LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Arkansas schools with bright ideas may have more leeway to bring those to life.
Senator Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said many districts in Arkansas have lost the joy of education, and she proposed getting it back through creating districts of innovation.
The general concept according to Elliot is to allow school districts to submit innovation plans with new and creative teaching techniques to the state. If approved, the districts may be able to go outside current rules with curriculum in order to be more engaging.
Senator Elliot said schools would be able to submit their ideas surrounding curriculum or time restraints.
"We have traditional schools, and we have traditional rules, and this is designed so that everything, every school district if you have a brilliant idea and you want to do things differently from what the rules say," said Elliot. "We have to now that you might actually get an exemption from the commissioner to do that. To be responsive to the folks in your locality."
The bill calls for parent and educator support, and if a district is approved by the state, it will have the "innovative" label for five years. It is currently pending in the education committee for a financial impact study.
Senator Elliot also said more than 90 percent of Arkansas students go to public schools, and she wants this bill to give them the best opportunity for advanced education.