{"id":456,"date":"2026-01-17T10:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/?p=456"},"modified":"2026-09-24T08:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T13:22:22","slug":"alc-week-overview-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What happened in the January ALC meetings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Private and home school account funding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest flashpoint at the Friday full ALC meeting was money for Education Freedom Accounts. Lawmakers were debating an additional $32 million for the program, which allows 44,000 families to use education dollars for private or home school options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some legislators continued to frame home school parents as potential fraud risks and argued that EFA funding undermines public schools. Supporters pushed back, noting that public schools are receiving the same or more funding while educating fewer students and that education should be about the student\u2013 not the establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it came time to vote, ALC members approved the funding to fully cover EFA enrollees for the current school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Major supporters:<\/strong> Senator Breanne Davis, Representative Howard Beaty<br><strong>Opposition:<\/strong> Representative Jim Wooten, Senator Clarke Tucker, Representative Andrew Collins, Senator Stephanie Flowers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Discussion meetings:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/arkansas-legislative-council-jan-16-2026\/\">Full ALC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-peer-jan-13-206\/\">ALC Peer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pulaski and Perry County land purchase approved<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Central Arkansas Water will purchase 1,300 acres in the Maumelle watershed in Pulaski and Perry counties after ALC approved a federal grant from USDA Forest Service to help fund the purchase. The state Department of Agriculture is actually receiving the grant, but Central Arkansas Water will own the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was the third month the grant appeared before the committee. It had been held up the prior two months over concerns that the purchase would block future development and reduce property tax revenue, especially in Perry County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Support finally came together this month, though not without debate. A motion was made to remove the Perry County portion of the land from the deal, but that was flagged as something that would likely sink the grant at the federal level. In the end, the full grant was approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Supporters:<\/strong> Representative Howard Beaty, Potlatch Deltic, Senator Mark Johnson, Central Arkansas Water<br><strong>Opposition:<\/strong> Representative Mary Bentley, Perry County Quorum Court<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Discussion meetings:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/arkansas-legislative-council-jan-16-2026\/\">Full ALC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-peer-jan-13-206\/\">ALC Peer<\/a>, with earlier discussion in November and December ALC meetings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DHS can\u2019t skip rulemaking on dental laws<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This one gets a little technical, but it matters. When the legislature passes a law, the agency responsible for carrying it out has to write rules explaining how it will be implemented. DHS came before the ALC Rules Committee asking for permission to skip rulemaking on five acts passed in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DHS claimed that the federal government wouldn\u2019t fund the services because the laws conflict with federal rules. Most of the laws deal with improving access to dental care and reducing pain for people with developmental disabilities or special needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Arkansas Dental Association disagreed and showed up with attorneys, arguing that DHS could still make the rules work if it was willing to put in the effort and work through issues with the feds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers ultimately denied DHS\u2019s request. The message was straightforward. The legislature passed the laws, and DHS is expected to do everything it can to carry them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Supporters of rule exclusion:<\/strong> DHS<br><strong>Opposition:<\/strong> Representative Julie Mayberry, Arkansas Dental Association, Representative Stetson Painter, Senator Missy Irvin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Discussion meeting:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-rules-jan-15-2026\/\">ALC Rules<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Random facts learned this week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"font-size:17px\">Arkansas has 72,000 nurses (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-occupational-licensing-jan-15-2026\/\">ALC Occupational Licensing<\/a>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&nbsp;49,000 RNs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>14,000 LPNs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8,000 APRNs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1,100 CRNAs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>60 certified nurse midwives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:17px\">More than 44,000 Arkansas students are currently using Education Freedom Account funding for private or home school options. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-peer-jan-13-206\/\">ALC Peer<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:17px\">In Review Committee, the state awarded $70.7 million to out-of-state companies and just $8.2 million to Arkansas companies. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-review-jan-13-2026\/\">ALC Review<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:17px\">There are 202,000 prime working age adults that aren\u2019t engaged in the workforce. That includes people who aren\u2019t looking for work and so aren\u2019t captured in unemployment numbers. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-hospital-jan-12-2026\/\">ALC Hospital<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Small things<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Van Buren School District will install <strong>artificial turf at its baseball field<\/strong> at a cost of <strong>$1.4 million<\/strong>. