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At 8,154 words long, the ballot title for a potential referendum on the Arkansas LEARNS Act is the longest in Arkansas history.

Attorney General Tim Griffin certified the third attempt at a ballot title for the Arkansas LEARNS Act referendum, submitted by Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES).

Griffin's certification means CAPES can now start collecting voter signatures. The citizen group will need to collect at least 54,422 valid voter signatures from two-thirds of Arkansas' 75 counties by the end of July.

If they succeed, voters would decide the referendum on Nov. 5, 2024, more than a year after legislators approved Act 237 as the LEARNS Act is officially known.

Griffin's opinion (No. 2023-038) cautioned CAPES over the length of its ballot title. The group had the task of summarizing the 145-page education law so voters would understand what they could be voting on in 2024.

"Now, in your third submission, your ballot title essentially cuts and pastes from nearly every section of the LEARNS Act. Therefore, I cannot conclude that it is misleading. Under the scope of the review the General Assembly has given me, I must certify the attached popular name and ballot title as you have submitted them," the opinion stated.

"But please be advised that my certification under A.C.A. § 7-9-109 that your ballot title is no longer misleading does not necessarily mean your ballot title meets all standards the Arkansas Supreme Court has interpreted Arkansas law to require. As several of my predecessors have noted when certifying certain lengthy and complex ballot titles, the Court has repeatedly warned sponsors of statewide measures about their ballot titles’ length and complexity."

Legislators wrapped up the 94th Arkansas General Assembly on May 1. A number of new laws included emergency clauses that allowed them to go into effect immediately upon Gov. Sarah Sanders' signature rather than the traditional 90 days after the end of the session.

The LEARNS Act was one of those laws and it is now at the center of a lawsuit challenging the legislature's procedure for voting on emergency clauses. Challengers say the legislature should have taken one vote on the new law and then a separate vote on the emergency clause. Lawmakers' votes were recorded once.

Legislators and the Attorney General's Office, which is representing the state, say they were following years of tradition.

A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge put the education law on hold as the challenge winds its way through the Arkansas Supreme Court. Justices denied a request to remove the hold and instead asked attorneys to move quickly in filing court documents arguing their case.

Briefs were filed today, June 6, by both parties in the lawsuit. Additional documents are expected tomorrow.

Follow the LEARNS Act court case (CV-23-358) online.

CAPES faces another level of uncertainty. Act 236, which increased the number of counties they must collect voter signatures from, was also passed with an emergency clause. As was the law that put the Attorney General back in charge of certifying ballot titles.

Also, a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 50-county requirement continues.

Follow the 50-county court case 60CV-23-1816 online. 

Many of the changes included in the law will take place through the creation of new rules. Applications have closed for volunteers who want to be part of work groups that will provide the state feedback on how rules will be implemented.