Legislation proposed for the upcoming session would give Arkansas, for the first time, a limited form of school vouchers.
The bill by Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, would provide vouchers for disabled children to attend private schools.

Hutchinson said he filed the legislation to help parents of blind and deaf students enroll their children at the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf, both of which are in Little Rock.

The bill also would allow parents to send disabled children to the public school of their choice. Hutchinson submitted the bill during the pre-filing period before the legislative session that starts Jan. 13. He said it is a limited form of school vouchers, a program that doesn't exist in Arkansas but gives families public money to send students to private schools.

Kellar Noggle, director of the Arkansas Association of Education Administrators, said his group has always opposed vouchers, but is not necessarily against Hutchinson's idea.

"With regard to the limited kind of child that he's talking about, I'm sure we would take a look at that," Noggle said Wednesday.