Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 01 - Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services
Rule 005.01.09-001 - Governing the Calculation Methods for Declining Enrollment & Student Growth Funding - Arkansas Smart Core Incentive Funding

1.01 The Arkansas State Board of Education's authority for promulgating these Rules is pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-11-105 and 6-15-215 and Act 1481 of the 2009 Regular Session.

1.02 These Rules shall be known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Calculation of Arkansas Smart Core Incentive Funding (Rules).

2.01 The purpose of these Rules is to provide the calculation method for Smart Core Incentive Funding for public school districts.

3.01 Eligible High School means each public high school in a school district that meets the criteria to receive Smart Core Incentive Funding under Act 1481 of the 2009 Regular Session and these Rules.

3.02 Smart Core means the curriculum established by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) under the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts that is part of Smart Future, a state initiative focused on improving Arkansas public high schools for all students.

3.03 Smart Core Graduate means a student who graduated from an Arkansas public high school after having successfully completed the Smart Core curriculum.

4.01 A school district that receives funding under Act 1481 of the 2009 Regular Session shall provide the incentive funding to each eligible high school in the school district.

4.02 The eligible high school shall spend the incentive funding only for the purposes listed below, as identified in Act 1481 of the 2009 Regular Session:

4.03 A school district that receives incentive funding under this program shall not use the incentive funding to provide increases to the salary schedule of the school district.

4.04 The ADE shall make the calculation based on a student record analysis conducted annually by the ADE beginning with a student record analysis of the graduation class of 2010.

4.05 The ADE shall exclude from the student record analysis a student with an individualized education program that does not require the student to complete the Smart Core curriculum.

4.06 By June 30 of each year, the ADE shall pay Smart Core Incentive Funding as follows:

4.07 In the preceding school year, if a public high school's graduation rate falls below the average graduation rate for the public high school for the previous three (3) school years, the school district is not eligible to receive the full incentive award under the program for the public high school. The incentive funding will be reduced by the percentage that the high school's graduation rate in the preceding school year fell below the average of its graduation rate for the previous three (3) school years.

4.08 Participation in the Arkansas Smart Core Incentive Funding Program is voluntary.

4.09 The first annual funding calculation, based on the student record analysis of the graduation class of 2010, will be made by June 30, 2011.

4.10 Subject to an appropriation and available funding for the program, the Smart Core Incentive Funding Program is effective from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2020.