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-executive-jan-15-2026\/\">ALC Executive<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of the $2.5 million set aside for the <strong>Used Tire Program<\/strong> can be used for the Jefferson County processing facility, where tires have been piling up. Senator Jimmy Hickey sent a clear warning to District 4 to get things back on track.<br>(<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-peer-jan-13-206\/\">ALC Peer<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state is spending $2.6 million to develop an app for r<strong>enewing vehicle tags<\/strong> and other services. The target launch date is October 1.<br>(<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-review-jan-13-2026\/\">ALC Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville plans to spend about <strong>$1,000 per square foot<\/strong>, or $100 million total, on a new business building that will add 2,300 student seats. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-review-jan-13-2026\/\">ALC Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is spending almost $1 million with a contractor to <strong>sell campus sponsorships<\/strong>. Not sports. Think sponsors for a Welcome Back event. Some legislators didn\u2019t like it but approved it anyway. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-review-jan-13-2026\/\">ALC Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Re Nu re entry<\/strong> beds for men leaving prison are struggling to stay full. Representative Howard Beaty said he will be keeping a close eye on the program to make sure it works as intended. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-review-jan-13-2026\/\">ALC Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The land purchase by Central Arkansas water will provide a connection for the <strong>Ouachita National Trail,<\/strong> a 223-mile trail that goes from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. (<a href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-peer-jan-13-206\/\">ALC Peer<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:49px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Best quotes from the meetings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On the $1 million contract to raise campus sponsorships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Clayton Hamilton, UA<\/strong>:<br>\u201cA company might offer free pizzas to those new students where there is a value to that opportunity to be in front of that number of students on campus..\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Frances Cavenaugh<\/strong>:<br>\u201cAnd there\u2019s no department in the U of A that can handle the sale of sponsorships?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Senator Blake Johnson<\/strong>:<br>\u201cOn 20, the Walton School of Business, you could get 15 marketing students and give them a share. I mean, you could buy a lot of ramen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On empty re entry beds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Howard Beaty<\/strong>:<br>\u201cEvery time I see a reentry program on here, you\u2019re going to hear from me. I\u2019m going to ask about it. I\u2019m going to ask what we\u2019ve got in vacancy. It\u2019s a priority. We work too hard on recidivism in this state with the overcrowding we have now. This program works and we need to utilize it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On the EFA debate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Courtney Salas Ford<\/strong>, Department of Ed:<br>\u201cWe want to make sure that all parents and students have the choice for their student that they feel is best, but it\u2019s not taking money from public schools. You all fully fund the public adequacy fund, the public school fund that goes to public schools that you all have determined is the amount that they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So if students leave because they have a choice, that\u2019s not something we\u2019ve done. We\u2019ve offered them a choice because we feel they should be able to make that choice for their students. But that\u2019s not us costing the public school money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Senator Breanne Davis<\/strong>:<br>\u201cI drive by one [public school] every day coming into Little Rock that is a failing school, and they have some of the nicest facilities I\u2019ve ever seen\u2026. We are giving families and students freedom and a choice to decide how they want to be educated to meet their learning potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I think it\u2019s fair for us to ask questions\u2013 not critical of us\u2013 but fair of us to ask questions to superintendents and school board members across our state about what changes they\u2019re making to ensure that when kids walk out their door in 12th grade that they can read and get a job and be successful in life. And those are the questions I wish we were asking more of in here instead of pounding on a program that we overwhelmingly voted to approve and said that we would fund.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Ryan Rose<\/strong>:<br>\u201cMy belief is that we need to stop characterizing children and families who are making the best education decisions for themselves in a negative light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Providing options for students and families to be in the best educational setting for them is a good thing for Arkansans. It\u2019s a good thing for families. It\u2019s a good thing for kids. And for us to characterize it as a bad thing, I think is a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Andrew Collins<\/strong>:<br>\u201cThis is a money pit. And with any welfare program, once you start, it\u2019s very hard to put that genie back in the bottle and roll it back. And that\u2019s exactly what this is. The more we spend, the harder it\u2019s going to be to ever cut in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Senator Blake Johnson<\/strong>:<br>\u201cI\u2019m tired of being 48th or 49th in education. \u2026We need to support this system because it\u2019s about the kids. It\u2019s not about an institution of public education. It\u2019s about the education of the students of the state of Arkansas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On the Central Arkansas Water grant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Mary Bentley<\/strong>:<br>\u201cThis is the fourth grant out of Perry County. And