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Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas lawmakers give initial approval to new state insurance captives rate structure
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tours tornado-damaged Wynne High School on April 2, 2023. (Randall Lee/Arkansas Governor's Office) A legislative committee on Monday granted preliminary permission for officials to move forward with proposed rates for Arkansas' new state property insurance program, the result of nearly two years of work aimed at developing a plan to control rising insurance premiums for schools. Following the recommendation of consultants to create the State Captive Insurance Program, an insurance company owned by the state, lawmakers this year passed Act 560 and Act 779 and approved contracts with vendors to run the self-insurance program. Under the newly approved legislation, the captive will be formed by July 1 and apply to buildings and property owned by a public school, state-supported institution of higher education or the state. During the Arkansas Legislative Council's Executive Subcommittee meeting Monday, Crossett Republican and panel chair Sen. Ben Gilmore recognized everyone who has been involved with forming the captive, which 'has been quite the process.' 'It's important that we acknowledge where we started and where we are now, and this is coming to an end…what we did is something we should acknowledge is very big with the State Captive Insurance Program,' Gilmore said. 'So we are on to the next step with that, and I appreciate your involvement, and we'll continue to work and make this successful.' Insurance premiums have been increasing nationwide due to more frequent natural disasters, additional legal liability from more lawsuits and the growing frequency of cybercrimes, according to Education Week. Arkansas firm recommends plan for controlling schools' increasing insurance rates The issue came into focus for Arkansas in July 2023 when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the state would help school districts cover the cost of rising insurance premiums. State lawmakers approved a request from the Arkansas Insurance Department to transfer $10.8 million from the state's restricted reserve account to offset the cost of increased premiums. The funding was split three ways — $6.3 million for the 170 districts in the Arkansas School Boards Association-managed program, $4.46 million for the 68 districts in the Arkansas Public School Insurance Trust (which is managed by the Insurance Department), and nearly $118,000 for the Bentonville School District, which procured insurance directly through the open market. Kyle Hales, a principal consulting actuary at Perr & Knight, told the committee Monday that the total cost of premiums for the three agencies approximately tripled between 2021 and 2024 insurance renewals. J.R. Bizzell, senior vice president in Stephens Insurance's risk management group, said the intent of the captive is to 'improve efficiencies with purchasing reinsurance or excess property insurance,' which is what the Little Rock-based firm is primarily helping obtain. 'There's going to be a centralized claims and underwriting component, as well as overall it should help stabilize long-term insurance costs for all of the districts, all the agencies and all the participants of this program,' Bizzell said. For the first year of the captive, Stephens recommends a flat rate for all participants. Premiums are calculated by multiplying the rate by building values, Bizzell said. All schools should have a flat rate, he said. If they change their value due to an assessment, or by adding or removing a building, 'they will experience some level of premium change, but it should be modest in nature,' he said. Stephens also recommends that participants carry a maintenance deductible that's below the captive, Bizzell said. The deductible structure would be changed to a minimum of $25,000 per occurrence, per participant, and $50,000 per occurrence if their total insured values (i.e. asset values) are over $100 million. For state agencies, the recommendation is to move to a $250,000 flat deductible for the first year, he said. The rate and deductible structure for year two is continuing to be evaluated, so Stephens made no recommendation 'outside of there is an expectation that deductibles need to continue to be rightsided and that detail will come in the future,' Bizzell said. Stephens has been coordinating with the Legislature as well as the newly created Office of Property Risk, which will be managing the program after July 1, Bizzell said. In the coming weeks, all participants will receive a summary of their expected premium and deductible, he said. The subcommittee authorized Stephens to move forward with its proposed rate and deductible structure and for the Arkansas Legislative Council's co-chairs to approve that direction by emergency action. The new rates and deductibles will be effective for the 2025-2026 academic year, if they receive final approval from the Arkansas State Board of Finance and ALC, Bureau of Legislative Research Director Marty Garrity told the Advocate. They're scheduled to meet on June 12 and June 20, respectively. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What is Arkansas ACCESS?
