Tyson and Walmart expand parental leave

1 big thing: Tyson and Walmart expand parental leave

Illustration of a stork carrying a bag of money

A new career is waiting for you

2. NWACC enrollment sees bounce-back

3. Kitchen Sink: Liquid headlines  

Illustration of a pattern of kitchen sinks.

4. Mapped: Punxsutawney "skill"

Hi'ya. It's Thursday … and Groundhog Day.  

🌥 Today will be mostly cloudy with a high around 38.

See how much you can trust Punxsutawney Phil below.

Situational awareness: The Arkansas House yesterday passed the so-called bathroom bill that would require people to use school restrooms corresponding with the sex given on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.

The measure now moves to the Senate Education Committee.

Today's newsletter is 747 words — a 3-minute read.

🧊 Alex is reading about the deadly effects of this ice storm. Stay safe out there.

🗡 Worth is reading "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose. 

NW Arkansas

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Northwest Arkansas, written by local reporters.

Axios Northwest Arkansas

Federal moves could increase abortion access in Arkansas

1 big thing: Federal moves may expand abortion access here

Illustration of a pill with an unlocked padlock top

Plan your future

Arkansas to review advanced African American studies

2. Ed department to review African American studies

Illustration of an apple core with faces silhouetted on each side.

3. Kitchen Sink: News flood

Illustration of the Bentonville Water Tower, with a faucet added to it.

4. 📷 1 pic to go: Chasin' waterfalls 

A long exposure photo of a small waterfall. 

Today is the first day of Black History Month. Who in NWA's Black community is making a difference and deserves recognition? Hit reply to let us know.

🌦 Mostly cloudy with a chance for more freezing rain. Stay safe and see road conditions at iDrive Arkansas.

Today's newsletter is 761 words — a 3-minute read.

📖 Alex is reading "Smart Brevity" written by our Axios founders.

🌊 Worth now can't get this TLC song out of his head.

Today's newsletter is edited by Gigi Sukin and copy edited by James Gilzow. 

Bentonville pledges to take action to make housing more affordable

1 big thing: Bentonville promises action to bring down housing prices

Illustration of a key in a lock featuring a keyring with a dollar sign 

Northwest Arkansas' economy is resilient, but housing is needed

2. NWA economy is resilient but housing needed

A photo of Bentonville, Arkansas' water tower, near a church bell tower. 

3. Kitchen Sink: News drops

Illustration of a faucet with animated drips shaped like the letters N, W, and A falling out.

Sen. John Boozman cultivates support for farm bill

4. Boozman cultivating support for farm bill 

Illustration of a pitchfork with money on the end. 

Take your career to the next level

Learn by doing at these upcoming NWA events

5. 🎓 Learn by doing at these events

Illustration of a chalkboard in the shape of an upward arrow.

❄️ Today's weather: The wintry mix continues. Avoid driving and stay warm.

🏝 Situational awareness: While you're tucked in staying toasty, we'll point out that today is "National Plan for Vacation Day." 

Anywhere in the Caribbean looks good right now.

Today's newsletter is 915 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🥶 Alex is ready for this icy weather to be over.

💰 Worth is watching "The Big Conn" about how a Social Security lawyer bilked millions.

This newsletter was edited by Gigi Sukin and copy edited by James Gilzow.

Arkansas educators plan to review revised AP African American Studies

1 big thing: Educators to review revised AP African American Studies

Illustration of two people divided by a school notebook, one black student pointing one while the white student looks up with arms on her hips

2. Capitol Review: General Session week 4

Arkansas Music Pavilion's summer 2023 live music lineup

3. Mark your calendars: Live music lineup

4. Egg prices are finally falling

Illustration of an egg timer with a dollar bill sign where the zero would be. 

New jobs to check out

5. Your weekend plans | Feb. 3-5

Illustration of an animated neutral emoji changing into a smiling-with-sunglasses emoji.

Here's a hit from The Cars to kick off the weekend. 🏎

☀️ Today will be sunny with a high in the mid 40s.

Situational awareness: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response to President Biden's State of the Union next Tuesday. 

Today's newsletter is 780 words — a 3-minute read.

💰 Alex finished season 1 of "Peaky Blinders" and is intrigued.

👶 Worth started watching M. Knight Shyamalan's "Servant." Man, it's weird. 

School choice floated as educational policy change in Arkansas

1 big thing: Breaking down the buzzy "school choice" education policy

Illustration of two backpacks; one empty and one stuffed with cash.

Is a new job in your future?

