(March 2012) The number of Arkansas homeschooled and private school students outnumber Arkansas Education Association (AEA) members by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, public records show.
Arkansas students in home school totaled 16,3031 in 2010-11, according to the Arkansas Department of Education. Arkansas private school enrollment was 19,3752 in 2010-11, according to the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (ANSAA), a non-profit group.
The AEA is a teachers union that seeks “to promote education and the advancement of the educator to over 15,000 members,” according to annual reports filed with a federal agency. Members of the association “include any educational employees who choose to belong to the organization and pay dues.”
History of Self Defense
ANSAA was founded in the aftermath of a provocation by former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton’s administration. Under Clinton, the state Department of Education proposed new education standards in 1984 that were designed to bring private schools under state control. Parents organized and fought back against Gov. Clinton’s provocation, successfully defending Arkansas private schools and their children.
A coalition of non-public school administrators applied in 1988 to establish an accrediting association. ANSAA was established as a nonprofit educational organization the following year, and works “to advance educational excellence in the state of Arkansas.”
1Arkansas Department of Education, “Home School Report, 2010-11,” p. 14 ”http://arkansased.org/about/schools/home.html
2ANSAA School Enrollment Statistics 2010-11, http://www.ansaa.com/memberschools.htm