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs the Arkansas ACCESS Act at the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation Luncheon on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Randall Lee for the Arkansas governor's office) Arkansas ACCESS is a higher education overhaul bill signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week. The legislation, which was filed as two identical 123-page bills in the House and Senate, is an acronym for acceleration, common sense, cost eligibility, scholarships and standardization. Here are some highlights of the major parts of the legislation: Expands accelerated high school coursework beyond Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs to include Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education courses, concurrent credit courses or similar programs approved by the state education department. Allows accelerated courses to receive weighted credit. Repeals efforts to reduce the participation gaps and performance gaps in AP classes between African American, Hispanic and Caucasian students. Beginning in 2025-2026, all public school districts and charter schools shall offer at least four accelerated learning courses that cover math, English, science and social studies. Beginning in 2025-2026, the tuition rate for a concurrent credit course offered by public schools shall be between 0.5% and 2.5% of the per-pupil amount and will not exceed the standard tuition rate and fee structure of the higher education institution providing the course. Students and their parents will not be responsible for tuition, fees or materials for participation in a concurrent credit course. Amends the current K-12 school rating system and directs the education department to develop a new formula for determining a letter grade ranking for public school districts and education service cooperatives. Strikes language that previously called for the rating system to consider English-learner progress and one of several other indicators, including closing the achievement gap, equity in resource allocation or preschool access. Permits a Purple Star designation for public schools and state-supported institutions of higher education that show 'significant commitment' to serving students and families connected to the U.S. Armed Forces. Establishes the Arkansas Direct Admissions Program beginning with the graduating class of 2026-2027. The program will include a common online application portal and establish provisional admissions criteria. Requires state-sponsored schools to accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) to the same extent they do the ACT and SAT tests for admissions and state-funded financial assistance programs. Prohibits public school districts from granting excused absences for political protests. Allows excused absences for public school students who, with parental consent, engage in social or public policy advocacy, or attempts to influence legislation or other governmental policymaking. Requires school districts to submit an annual report on the absences to the state education department. Prohibits state-supported institutions of higher education from granting excused absences for political protest, social or public policy advocacy, or attempts to influence governmental policymaking. Prohibits state-supported institutions of higher education from authorizing student walkouts for political protest, social or public policy advocacy, or attempts to influence governmental policymaking. Requires students who damage a state-supported institution of higher education while engaging in a political protest or public policy advocacy to be liable for the damages. Students found liable are ineligible to receive their degree or transfer credits to another Arkansas school until they pay for the damages. Prohibits employees at a state-supported institution of higher education from compelling someone 'to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to ideas or beliefs' that violate sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but does allow for the discussion of history and concepts related to these topics. Prohibits conditioning enrollment or attendance based on race, ethnicity, sex, color or national origin. Prohibits a state-supported institution of higher education from collecting and reporting information related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for institutional accreditation purposes. Prohibits complying with institutional accreditation requirements related to DEI, including a diversity statement. Permits restricting state funding to institutions that don't comply with the bill's 'Rejecting Discrimination and Indoctrination in Postsecondary Education' subchapter. Prohibits institutions from expending state funds and to reject federal funds whose receipt requires them to violate this subchapter. Prohibits institutions from requiring current or prospective employees or students to submit a diversity statement. Does not prohibit institutions from directing recruitment, advertising or promotion efforts to a specific population of prospective or existing students. Permits the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) to promulgate rules to implement a productivity-based funding model for two-year and four-year state-supported institutions. Incorporates a return-on-investment metric into the funding model. Requires ADHE to consult with the Governor's Workforce Cabinet during the development of the funding formula for noncredit programs. Permits the review process to result in the removal of tenure status or remedial training, and allows a tenured faculty member to appeal the decision. Permits immediate review of faculty members, including those with tenure, at any time if the institution determines they have 'exhibited professional incompetence,' been convicted of a crime affecting their fitness to do their job, or have 'engaged in unprofessional conduct,' among other things. Requires review framework to be reported to ADHE by Dec. 1, 2025, and implemented by Jan. 1, 2026. Tenure-related reports are due by Aug. 1 annually. Develops a statewide common course number system, with education officials to begin recommending additions and alterations beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. Provides for a reverse transfer agreement for students seeking an associate degree who transfer to a four-year state-supported institution of higher education before earning an associate degree. Establishes an order for which institutions of higher education award financial aid, with federal aid being applied before state aid, except as otherwise provided by federal law. Increases the first year award for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program from $1,000 to $2,000. Creates the Arkansas Heroes Scholarship Act for children or spouses of 'heroes,' which include first responders, veterans, teachers and certain state employees who suffered a fatal injury or become permanently disabled as result of a duty that occurred within the scope of their employment. Scholarship benefits may not accrue if the wound or death was self-inflicted. Creates the Governor's Higher Education Transition Scholarship Program for students with disabilities. The program will offer a maximum award of $2,500 per qualifying semester, and recipients must maintain eligibility for up to eight continuous semesters or until credentialing is obtained. Renames the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship Program to the ACCESS to Acceleration Scholarship Program, which supports the cost of concurrent credit courses under certain circumstances. Students may receive a maximum of $2,000 annually. Amends the Arkansas Governor's Scholars Program to direct recipients to be chosen based on students who graduate with a diploma of distinction or earn an associate degree upon completing the summer term immediately following high school graduation. Allocates up to $5 million to the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship and increases the maximum annual award from $800 to $3,000. Classifies members of the U.S. military stationed in Arkansas and their dependents as in-state residents for state-funded scholarship purposes. Classifies other students as in-state residents if they have or will graduate from an Arkansas public school, private school or homeschool within nine months of enrolling in a state-supported institution of higher education; or established legal residency by meeting the requirements of rules promulgated by ADHE, and have been physically present in Arkansas for at least six continuous months with the intent to remain in the state. Removes some organizations previously designated in statute as required appointees to various committees and councils. Legislative sponsors said their bills eliminate 'without bias' entities that were not statutorily created, but these groups could still participate because the legislation allows for 'relevant stakeholders.' Reduces the size of some of these entities, including the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which will shrink from 12 governor-appointed members to seven beginning on May 1. 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