$25,000 / 2016, 2017
Bill Kopsky, Executive Director
Statewide in Arkansas
www.arpanel.org
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel advances social and economic justice through respect for human dignity, diversity, empowerment, and an inclusive, fair, and transparent political process. A two-year renewal grant will enable the Arkansas Public Policy Panel (APPP) to pursue local organizing in rural, predominantly African American communities in Arkansas while also building a statewide coalition for educational equity. APPP organizes parents and students in ten low-income, rural communities to develop strategic plans for education reform, implement community development projects, organize campaigns on substantive policy, and address disparities and inequities at the local and state levels. The Panel links its chapters with more than forty nonprofit, labor, and grassroots groups throughout Arkansas to address a wide range of social justice issues. Over the next two years, APPP will work to improve education funding, stop the expansion of failing charter schools, pres for local implementation of restorative justice, push for strategies proven to improve teacher effectiveness, and return the Little Rock School District to a local, democratically elected school board.