Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 01 - Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services
Rule 005.01.05-007 - Rules Governing Charter Schools
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 005.01.05-007
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
1.00 Regulatory Authority
1.01 These rules and regulations shall be
known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules and Regulations Governing
Charter Schools.
1.02 The State
Board of Education enacted these rules and regulations pursuant to its
authority under Ark. Code Ann. §
6-23-101 et seq., as amended by Act
2005 of 2005.
2.00 Purpose of Regulations
2.01 The
purposes of these rules and regulations are to implement Ark. Code Ann. §
6-23-101, et seq. and to establish
the requirements and procedures for the application of a charter school, for
monitoring a school once it has been granted a charter by the State Board of
Education, for renewal, modification, and revocation of a charter granted by
the State Board, and for disbursing funds to a charter
school.
3.00 Definitions
For the purpose of these rules and regulations:
3.01 "Debt" is defined as a financial
obligation incurred by a charter school, which is due in more than 365
days.
3.02 "Average daily
membership (ADM)" is defined as the total number of days attended plus the
total number of days absent by students during the first three (3) quarters of
each school year, divided by the number of school days actually taught in the
school during that period of time.
3.03 "Local Board" means a board of directors
exercising the control and management of a public school district. In addition
for the purposes of these regulations a local board refers to the board of
directors of the school district where the charter school will be physically
located.
3.04 "Public school
district in which enrollment is likely to be affected" is defined as the school
districts in the geographical area surrounding the proposed open-enrollment
charter school from which students are likely to be drawn across district lines
for enrollment in the charter school.
3.05 "Application" is defined as the document
presented to the State Board of Education requesting to enter into a charter
that describes the school and provides all of the information required by law
and the Arkansas Department of Education, in the form prescribed by the Charter
School Office. The term application shall be synonymous with the term petition,
and the terms are interchangeable throughout these rules. The application, in
addition to any conditions or requirements agreed upon by the State Board, will
serve as the terms and conditions of the charter.
3.06 "Letter of Intent" is defined as a
written notice submitted to the Department of Education Charter School Office
that a public school district or an eligible entity intends to file a charter
school application. Such letter of intent shall be submitted on forms provided
by the Department of Education.
3.07 "Eligible entity" is defined as a public
or private, nonsectarian institution of higher education; a governmental
entity, or an organization, which is exempt from taxation under §
501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code at the time of application for the open-enrollment
charter.
3.08 "Charter" is defined
as a performance-based contract which exempts the charter school from specified
state and local rules, regulations, policies, and procedures for an initial
five-year (5) period and either converts a regular public school to a charter
school which operates under the specific terms of a charter granted by the
State Board of Education, or authorizes the creation and conditional operation
of an open-enrollment charter school.
3.09 "Open-enrollment charter school" is
defined as a public school that is operating under the terms of a charter
granted by the state board on the application of an eligible entity and may
draw its students from across public school district boundaries.
3.10 "Conversion charter school" is defined
as an existing public school which is converted to a school under the terms of
a charter.
4.00 Observance of Anti-Discrimination Laws
4.01 All charter schools shall observe and
comply with all anti-discrimination law, both federal and state.
4.02 For the purposes of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and these rules and regulations, all charter
schools are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of IDEA are
met.
4.03 For the purposes of
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and these rules and regulations, all
charter schools are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of Section
504 are met.
5.00 Application Process, Schedule, Forms and Technical Assistance
5.01 A procedure for establishing a charter
school shall be published by the Department of Education, as approved by the
State Board of Education. If all dates and requirements in the procedures for
establishing a charter school are not strictly followed, the State Board may
refuse to consider the application for a charter.
5.02 Application forms and other documents
needed for the charter school application process shall be provided by the
Department of Education Charter School Office.
5.03 Any requests for technical assistance by
a charter applicant shall be made to the Department of Education Charter School
Office.
5.04 A public school
district is not eligible to apply for an open-enrollment charter.
6.00 Conversion Charter School - Application Approval Procedures
6.01 Each conversion charter applicant must
submit, by certified mail on or before the established deadline, to the
Department of Education Charter School Office a letter of intent signed by the
school board president.
6.02 Each
charter applicant shall prepare an application that describes the elements of
the applicant's plan for establishing a conversion charter school. The
application shall be on a form provided by the Department of Education. If
requested, the Department of Education Charter School Office shall give
technical assistance in preparing the application.