the only reason that we heard it here is because they didn\u2019t have enough appropriation in the Department Of Agriculture\u2019s fund to go through without us being involved. \u2026So I just would state that I\u2019ll make sure that we pass some legislation to make sure that we are more involved in the future, as are the local governments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On dental services for people with special needs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Representative Julie Mayberry<\/strong>:<br>\u201cIn passing this bill, we made a promise, not just to dentists, but to parents, to patients, to people with special needs that we hear you. They were here. And I can\u2019t back down on that promise. I can\u2019t look at them in the eyes again and say, I\u2019m sorry, it didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On the Central Arkansas Water land purchase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bryan Rupar, Central Arkansas Water<\/strong>:<br>\u201cA portion of the purchase connects the Ouachita National Trail, a 223-mile trail that goes all the way from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, and I believe it\u2019s about a half mile. I\u2019d have to look back through the proposal, cross some private Potlatch-Deltic lands. This acquisition project would protect those.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What happened in the January ALC meetings Private and home school account funding The biggest flashpoint at the Friday full ALC meeting was money for Education Freedom Accounts. Lawmakers were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[385],"tags":[26,44,222,99,36,108,185],"city":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-alc","tag-central-arkansas-water","tag-dentists","tag-dhs","tag-education","tag-efa-accounts","tag-university-of-arkansas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"River Valley Record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"733\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Misty Hale\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Escrito por\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Misty Hale\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Misty Hale\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5\"},\"headline\":\"ALC Week Overview: January 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1651,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/education-kids.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"ALC\",\"Central Arkansas Water\",\"Dentists\",\"DHS\",\"Education\",\"EFA Accounts\",\"University of Arkansas\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/education-kids.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5\"},\"description\":\"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/education-kids.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/education-kids.webp\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":733},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ALC Week Overview: January 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"River Valley Record\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5\",\"name\":\"Misty Hale\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Misty Hale\"},\"description\":\"Misty started her journalism career as a teenager at the Russellville Courier and later reported for newspapers across Northwest Arkansas. After spending several years in community development work, she returned home to the River Valley. She founded the River Valley Record, where she focuses on data-driven journalism and telling the stories that matter to the community.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rivervalleyrecord.com\\\/es\\\/author\\\/483938pwpadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record","description":"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record","og_description":"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.","og_url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/","og_site_name":"River Valley Record","article_published_time":"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":733,"url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Misty Hale","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Escrito por":"Misty Hale","Tiempo de lectura":"8 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Misty Hale","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5"},"headline":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026","datePublished":"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/"},"wordCount":1651,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp","keywords":["ALC","Central Arkansas Water","Dentists","DHS","Education","EFA Accounts","University of Arkansas"],"articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/","name":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026 - River Valley Record","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp","datePublished":"2026-01-17T16:38:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-24T13:22:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5"},"description":"An overview of the January Arkansas Legislative Council meetings covering Education Freedom Accounts, land purchase in Perry County and more.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/education-kids.webp","width":1100,"height":733},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/alc-week-overview-january-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ALC Week Overview: January 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/","name":"River Valley Record","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f3c2383919cc3650f3252ff000461e5","name":"Misty Hale","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1bc17dcaae003a7f367fc03aad26e31c466c21daf50ea38cf13201edfbd728a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Misty Hale"},"description":"Misty started her journalism career as a teenager at the Russellville Courier and later reported for newspapers across Northwest Arkansas. After spending several years in community development work, she returned home to the River Valley. She founded the River Valley Record, where she focuses on data-driven journalism and telling the stories that matter to the community.","sameAs":["https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com"],"url":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/author\/483938pwpadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions\/461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivervalleyrecord.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}