Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders takes on critics of education reform plan: Our kids are in a 'broken system'

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders: We want to empower parents

 Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders provides insight on her plan for prosperity on 'The Story.'

Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday her reform plan represents "the biggest overhaul" in U.S. education after her office unveiled a sweeping proposal that includes the elimination of critical race theory in the classroom, teacher wage increases and the expansion of school choice.

Earlier this month, Sanders’ office formally proposed legislation to the Republican-controlled state legislature, called "Arkansas LEARNS," as one of her first major pushes since taking office as the nation's youngest governor. The bill, if passed, would increase the current base salary for teachers from $36,000 to $50,000, which would rank Arkansas 4th highest base-salary for teachers in the nation. The measure is also aimed at broadening school choice, with the goal of adopting full universal choice for all Arkansas families by school year 2025-2026 and seeks to eliminate any CRT or "indoctrination" in curriculum.

Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders delivers the Republican rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Fox News)

"We want to make sure we’re empowering parents by giving them educational freedom accounts to allow them to make the best decision about where and how their kids should be educated," Sanders said on "The Story" Tuesday. "No child should be trapped in a failing school just because of their zip code or their parents' bank account."

Currently in Arkansas, only 35% of students in third grade can read at grade level. To combat the issue, Sanders’ bill will fund 120 new literacy coaches to be deployed across the state to "maximize student learning" and $500 of supplemental education services per year per any student from kindergarten to third grade who’s struggling to read at grade level. 

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"Arkansas is in the bottom in all the places we want to be in the top," Sanders told anchor Martha MacCallum. "When it came to teacher pay, we were 48th in the country. When this legislation passes, we’ll be in the top five in the country, making us competitive with nearly every state in the country to retain and recruit the best and brightest teachers across the country."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks while unveiling the Arkansas LEARNS education bill at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sanders said her proposal ensures that every child in the state has access to a high-quality education, slamming the stifling of high-achieving students in Democrat-run states like New York and California as "absurd."

 "What they’re doing in California and places like New York is absolutely absurd. We should never bring down the high-achieving students," Sanders said. "Our focus should be, how do we bring the other students up? That’s what our focus here in Arkansas is. We’re making sure that we’re putting in the resources and training needed to improve our literacy, improve our mathematic scores."

As part of Arkansas LEARNS, students will be required to complete 75 hours of community service to graduate from high school. High school students will be offered dual-track diplomas that will benefit students entering the workforce directly after graduation and help them qualify for high-paying jobs. 

THIS EDUCATION  REFORM PLAN COULD BE A BLUEPRINT FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks while unveiling the Arkansas LEARNS education bill at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Sanders said Americans are "under attack in a left-wing culture war" in the Republican response to the State of the Union on Tuesday, drawing on themes pushed by Donald Trump in his third run for the White House.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"This will be the biggest overhaul in education I think anywhere in the country, certainly in my home state of Arkansas, Sanders said. "And we look forward to setting the standard on how this can be done right and being a blueprint for other states across the country to follow."

The Democratic Party of Arkansas launched an online campaign against the proposal, calling it a "scheme" that would enrich private schools with "scam vouchers."

Asked to address criticism of the proposed bill, Sanders said, "I think this is the left mad that they’re losing control of the system."

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"What is a scam is keeping kids in a broken system," she added. "What is a scam is spending more than half of our state’s budget and not seeing our students do better year after year. We’re pouring more and more money every year but getting worse results. We absolutely have to have major reform and an overhaul. That’s exactly what Arkansas LEARNS legislation does."

"I look forward to seeing our students passing and more importantly," the governor continued. "I look forward to seeing our students passing through the education system and going on to be contributing members to their community."

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Kelly Laco contributed to this report.