6.03 The application shall be reviewed by the
local board of the public school district requesting to convert an existing
public school to a charter school. The local board shall vote to approve or
disapprove the application and prepare written findings. The results of the
vote and the written findings shall be sent to the Department of Education
Charter School Office and the applicant. If approved, the application shall be
forwarded by the local board to the State Board of Education.
6.04 A public school application for a
conversion charter may include, but shall not be limited to, the following
purposes:
6.04.01 Adopting research-based
school or instructional designs, or both, that focus on improving student and
school performance;
6.04.02
Addressing school improvement status resulting from sanctions listed in Ark.
Code Ann. §
6-15-207(c)(8) and
6-15-429(a) and
(b); or
6.04.03 Partnering with other districts or
schools to address students' needs in a geographical location or multiple
locations.
7.00 Responsibilities of the State Board of Education - Conversion Charter Schools
7.01 The State Board shall not approve a
conversion charter school application from a district that has not been
approved by the district's local board.
7.02 The Department of Education shall review
the applications and present to the State Board a written evaluation of the
application. A copy of the evaluation shall be sent to the applicant. The
applicant will be allowed to submit a written response to the evaluation by an
established deadline. The applicant will not be allowed to supplement the
original application with additional documents or new information prior to the
State Board review.
7.03 The State
Board shall review the applications for proposed charter schools. The State
Board shall vote whether or not to award charters to locally approved
applications. The State Board may place conditions on the charters it
awards.
7.04 The State Board of
Education may defer the vote to approve or disapprove a charter application in
order to allow a charter applicant to make modifications or receive technical
assistance to correct deficiencies in the application.
7.05 The decision of the State Board of
Education shall be final.
8.00 Open-Enrollment Charter School - Application Approval Procedures
8.01
Each open-enrollment charter applicant must submit to the Department of
Education Charter School Office a letter of intent sent by certified mail on or
before the established deadline. A copy of the letter of intent shall also be
sent by certified mail to each member of the local board of the public school
district where the proposed charter school will be located as well as the local
school boards of public school districts in which enrollment is likely to be
affected. The letter to each board member shall only be required for each
school board member whose name and mailing address is provided by the
superintendent of an affected school district or the Department upon request of
the petitioner.
8.02 Each charter
applicant shall prepare an application that describes the elements of the
applicant's plan for establishing a charter school. The application shall be on
a form provided by the Department of Education. If requested, the Department of
Education Charter School Office shall give technical assistance in preparing
the application,
8.03 The
application shall be sent to the local board of the public school district
where the proposed charter school will be located. The applicant shall send the
application by certified mail to the Superintendent of the local district. The
applicant shall provide the Department of Education with verification that the
required notice was sent to the local board. A copy of this same application
shall be sent to the Department of Education.
8.04 Each open-enrollment charter applicant
shall send a copy of the application to all public school districts in which
enrollment is likely to be affected by the charter school. The application
shall be sent by certified mail to the local school board(s) in care of the
Superintendent(s). Documentation shall be provided to the Department of
Education, in the form of copies of certified mail receipts that the
applications were sent.
8.05 The
board of the public school districts in which enrollment is likely to be
affected by the proposed charter school may review the open-enrollment charter
school application and submit any written findings or statements of the board,
signed by the board president, to the Department of Education Charter School
Office by an established deadline. The school board shall send a copy of the
written findings or statements to the applicant by certified mail. Failure to
submit this information will constitute the conclusion that the proposed
charter school will have no impact on the district.
8.06 The local board of the district where
the proposed charter school is to be located shall review the open-enrollment
charter school application. The local board shall vote to approve or disapprove
the application and prepare written findings. The results of the vote and the
written findings shall be sent by certified mail to the Department of Education
Charter School Office and to the charter school applicant by an established
deadline.
8.07 The applicant for an
open-enrollment charter school whose application is disapproved by the local
board shall have the immediate right to proceed with a written notice of appeal
to the State Board of Education. To exercise the right to appeal, the applicant
must send written notice of appeal to the State Board within ten (10) calendar
days after receiving notice of the local board's disapproval of the application
for an open-enrollment charter school. The notice of appeal shall be sent by
certified mail to the State Board of Education and to the local board of the
district where the proposed charter school is to be
located.
