Let's cut through the sensationalism. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's recent article, titled "Education funds used on game chairs and purchases through TikTok," highlights a handful of unusual purchases--like a $479.99 Shaquille O'Neal gaming chair and TikTok reimbursements totaling under $5,000--among 291,123 transactions from January to October 2024.

This paper's pattern of allowing columnists recurring op-eds bashing the LEARNS Act while ignoring its successes raises serious questions about journalistic integrity. It's time to set the record straight: LEARNS is revolutionizing Arkansas education, and the evidence is overwhelming.

First, those "misuses." The flagged items represent less than 0.003 percent of the $144 million in EFA reimbursements during that period--barely a rounding e

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