2. How school choice does and doesn't work in Arkansas

Illustration of a green apple surrounded by red apples.

3. Kitchen Sink: No hogwash

Illustration of a wild board holding a newspaper in its mouth.

4. ❄️ Pics to go: Let it snow

Happy Monday! We hope it was a great weekend.

🥶 Watch for potential freezing rain and bundle up — highs will only reach the upper 20s.

Programming note: We're carving out a chunk of today's newsletter to fill you in on school choice as we watch for possible policy changes soon.

 Situational awareness: Some roads are icy this morning. Check school districts for closings and road conditions at iDrive Arkansas. 

Today's newsletter is 771 words — a 3-minute read.

Thanks to Gigi Sukin for editing and James Gilzow for copy editing this newsletter.

🎂 Alex celebrated a friend's birthday at The Record over the weekend. Cool venue.

Benefits for workers at two of Northwest Arkansas' largest employers are growing more generous.

The latest: Springdale-based Tyson Foods publicly announced Tuesday that the company began offering eight weeks of paid leave starting Jan. 1 to new mothers and two weeks of paid leave to employees whose spouses or partners recently gave birth.

Previously, new parents had to apply for short-term disability under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Tyson spokesperson Kelly Hellbusch told Axios.

Meanwhile, Walmart's new policy expands paid leave for salaried employees from six weeks to 12, spokesperson Jimmy Carter told Axios. Full-time hourly associates and truck drivers will continue to receive six weeks of paid parental leave. The policy went into effect Wednesday.

The big picture:  Paid family leave has been a topic of heightened concern for lawmakers and employers since the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that inability to work by parents or caregivers can negatively impact companies and the economy, Axios' Emily Peck writes. 

State of play: The United States is one of few countries in the world that does not guarantee paid family leave to new mothers. Among those countries that do offer paid leave, the average length is 29 weeks, according to The New York Times.

By the numbers: About 24% of private-sector workers in the U.S. had access to any paid family leave in 2022, up from 11% in 2012, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And higher-paid employees are more likely to have access. About 12% of low-income workers, who typically struggle more to afford to take unpaid time off, have access to paid leave.

What to watch: Democratic lawmakers are currently working on a legislative package establishing a federal paid leave plan and FMLA expansion.

Reality check: With omnipresent recession fears and a political fight over the debt ceiling looming, the idea that Congress will pass a momentous bill expanding the social safety net seems like a stretch, Peck writes.

Paid family leave has been a topic of heightened concern for lawmakers and employers since the pandemic.

Northwest Arkansas

Benefits for workers at two of Northwest Arkansas&#x27; largest employers are growing more generous.The latest: Springdale-based Tyson Foods publicly announced Tuesday that the company began offering eight weeks of paid leave starting Jan. 1 to new mothers and two weeks of paid leave to employees whose spouses or partners recently gave birth.

Business

News

Bentonville's city staff will move forward to manage its skyrocketing housing prices with a new list of actionable recommendations. 

Driving the news: The city-appointed housing affordability workgroup recently completed a report on how local government can help ease the burden of steep housing costs after more than a year spent analyzing the issue.

The Bentonville City Council last week approved a resolution recognizing the group's recommendations and affirming the city's commitment to attainable housing.

The city pledged to implement policies geared toward creating an environment where developers can build moderately priced housing in areas with convenient access to jobs, services and amenities.

Why it matters: The cost of housing has soared in NWA the past few years, requiring residents to earn 48% more in 2022 than 2021 to afford a median-value home.

Jeff Webster, chair of the workgroup, told Axios the region must get a handle on its prices if it wants it to be affordable for people like teachers, restaurant workers and firefighters.

Details: The report includes recommendations like revising the city's zoning rules to allow for different kinds of housing, such as stacked triplexes — three units built vertically.

Land is among developers' biggest expenses, and it's the same cost per acre regardless of how many units are built. Rezoning for greater density allows more people to live on the same amount of land, meaning a developer can charge buyers or renters less without losing profit, Webster said.

What they're saying: The group recommends the city hire an affordable housing-manager dedicated to working with developers, overseeing compliance and pursuing grant money. It also advises the city take advantage of federal community block grants.

The city can also incentivize developers to lower costs by waiving or reducing certain fees associated with developing housing.

The report recommends tiered housing projects determined by housing type and income caps. For example, a developer of single-family homes would be encouraged to build single-family, $153,000 homes for people with a maximum income of $40,000.

Zoom out: Although the workgroup focused on Bentonville, other cities in NWA could consider some of the same recommendations, Webster said.