9.00 Responsibilities of the State Board of Education - Open-Enrollment Charter Schools
9.01 The Department of
Education shall review the applications and present to the State Board a
written evaluation of the application. A copy of the evaluation shall be sent
to the applicant. The applicant will be allowed to submit a written response to
the evaluation by an established deadline. The applicant will not be allowed to
supplement the original application with additional documents or new
information prior to the State Board review.
9.02 In the event an application is denied by
the local board, the State Board shall hold a hearing within forty-five (45)
calendar days after receipt of the notice of appeal at a location where all
interested parties may appear and present relevant information regarding the
proposed open-enrollment charter school.
9.02.01 The local board and the boards likely
to be affected by the proposed charter school shall have a combined total of
twenty (20) minutes to present the arguments for disapproval of the charter
school to the State Board. Following the presentations by the public school
district boards of education, the charter applicant shall have twenty (20)
minutes to present its arguments to the State Board for approval of the
proposed charter school. The State Board shall follow the presentations with
discussion of the charter application and possible questions to the public
school board representative(s) and/or the charter applicant.
9.03 The State Board shall review
the applications for proposed charter schools. The Board shall vote whether or
not to award charters to locally approved applications. The State Board may
place conditions on the charters it awards.
9.04 The State Board of Education may defer
the vote to approve or disapprove a charter application in order to allow a
charter applicant to make modifications or to receive technical assistance to
correct deficiencies in the application.
9.05 The decision of the State Board shall be
final.
10.00 Content of Application and Charter
10.01 The charter school application shall
include, but is not limited to the following:
10.01.01 educational mission;
10.01.02 educational need;
10.01.03 description of public hearing
results;
10.01.04 description of
educational plan, which clearly addresses how charter school will improve
student learning and academic achievement and meet or exceed state
goals;
10.01.05 description of
governance and organizational structure;
10.01.06 description of facilities to be
used, location of the proposed school, and the present use of the facility and
the use for the past three (3) years; and a statement of the current
permissible uses from the local zoning authority
10.01.07 copies of annual budget and
financial plan (including all sources of funding);
10.01.08 agreement to provide annual report
of progress toward meeting performance goals to parents, community, local board
and state board;
10.01.09
description of admission procedure;
10.01.10 description of support
services;
10.01.11 identification
of regulations, if any, to be waived, with rationale for waiver
request;
10.01.12 school calendar
and school day schedule; and
10.01.13 description of age or grade range of
pupils to be enrolled.
10.02 In addition to the requirements
identified in section 10.01, an application for an open-enrollment charter
school shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
10.02.01 specification of period for which
the charter or any charter renewal is valid, contingent upon acceptable student
performance levels established within the state accountability
system;
10.02.02 prohibition of
discrimination in admission on the basis of gender, national origin, race,
ethnicity, religion, disability, academic or athletic eligibility, although the
charter may provide for the exclusion of a student who has been expelled from
another public school district;
10.02.03 specification of the qualifications
to be met by professional employees of the program;
10.02.04 description of budget
process;
10.02.05 description of
annual audit of financial and programmatic operations, including how the
charter school will provide information needed by the public school district in
which the charter school is located;
10.02.06 description of facilities to be used
and its location including the terms of the facility utilization agreement if
the facility for the charter school is owned or leased from a sectarian
organization;
10.02.07 description
of geographical area, school district or school attendance area to be served by
the program;
10.02.08 description
of admission and enrollment criteria and student recruitment and selection
processes, including provision for a random, anonymous student selection method
if more eligible students apply for a first-time admission than the charter
school is able to accept; and
10.02.09 a statement that the eligible entity
will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, national origin, ethnicity,
religion, age, or disability in employment decisions including hiring and
retention of administrators, teachers, and other employees.
10.03 Preference for Approval of
Open-Enrollment Charters
The state board shall give preference in approving an application for a charter school to be located in any public school district:
10.03.1 Where the percentage
of students who qualify for free or reduced price lunches is above the average
for the state;
10.03.2 Where the
district has been classified by the State Board as in academic distress under
Ark. Code Ann.§
6-15-428; or
10.03.3 Where the district has been
classified by the Department of Education as showing the greatest need for
school improvement under Ark. Code Ann. §
6-15-426.
10.04 The state board may grant no more than
a total twenty-four (24) charters for open-enrollment charter schools, a
charter applicant's school campus shall be limited to a single open-enrollment
charter school per charter except as allowed in Section 10.05 of these Rules.
