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Lawmakers press consultants for grade‑level class‑size data and student mental‑health staffing
Summary
During the adequacy review update, lawmakers urged collection of grade-level class‑size data after consultants said current Arkansas measures do not isolate core classroom sizes; members also pressed for clearer information on staffing for student mental‑health services and how alternative adequacy methods would change resource detail.
Lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee pressed consultants on Monday for more granular class‑size and mental‑health staffing data after a presentation on the state funding matrix and adequacy‑review methodologies.
Representative Lowery called current funded class sizes in lower grades "unconscionable," saying research favors much smaller early‑grade class sizes. "I'm not gonna put this word into your vernacular, but I'm just gonna say I think that that's unconscionable," Representative Lowery said, referring to the matrix's 23:1 K–1 ratio and class sizes that can reach 25:1. The consultant team responded that current Arkansas class‑size measures conflate core classroom teachers with special‑education and…
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