What's next: Bentonville staff will need to decide what changes they want to implement and bring proposed ordinances to the City Council for approval.

The city-appointed housing affordability workgroup recently completed a report on what local government can do to ease the burden of steep housing costs.

Bentonville&#x27;s city staff will move forward to manage its skyrocketing housing prices with a new list of actionable recommendations. Driving the news: The city-appointed <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="housing affordability workgroup" data-vars-click-url="http://www.bentonvillear.com/1412/Housing-Affordability-Workgroup" data-vars-content-id="47ac6347-1912-402a-b820-c58e556bb6c7" data-vars-headline="Bentonville pledges to take action to make housing more affordable" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://www.bentonvillear.com/1412/Housing-Affordability-Workgroup" target="_blank">housing affordability workgroup</a> recently completed a report on how local government can help ease the burden of steep housing costs after more than a year spent analyzing the issue.

Real Estate

The Biden administration is weighing a possible public health emergency declaration that would free up resources to help people access abortions, including in Arkansas, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes.

State of play: Abortion is illegal in Arkansas except in cases to save a pregnant person's life, to treat ectopic pregnancies or to remove a fetus with no heartbeat.

State Rep. Nicole Clowney (D-Fayetteville) filed a bill last week that would also allow an exception for fetal anomaly incompatible with life, meaning a baby could not live outside the womb. The bill is in committee.

How it works: If the federal government moves forward, states would still be able to limit abortion access. But an emergency declaration "would potentially make it easier for people who need to travel out of state to get abortions or to get abortion medication," said Mary Ziegler, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis, who specializes in abortion issues. "It would make available funding that wouldn't otherwise be there to address those unmet needs."

"Providers offering medication abortion as a countermeasure could be shielded from liability and states would be preempted from applying their own laws to the actions of these providers working under a public health emergency," Rachel Rebouché, a professor of law at Temple University, told Ms. Magazine.

The big picture: Both abortion rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and President Biden to take such a step in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which they say has created a "full-scale reproductive health crisis."

What to watch: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told Axios on Monday that scientific and professional assessments of whether the country meets the criteria for a public health emergency will guide his decision.

Such a declaration would likely be challenged in court.

An emergency declaration "would potentially make it easier for people who need to travel out-of-state to get abortions or to get abortion medication."

The Biden administration is weighing a possible public health emergency declaration that would free up resources to help people access abortions, including in Arkansas, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Oriana Gonzalez writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/31/biden-public-health-emergency-abortion-dobbs" data-vars-content-id="6b79dd7f-0f9c-483a-be3d-39cdbaab5ac9" data-vars-headline="Federal moves could increase abortion access in Arkansas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/31/biden-public-health-emergency-abortion-dobbs" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Oriana Gonzalez writes</a>.State of play: Abortion is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="illegal in Arkansas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2022/06/24/state-attorney-general-abortions-arkansas-illegal" data-vars-content-id="6b79dd7f-0f9c-483a-be3d-39cdbaab5ac9" data-vars-headline="Federal moves could increase abortion access in Arkansas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2022/06/24/state-attorney-general-abortions-arkansas-illegal" target="_self">illegal in Arkansas</a> except in cases to save a pregnant person&#x27;s life, to treat ectopic pregnancies or to remove a fetus with no heartbeat.

Politics

School choice, a hot topic for which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has voiced support, allows parents to apply to send their K-12 children to schools other than the public school in their district.

Driving the news: Last week was National School Choice Week, aimed at helping parents discover education options, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private and home schooling.

How it works: Voucher programs generally divert tax dollars that would otherwise support a student's assigned public school to where the child actually attends. Publicly funded scholarships or vouchers can pay for private schools or home-schooling programs.

School choice programs can also allow parents who don't live near large public schools to apply to have their kids attend them — for more educational or extracurricular offerings, for example.

Likewise, a child who prefers a small-school setting could transfer.

Zoom out: Other forms of school choice exist nationwide, such as tax-credit scholarships that allow residents to reduce their tax bill in exchange for donations toward private school scholarships.

What they're saying: Supporters say the system gives families increased options and allows people to decide which schools work for them, rather than being limited to the traditional model where students are assigned to a public school based on where they live.

School choice could also encourage competition in education.

The other side: Opponents suggest school choice hurts disadvantaged kids and students in rural public schools. 

The state should invest in public schools it considers to be "failing" rather than leaving it up to families to take their kids out, Olivia Gardner, director of education policy for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, told Axios.

Vouchers may not fully cover private school tuition, which means they don't necessarily make private school attainable for low-income families. Households that can afford to pay the difference get a discount for private schooling while simultaneously taking funding from public schools.

