An amended bill by a south Arkansas legislator that previously failed in the state House of Representatives now awaits Senate approval.
State Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, serves District 92, which covers all of Grant County and a portion of Saline County. She filed House Bill 1370, which previously called for each school district to add five makeup days to its calendar and be granted up to five additional days for alternative methods of instruction, or AMI, by the commissioner of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Such methods, including virtual learning, were common during the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
The Arkansas LEARNS Act of 2023, which overhauled education in the state, did not explicitly ban AMI days, although wording of the act regarding in-person instruction led educational leaders to believe otherwise…