10.04.1 The State Board's authority to
approve the twenty-four (24) charters for open-enrollment status shall be
phased in according to the following schedule:
10.04.1.1 For the 2005-2006 school year, no
more than four (4) of such charters may be granted per congressional district
in the state;
10.04.1.2 For the
2006-2007 school year, no more than five (5) of such charters may be granted
per congressional district in the state; and
10.04.1.3 For the 2007-2008 school year, no
more than six (6) of such charters may be granted per congressional district in
the state.
10.05 In accordance with Act 2005 of 2005,
the Knowledge Is Power Program instructional program is recognized as an
effective method for meeting the statutory purpose and intent of Ark. Code Ann.
§
6-23-101 et seq., closing the
achievement gap in public schools for economically disadvantaged, racial and
ethnic subgroups, Ark. Code Ann. §
6-15-401 et seq. and Ark. Code Ann.
§
6-15-1601 et seq., and otherwise
providing an alternative, proven, adequate and equitable education to Arkansas
students.
10.05.1 Any charter applicant that
receives an approved open-enrollment charter under Section 10.04 of these rules
may petition the State Board for additional licenses to establish
open-enrollment charter school in any of the various congressional districts in
Arkansas provided that the applicant meets the following conditions:
10.05.1.1 The approved open-enrollment
charter petitioner is sponsored by and approved by the Knowledge Is Power
Program; and
10.05.1.2 The approved
open-enrollment charter petitioner has not been subject to any disciplinary
action by the State Board; has not been classified as in school improvement,
academic or fiscal distress; and has not had its open-enrollment charter placed
on probation, suspended or revoked; and
10.05.1.3 The State Board of Education
determines in writing by majority of a quorum of the board present that the
open-enrollment charter petitioner has generally established the educational
program results and criteria set forth subdivision Section 10.05 of these
rules.
10.05.1.4 When approving
open-enrollment charter applications, the State Board shall take into
consideration successful instructional programs offered by traditional public
schools in the jurisdiction where the open-enrollment charter is proposed, so
as not to replicate existing effective programs, but to offer alternative
methods of delivery to serve students who are currently underserved in the
traditional district.
11.00 Enrollment
11.01 Enrollment for an existing public
school converted to a charter school will be determined in the manner similar
to the enrollment procedures for the school district in which the charter
school is located or similar to the enrollment procedures for district magnet
schools.
11.02 If more eligible
students apply for admission than the charter school is able to accept, then
the charter school shall create an enrollment process based upon a random
anonymous student selection method.
11.03 While a charter school may operate on a
traditional calendar or a year-long calendar, all charter schools shall begin
the school year in the fall.
11.04
Enrollment projections for open-enrollment charter schools must be based on
documentation as of July 1 of the school year.
12.00 Funding
12.01 Funding for Charter Schools
12.01.01 An existing public school converted
to a charter school shall receive funds equal to the amount apportioned by the
district from state and local revenue per average daily membership.
12.01.02 An open-enrollment charter school
shall receive funds equal to the amount that a public school would receive
under 6-20-2305(a) and
(b) as well as any other funding that the
charter school is entitled to receive under law.
12.01.03 The initial funding estimate for an
open-enrollment charter school shall be based upon the enrollment as of July
1.
12.02 The Department
of Education shall establish procedures to ensure that every charter school
receives the Federal funds for which the charter school is eligible.
12.02.01 The Department of Education shall
take such measures as necessary to ensure that a charter school receives the
federal funds for which the school is eligible not later than five (5) months
after the charter school first opens, notwithstanding the fact that the
identity and characteristics of the students enrolling in the charter school
are not fully and completely determined until that charter school actually
opens.
12.02.02 The measures shall
also ensure that every charter school expanding its enrollment in any
subsequent year of operation receives the federal funding for which the charter
school is eligible not later than five (5) months after such
expansion.
12.03 The
submission to an annual certified audit as required by Ark. Code Ann. §
6-23-101 et seq., shall be made
according to Arkansas Law and to the Department of Education fiscal regulations
and time lines. Failure to submit such audit in a timely manner shall result in
suspension of state aid payments until such audit is received by the Department
of Education. The school's fiscal year shall run from July 1 through June
30.
12.04 All open-enrollment
charter schools operated by an organization exempt from taxation under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code are subject to an audit of the receipt and expenditure of state
financial assistance by the Division of Legislative Audit in accordance with
Act 958 of 2001.
12.05 An
open-enrollment charter school shall not use the moneys that it receives from
the state for any sectarian program or activity or as collateral for debt.
