being built now to enable communication and opportunities for feedback as a policy is crafted. We will have some that do not seek feedback and file bills that may have several issues for us as educators. We will have to work together to deal with these types of bills as they arise. Everyone comes from a place of trying to improve education, and that should be our common ground. We might not agree on every idea put out there, but communication and respect are how we work to a resolution.

We will begin our AAEA Legislative Committee meetings at AAA on January 18th. Three committees will review each bill and recommend a position to the AAEA Board for ratification. Dr. Jared Cleveland and Mrs. Jamie Stacks will chair the Finance/Facilities committee. Dr. Stephanie Nehus and Mr. Luke Lovins will chair the Curriculum/ Assessment committee. Dr. Bryan Duffie and Mr. Deric Owens will chair the Governance/Retirement committee. We are very grateful to all the committee members that have agreed to serve.

All members are welcome to attend the general meetings that will be held after committee times. The committees are scheduled to start at 1:30 pm, and the general meetings will be held at 3 pm. These times are subject to change based on when House and Senate committees set their agendas. We will have some options to zoom as we did during the last session in 2021. We have had a few pre-filed bills, and they should begin showing up on our bill tracker. Several other items of information are on our website. You can find out who your local legislative contacts are by clicking on the Menu tab and finding the heading labeled "Advocacy." Weekly reports from each committee can be found by clicking here. Most of the links require your membership login to access. If you need help logging in, contact Marty Smith at m.smith@theaaea.org or call 501-372-1691.

We have much to celebrate this season and much to look forward to in the new year. I am hopeful that the new administration of Governor-Elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a lot of new faces in the legislature will put students and education first as they propose policy. If education is a high priority, we all must be willing to listen and engage in the new policy ideas presented. None of us are satisfied with where we are in education and we all want to do whatever it takes to improve. My good friend Jon Laffoon recently shared this on social media. "Stay humble and learn. Don't think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. Leaders must remain students of their work as learning and improvement go hand-in-hand." As we go into the new year and beyond, we all need this mindset.

Thank you all for a wonderful first semester and for what you do for the kids. Merry Christmas to all, and please bring back my normal B98.5!