Arkansas private school made pupils attack classmate, scrub floors

NEW: Despite multiple complaints — and videos — of physical abuse and mistreatment of students, Arkansas' Delta Institute continues to receive public funds. It is just one of hundreds of private schools taking state money with little oversight. w/ @arktimes.bsky.social

“You lie. You lie all the time,” the school owner said to the student. She then directed classmates to attack him. She gave one a high-five. This private school, funded with tax dollars, is among an explosion of private schools in the past 3 years. www.propublica.org/article/arks...

With a huge surge of public money, new private schools are opening fast - without meaningful oversight. Even this Arkansas school - where the founder hit a kid, urged other kids to do the same, and stayed involved in the school's administration from JAIL - is still supported by taxpayer dollars.

“Most people don’t think you’re a nice kid," the owner of an Arkansas private school told a boy before urging other students to take turns attacking him. She repeatedly thwacked him with a footlong plastic cylinder, calling him a liar.

Let this sink in: At an Arkansas school, a boy was hit by the school’s founder and attacked by classmates in a group session the founder led, prompting her arrest. Despite a jail term for the school’s founder, Arkansas still sends it public funds. @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social

This is in Governor Struggle Ruffles "model" state of Arkansas. You know, what she thinks the nation should emulate? 1/ And let me warn you. It WILL enrage you at minimum, or re-trigger trauma, so be prepared. www.propublica.org/article/arks...

Kids forced to beat classmate and scrub floors at state-funded private school #RawStory

Horrific. Over the next few years, state voucher systems will need—and I believe will undergo—massive accountability reform. If you’re a private school getting a public check, the public should get to check on you. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/arks...

This Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It. One of the few requirements for Arkansas private schools is that they have an American flag and a flagpole. But millions in state funds go to the largely unmonitored schools while complaints about

"That student entered the circle, looped his arm around the boy’s neck and choked him... Then other students took turns slapping, pinching and punching the boy... "The attack went on for nearly 40 minutes. At the end, [the teacher] made the boy apologize to his classmates for mistreating them."

One of Sarah Huckabee Sanders' shining achievements is funneling money away from public schools to fund almost entirely unregulated private schools where kids are not only getting a substandard education, but many are being full-out abused:

Incredibly important reporting by @propublica.org's @jsmithrichards.bsky.social + @jodiscohen.bsky.social on how Arkansas taxpayers are funding private "schools" that abuse children instead of educating them.

"[Arkansas's] recent voucher expansion has led to 'this whole new industry of pop-up, subprime private schools that have almost no regulation. They go into shopping malls or the basements of churches'" www.propublica.org/article/arks...

This @propublica.org exposé of a school choice nightmare in Arkansas may be tough to read, with a video that is truly gruesome, but it's a warning sign that Trump's new "education freedom" program will potentially roll out this taxpayer-funded abuse nationwide. www.propublica.org/article/arks...

Here's how school vouchers are used in other states ... Why would Colorado want to subject children to this risk by opting in to the federal tax credit scam? @colorado.gov #COpol #COleg @philweiser.bsky.social