However, open-enrollment charter schools may enter into lease-purchase
agreements for school buildings built by private entities with facilities bonds
exempt from federal taxes under 26 USCS 142(a) as allowed by
6-20-402. No indebtedness of an
open-enrollment charter school shall ever become a debt of the state of
Arkansas.
13.00 Evaluation, Monitoring and Reporting Requirements of Charter Schools
13.01 The Arkansas Department
of Education shall conduct an annual evaluation of all charter schools, which
shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the following:
13.01.01 student scores on assessment
instruments;
13.01.02 student
attendance;
13.01.03 student
grades;
13.01.04 student discipline
incidents
13.01.05 socioeconomic
data on students' families;
13.01.06 parent satisfaction with the
school;
13.01.07 student
satisfaction with the schools;
13.01.08 on-site monitoring of the facility;
and
13.01.09 other terms of the
school's charter.
13.02
As a condition of its charter, each charter school is required to provide an
annual report to parents, the community and the State Board that details its
progress in meeting its academic performance objectives.
13.03 Each charter school shall participate
in the Arkansas Public School Computer Network reporting
requirements.
13.04 Each charter
school shall provide to the Department of Education the same data required of
other public schools, unless such data requirement is waived by the terms of
the charter.
14.00 Basis and Procedure for Charter Modification, or Charter School Probation, Revocation, or Denial of Renewal.
14.01
The State Board may modify the charter of a charter school or it may place a
charter school on probation or revoke its charter or deny renewal of its
charter at any time the Board deems it necessary to do so.
14.02 The State Board shall notify the chief
operating officer of the charter school of the alleged violation of the
school's charter or of the offense in question. The notice shall include the
State Board's proposed action. The notice shall be delivered by certified mail
to the chief operating officer of the charter school.
14.03 The chief operating officer of the
charter school, on behalf of the charter school, may request, in writing, a
hearing before the State Board.
14.04 The State Board shall hold a hearing,
if requested, within forty-five (45) calendar days of receipt of the hearing
request.
14.05 The hearing shall be
held at the location of the regular or special meeting of the State Board of
Education.
14.05.01 Notice of the hearing
shall be provided to the superintendent and the president of the local school
board of the school district where the conversion charter school is located or
to the chief operating officer of the open-enrollment charter school.
14.05.02 The hearing shall be open to the
public.
14.06 The
decision of the State Board shall be final.
15.00 Impact on Desegregation Efforts
15.01 The petitioners for each
application for a proposed charter school must include a written evaluation
describing the potential impact on the efforts of a public school district or
districts to comply with court orders and statutory obligations to create and
maintain a unitary system of desegregated public schools.
15.02 The local board shall also prepare a
written evaluation of the potential impact the proposed charter school will
have on the efforts of the school district or districts to comply with court
orders and statutory obligations to create and maintain a unitary system of
desegregated public schools. This evaluation shall be forwarded to the State
Board.
15.03 Each application for a
proposed charter school shall be examined for its effect on the minority and
majority percentages of student enrollment in the public school districts
within the charter school's proposed population outreach.
15.04 The Department of Education shall
compute the minority and majority percentages of each county's public school
population and shall then compute the acceptable range of variance from those
percentages for school districts within each county from which the charter
school will receive students.
15.05
Each application for a proposed charter school shall be reviewed for its effect
on these percentages that may be caused by:
15.05.01 the proposed charter school's
proposed population range;
15.05.02
the size of the individual charter school;
15.05.03 the type of student population to be
served; and
15.05.04 the proximity
of a proposed charter school to an existing school district under desegregation
obligations.
15.06 Each
application for a proposed charter school shall be reviewed for program and
services as compared to the program and service requirements of the districts
under the desegregation order.
15.07 Technical assistance in this review may
be provided by the Department of Education's section on Accountability and its
unit on Desegregation Monitoring.
15.08 The State Board of Education shall not
approve any charter school which hampers, delays, or in any manner negatively
affects the desegregation efforts of a school district or districts in this
state.
16.00 Renewal of Charters
16.01 Each
open-enrollment charter schools and conversion charter school must apply for
renewal of its charter prior to expiration on a form prescribed by the Charter
School Office, by a deadline set by the Charter School Office.
16.02 A charter may be renewed by the State
Board of Education for up to a five (5) year period. The State Board may decide
not to renew a charter or to renew a charter for a period less than five
years.
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