Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 23 - Legal Services ***
Rule 005.23.11-002 - ADE 173: Rules Governing the Guidelines, Procedures and Enforcement of the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Guidelines, Procedures, and Enforcement of the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act.

1.02 The purpose of these rules is to provide enhanced opportunity for students in Arkansas to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for postsecondary education, a technical education, or careers.

2.01 The Arkansas State Board of Education's authority for promulgating these rules is pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-11-105, 6-18-227, 25-15-201 et seq., and Acts 1124 and 1147 of 2011.

3.01 Department - the Arkansas Department of Education.

3.02 Level 1 school - a school which, according to the classification system established in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2103, is classified by the Arkansas Department of Education as a "school in need of immediate improvement." Under the classification system established in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2103, Level 1 is the lowest ranking that a school may receive, and Level 5 is the highest ranking.

3.03 Level 3 school - a school which, according to the classification system established in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2103, is classified by the Arkansas Department of Education as a "school meeting standards."

3.04 Nonresident or receiving district - the public school district, or open-enrollment public charter school, to which a student transfers or seeks to transfer under the provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-227.

3.05 Nonresident or receiving school - the public school to which a student transfers or seeks to transfer under the provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-227. A nonresident or receiving school may be a public school within the resident district, a public school within a nonresident district, or an open-enrollment public charter school.

3.06 Resident or transferring district - the public school district in which the student resides and from which the student seeks to transfer under the provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-227.

3.07 Resident or transferring school - the public school in which the student is enrolled at the time of application and from which the student seeks to transfer under the provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-227.

5.01 Upon the request of a parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, a student may transfer from his or her resident school to another public school in accordance with the provisions of these rules if:

5.02 Each school district board of directors shall offer the Opportunity Public School Choice option within the public schools. The Opportunity Public School Choice option shall be offered in addition to other existing choice options.

5.03 The parent or guardian of a student, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, enrolled in or assigned to a school that has been designated as a school in Level 1 under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2103 for two (2) or more consecutive school years, may choose as an alternative to enroll the student in the public school nearest to the student's legal residence that has been designated pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2103 as a Level 3 school or higher in the most recent annual school classification made by the Department of Education. Subject to the requirements of Sections 5.04.3 and 5.04.4 below, the school or school district shall accept the student and report the student for purposes of funding pursuant to applicable state law.

5.04 Within thirty (30) days from receipt of an application from a student seeking admission under these rules, the superintendent of the nonresident district shall notify in writing the parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, whether the Opportunity Public School Choice application has been accepted or rejected.

5.05 For each student enrolled in or assigned to a school that has been designated a Level 1 school for two (2) or more consecutive school years, a school district shall:

5.06 For the purposes of continuity of educational choice, a transfer under these Rules shall operate as an irrevocable election for each subsequent entire school year and shall remain in force until:

5.07 Students with disabilities who are eligible to receive services from the transferring school district under federal or state law, including students receiving additional funding through federal title programs specific to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq., and who participate in the Opportunity Public School Choice Act program, shall remain eligible to receive services from the receiving school district as provided by state or federal law. Any funding for such a student shall be transferred to the receiving district.

5.08 The receiving district or charter school may transport students to and from the transferring district or charter school, and the cost of transporting students shall be the responsibility of the transferring district or charter school except as provided under Sections 5.08.1 and 5.08.2 of these rules.

5.09 Unless excused by the school for illness or other good cause:

5.10 A student failing to comply with the requirements of these rules shall forfeit the Opportunity Public School Choice option.

5.11 A receiving district shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another district.

5.12 The receiving district shall award a diploma to a student transferred under these rules if the student meets the receiving district's graduation requirements.

5.13 A district under this program shall request public service announcements to be made over the broadcast media and in the print media at such times and in such a manner as to inform parents or guardians of students in adjoining districts of the availability of the program, the application deadline, and the requirements and procedure for nonresident students to participate in the program.

6.01 The Department of Education shall develop an annual report on the status of school choice and deliver the report to the State Board, the Governor, and the Legislative Council at least ninety (90) days prior to the convening of the regular session of the General Assembly.

6.02 Each school district board of directors shall annually report the number of students applying for and attending the various types of public schools of choice in the district, including schools such as magnet schools, according to these rules. The school district board of directors shall report this data through its cycle reports as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education.

6.03 All school districts shall report to the Department of Education on an annual basis the race and gender of each student identified in Section 6.02 above, and other pertinent information needed to properly monitor compliance with the provisions of these rules. The reports may be on forms prescribed by the Department of Education, or the data may be submitted electronically by the district using a format authorized by the Department of Education. The school districts shall report this data through its cycle reports as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education.

6.04 The receiving school district shall report all students who transfer from another public school under this program. The students attending public schools pursuant to the Opportunity Public School Choice option shall be reported separately from those students reported for purposes of compliance with applicable state law.

7.01 For the purposes of determining a school district's state funding, the nonresident student shall be counted as a part of the average daily membership of the receiving district.

7.02 The maximum Opportunity Public School Choice funds granted for an eligible student shall be calculated based on applicable state law.

7.03 The public school that provides services to students with disabilities shall receive funding as determined by applicable federal and state law.

8.01 A parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, may appeal a school district's decision to deny admission to a nonresident school due to a lack of capacity to the State Board pursuant to this section.

8.02 The student or the student's parent or guardian (hereinafter the appealing party) must present a written appeal to the State Board via certified mail, return receipt requested, no later than ten (10) days after the appealing party receives notice of rejection from the nonresident school/district in accordance with Section 5.04 of these rules.

8.03 The nonresident school/district may submit, in writing, any additional information, evidence or arguments supporting its rejection of the student's application by mailing such response via certified mail, return receipt requested to the State Board no later than ten (10) days after receiving the appealing party's written appeal.

8.04 If a hearing is requested by either party, the State Board shall schedule the hearing for the next regularly scheduled State Board meeting in accordance with its procedures for the submission of agenda items.

8.05 If no hearing is requested by either party, the State Board shall consider the appeal during its next regularly scheduled State Board meeting in accordance with its procedures for the submission of agenda items.

8.06 State Board Hearing Procedures