Rural schools lose funding when students leave for other programs. 

Meanwhile, kids who can't leave because they aren't accepted into private school, can't afford to pay the private school tuition not covered by a voucher or don't have the transportation to go to another school, are forced to stay in schools with diminishing resources, Gardner said.

Details: Voucher programs also mean tax money will fund religious private schools. Private schools can choose to not accept students for any reason, including identifying as LGBTQ or having LGBTQ parents, Gardner pointed out.

Private schools don't have to provide transportation and public schools must only transport students within their district, meaning families that rely on a bus system can't necessarily send their children anywhere other than the closest public school.

Private schools are not required to provide special-education services and may not offer free meal programs.

Arkansas adopted school choice policies in 2015 with the Succeed Scholarship Program, Opportunity School Choice Act and the Public School Choice Act.

The Succeed Scholarship Program allows students with special needs, those in foster care and living in group homes, or kids who have parents in the military to attend private schools using state and federal funding not earmarked for public schools.

The maximum scholarship a student could receive for the current academic year was $7,413.

The Public School Choice Act allows students to apply to attend another public school in another district, while the Opportunity School Choice Act specifically allows students in schools rated "F" or considered in need of intensive support from the state to transfer to another public school.

In 2021, the state adopted Act 904, creating the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program. Residents can get a tax credit for donating to the program, which allows students whose families make up to 200% of the federal poverty level to use scholarships to attend private schools.

Scholarships are capped at about $5,600 for students in K-8 and $6,300 for high school students.

By the numbers: About 5% of students in Arkansas are presently participating in school choice. Of the 476,579 K-12 students statewide, 23,282 take part, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

794 students are in the Succeed Scholarship Program, Kimberly Mundell, spokesperson at the state education department, told Axios.

Be smart: A handful of districts in Arkansas are prohibited from participating in school choice because they're under federal desegregation orders.

School choice is disproportionately used by white students. About 81% of program participants are white, despite white students making up about 59% of the total student population, according to data from the education department.

About 8% of participants are Black, and 6% are Hispanic. Black students account for about 19% of the total student population, while 14% are Hispanic.

Of note: Rep. Jim Wooten (R-Beebe) recently filed a bill, HB1205, that would require any school receiving state funding to provide transportation to any student attending the school who lives within 35 miles.

Last week was National School Choice Week, aimed at helping parents discover education options available, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private and home schooling.

School choice, a hot topic for which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="has voiced support" data-vars-click-url="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jan/20/sanders-tells-rally-goers-she-will-push-school/" data-vars-content-id="83c77481-1de6-4fe1-9a4e-946a9a154af6" data-vars-headline="School choice floated as educational policy change in Arkansas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jan/20/sanders-tells-rally-goers-she-will-push-school/" target="_blank">has voiced support</a>, allows parents to apply to send their K-12 children to schools other than the public school in their district.Driving the news: Last week was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="National School Choice Week" data-vars-click-url="https://schoolchoiceweek.com/states/arkansas/" data-vars-content-id="83c77481-1de6-4fe1-9a4e-946a9a154af6" data-vars-headline="School choice floated as educational policy change in Arkansas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://schoolchoiceweek.com/states/arkansas/" target="_blank">National School Choice Week</a>, aimed at helping parents discover education options, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private and home schooling.

Warmer weather will bring live music outside.

Here's a concert update with shows that have been announced for the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion this summer:

Dave Matthews Band — Tuesday, May 23. $50-$150. Tickets go on sale Feb. 17. 

Fall Out Boy with Bring Me The Horizon, Royal & the Serpent and Carr — Tuesday, July 11. $25-$130. Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday.

Luke Bryan with Chayce Beckham, Ashley Cooke and Jackson Dean — Thursday, Aug. 10. $35-$190. Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday.

Don't miss the shows announced for the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion this summer.

Fall Out Boy is coming to Rogers. Photo: Courtesy of Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion

Music

Warmer weather will bring live music outside.Here&#x27;s a concert update with shows that have been announced for the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion this summer:

Alex Golden

Stories

Arkansas Music Pavilion's summer 2023 live music lineup

Tyson and Walmart expand parental leave

Federal moves could increase abortion access in Arkansas

Bentonville pledges to take action to make housing more affordable

School choice floated as educational policy change in Arkansas

Newsletter editions

📚 AP curriculum revised

🧑‍🍼 Expanding family leave

Biden's abortion plan

🏡 Tackling pricey housing

🏫 School choice explained