Education

Walmart announced Thursday that the University of Arkansas is among 26 colleges where employees can earn a degree at no cost. The company's Live Better U (LBU) program covers tuition and books for 1.6 million U.S. employees.

• About 100,000 Canadian employees also are eligible.

A year after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, more than $43 million in state grants have been approved for Arkansas public school districts to use for campus security.

Yes, but: Because the process took so long, none of the money former Gov. Asa Hutchinson earmarked for school safety last August has been paid to reimburse districts.

A state legislative council committee on Tuesday approved the reallocation of nearly $35 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to support parts of the LEARNS Act, per the Arkansas Advocate.

The big picture: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' sweeping omnibus bill that passed through both Arkansas chambers with little debate, has been critiqued for provisions that will allow taxpayer money to fund private schools.

The Arkansas Legislature's haste to push Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' LEARNS bill through both chambers earlier this year may have put the sweeping omnibus package in legal jeopardy.

Driving the news: A lawsuit was filed Monday alleging that — because lawmakers failed to separately vote on and pass the bill's emergency clause — the act won't become law until 90 days after the general session adjourns sine die, which it did on May 1.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College is developing new graphic-design and engineering technology programs, with plans to enroll students starting in fall 2024.

Details: The programs build on the school's integrated design lab, which prepares students for careers in product design. The lab aims for "cross-pollination" in related fields, such as graphic and computer-aided design, Elysia Contreras Springer, NWACC's grant director, told Axios.

The first group of participants to start and finish their education with assistance from Upskill NWA — a program designed to help people who are pursuing careers in health care to afford school — is out in the workforce.

Driving the news: Mercy Health System announced this week it hired nine program graduates.