Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 15 - Division of Learning Services
Rule 005.15.07-006 - ADE 258: Rules Governing the Mandatory Attendance Requirements for Students in Grades Nine through Twelve

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Mandatory Attendance Requirements for Students in Grades Nine through Twelve.

1.02 The State Board of Education promulgates these rules pursuant to the regulatory authority provided in Arkansas Code Annotated §§ 6-18-211, 6-16-102, 6-11-105 and Act 985 of 2007.

2.01 The purpose of these rules is to implement and establish the process Governing the Mandatory Full School Day Attendance Requirements for Students in Grades Nine through Twelve.

3.01 "School day" means a day in which classes are in session, the school is required to provide no fewer than six (6) hours of planned instructional time, and students receive instructional time that does not average less than six (6) hours. Any day in which fewer than six (6) hours of instructional time is provided to students shall be counted as one-half (1/2) of a school day if at least three (3) hours of instructional time is provided to students. Any day in which fewer than three (3) hours of instructional time is provided to students shall not be counted as part of a school day.

3.02 Extracurricular classes" mean school sponsored activities which may include special interest, fine arts, technical, scholastic, intramural, and interscholastic opportunities outside Arkansas Department of Education approved courses that do not count toward graduation requirements or classes that have not been approved by the Arkansas Department of Education for academic credit.

3.03 "Financial hardships" means harm or suffering caused by a student's inability to obtain or provide basic life necessities of food, clothing, and shelter for the student or the student's family.

3.04 "Planned instructional time" means regularly scheduled class periods during the school day in which the teacher is providing instruction for students aligned with the Arkansas Department of Education Curriculum Frameworks.

3.05 "Placement hardship" means any student dropped from a course of study or removed from a job during the semester and is unable to be placed in another placement or course of study.

3.06 "State Board of Education" means the Arkansas State Board of Education.

4.01 Students in grades nine through twelve (9-12) shall be required to schedule and attend a full school day.

4.02 Students in a public high school in Arkansas in grades nine through twelve (9-12) are required to enroll in no fewer than three hundred fifty (350) minutes of planned instructional time each school day as a requirement for graduation.

5.01 The school board of directors of every public school district may adopt policies to allow students to be assigned to no more than one (1) class period each day for a study hall that the student shall be required to attend and participate in for a full class period per day of self-study or organized tutoring in the school building to be included as planned instructional time.

5.02 The school board of directors of every public school district may adopt policies to allow students to be assigned to no more than one (1) class period each day for organized and scheduled student extracurricular classes that the student shall be required to attend and participate in for a full class period per day to be included as planned instructional time. If the extracurricular class is related to a seasonal activity, the class must continue to meet after the season ends to be counted toward the requirement of planned instructional time.

5.03 Local school boards of directors may adopt policies for granting waivers to students who would experience proven financial hardships if required to attend a full school day.

5.04 Local school boards directors may adopt placement policies granting waivers for students who are dropped from courses, concurrent credit classes, or removed or fired from employment.

6.01 Enrollment and attendance in vocational-educational training courses, college courses, school work programs, and other department-sanctioned educational programs may be used to satisfy the requirements of the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Mandatory Attendance Requirements for Students in Grades Nine through Twelve even if the programs are not located at the public schools.

6.02 Enrollment and attendance at a post-secondary institution by an eligible student for credit shall be counted by the high school at a ratio of three (3) hours of the required 30-hour week for every credit; e.g., two (2) credits shall be the equivalent of six (6) hours of the required 30-hour week; three (3) credits shall be the equivalent of nine (9) hours of the required 30-hour week; four (4) credits shall be the equivalent of twelve (12) hours of the required 30-hour week; five (5) credits shall be the equivalent of fifteen (15) hours of the required 30-hour week; six (6) credits shall be the equivalent of eighteen (18) hours of the required 30-hour week; seven (7) credits shall be the equivalent of twenty-one (21) hours of the required 30-hour week; eight (8) credits shall be the equivalent of twenty-four (24) hours of the required 30-hour week; nine (9) credits shall be the equivalent of twenty-seven (27) hours of the required 30-hour week; ten (10) credits shall be the equivalent of thirty (30) hours of the required 30-hour week.

7.01 Nothing in these rules precludes a student who has met all graduation requirements from graduating early.

7.02 A student who has graduated early from high school is no longer obligated to attend a public high school under the compulsory attendance provisions of § 6-18-201, the mandatory attendance provisions of § 6-18-211 or any other provision of law.

7.03 No public school district is legally required or obligated to enroll or provide educational resources to those person who have graduated from high school.