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ChampionedEducation

Promised to reward teachers with higher pay; the LEARNS Act raised the starting teacher salary to $50,000 and gave every teacher at least a $2,000 raise.

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ChampionedFact-checker reviewConfidence: 96%

Both cited sources are reachable and directly document this outcome for this promise, with all quotes verified verbatim. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas confirms the LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023) was "the signature piece of legislation promoted by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders during the 2023 session ... her first session as governor," that Sanders's plan set starting teacher pay at $50,000, that the statute requires each teacher's 2023-2024 salary be "at least two thousand dollars ($2,000) greater than his or her current salary as of September 1, 2022," and that "Sanders signed the bill into law on March 8, 2023, at a ceremony in the Arkansas State Capitol." The Office of the Governor primary release confirms "LEARNS raised starting teacher pay from $36,000 a year to $50,000 a year and gave every teacher at least a $2,000 raise" and that "Arkansas now has the highest starting teacher pay in the nation." CHAMPIONED is warranted: as governor Sanders proposed, publicly promoted, and signed her own signature legislation — this is driving leadership/authorship, not a mere vote or generic support. The promised outcome (starting salary of $50,000 plus at least a $2,000 raise per teacher) matches the enacted statutory text and is confirmed as having taken effect, with no overstatement.

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