Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 23 - Legal Services ***
Rule 005.23.13-002 - ADE 328: Rule Governing the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 005.23.13-002
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
1.00 PURPOSE
1.01 These rules shall be
known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Arkansas
Opportunity Public School Choice Act.
1.02 The purpose of these rules is to set
forth the process and procedures necessary to administer the Arkansas
Opportunity Public School Choice Act as amended.
2.00 AUTHORITY
2.01 The Arkansas State Board of Education
promulgated these rules pursuant to the authority granted to it by Ark. Code
Ann. §§
6-11-105,
6-18-227,
6-15-430,
25-15-201 et seq., and Acts 600,
1227 and 1429 of 2013.
3.00 DEFINITIONS
As used in these rules:
3.01 "Department" means the Arkansas
Department of Education.
3.02
"Nonresident or receiving district" means 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.
3.03 "Nonresident or receiving school" means
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.
3.04 "Resident or
transferring district" means 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.
3.05 "Resident or transferring school" means
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.
3.06 "Public school or school district in
academic distress" means a public school or school district that has been
classified by the State Board of Education as a public school or school
district in academic distress.
4.00 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
4.01 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 district or public school to
another school district or public school under these rules if:
4.01.1 The resident public school or school
district has been classified by the State Board of Education as a public school
or school district in academic distress; and
4.01.2 The parent or guardian, or the student
if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, has notified the Department
of Education and both the transferring and receiving school districts of the
request to transfer no later than July 30 of the first year in which the
student intends to transfer.
4.02 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 programs.
4.03 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 public school or school district that has been classified by the
State Board of Education as a public school or school district in academic
distress may choose as an alternative to enroll the student in a legally
allowable public school or school district that is not classified as a public
school or school district in academic distress and that is nearest to the
student's legal residence. That school or school district shall accept the
student and report the student for purposes of the funding under applicable
state law.
4.04 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. The notification shall be sent via First-Class Mail
to the address on the application.
4.04.1 If
the application is accepted, the superintendent of the nonresident district
shall state in the notification letter the deadline by which the student must
enroll in the receiving school.
4.04.2 If the application is rejected, the
superintendent of the nonresident district shall state in the notification
letter the specific reasons for the rejection.
4.04.3 A school district shall not deny a
student the ability to transfer to a nonresident school under these rules
unless there is a lack of capacity at the nonresident school.
4.04.4 A lack of capacity may be claimed by a
school district only if the nonresident school has reached the maximum
student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the rules for
standards of accreditation, or other applicable regulations. For the purposes
of these rules, a school district may claim a lack of capacity if, as of the
date the application for opportunity school choice is made, ninety-five percent
(95%) or more of the seats at the grade level at the nonresident school are
filled.
4.04.5 The race or
ethnicity of a student shall not be used to deny a student the ability to
attend a nonresident school under these rules.
4.04.6 Pursuant to Section 7.00 of these
rules, 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 to the State Board of Education after the student or the
student's parent or guardian receives written notice from the nonresident
district that admission has been denied.
4.04.7 If any provision of these rules
conflicts with the provisions of a federal desegregation court order applicable
to a school district, the provisions of the federal desegregation order shall
govern.
4.05 For each
student enrolled in or assigned to a public school or school district that has
been classified by the State Board of Education as a public school or school
district in academic distress, a school district shall:
4.05.1 Timely notify the parent or guardian,
or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, as soon as
practicable after the designation is made, of all options available under these
rules; and
4.05.2 Offer the parent
or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age,
an opportunity to enroll the student in any public school or school district
that has not been classified by the State Board of Education as a public school
or school district in academic distress.
4.05.3 The opportunity to continue attending
the public school or school district that is not classified as a public school
or school district in academic distress shall remain in force until the student
graduates from high school.
4.06 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:
4.06.1 The student completes high
school; or,
4.06.2 The parent or
guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age,
timely makes application under a provision of law governing attendance in or
transfer to another public school or school district other than the student's
assigned school or resident district.
4.07 A transfer under these rules is
effective at the beginning of the next academic year.
4.08 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, Pub. L. No. 89-10, 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
the student shall be transferred to the school district to which the student
transfers.
4.09 The receiving
public school or school district may transport students to and from the
transferring public school or school district, and the cost of transporting
students shall be the responsibility of the transferring public school or
school district except as provided under Sections 4.09.1 and 4.09.2 of these
rules.
4.09.1 A transferring public school or
school district shall not be required to spend more than four hundred dollars
($400) per student per school year for transportation required under Section
4.09 of these rules.
4.09.2 Upon
the transferring public school or school district's removal from classification
as a public school or school district in academic distress, the transportation
costs shall no longer be the responsibility of the transferring public school
or school district, and the student's transportation and the costs of
transportation shall be the responsibility of the parent or guardian or of the
receiving public school or school district if the receiving public school or
school district agrees to bear the transportation costs.
4.10 Unless excused by the school for illness
or other good cause:
4.10.1 Any student
participating in the Opportunity Public School Choice option shall remain in
attendance throughout the school year and shall comply fully with the receiving
school's code of conduct; and
4.10.2 The parent or guardian of each student
participating in the Opportunity Public School Choice option shall comply fully
with the receiving school's parental involvement requirements.
4.11 The parent or guardian shall
ensure that the student participating in the opportunity public school choice
option takes all statewide assessments, including, but not limited to,
benchmark exams, required pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
6-15-433.
4.12 A student failing to comply with the
requirements of these rules shall forfeit the Opportunity Public School Choice
option.
4.13 A receiving district
shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another
district.
4.14 The receiving
district shall award a diploma to a student transferred under these rules if
the student meets the receiving district's graduation requirements.
4.15 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.
5.00 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
5.01 The Department of Education shall
develop an annual report on the status of school choice and deliver the report
to the State Board of Education, the Governor, and the Legislative Council at
least ninety (90) days prior to the convening of the regular session of the
General Assembly.
5.02 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.
5.03 All school districts shall report to the
Department of Education on an annual basis the race and gender of each student
identified in Section 5.02 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.
5.03.1 The Department of Education may put on
probation the superintendent of any school district that fails to file its
report each year or fails to file any other information with a published
deadline requested from school districts by the Department of Education so long
as thirty (30) calendar days are given between the request for the information
and the published deadline.
5.03.2
A copy of the report shall be provided to the Joint Interim Committee on
Education.
5.04 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.
6.00 FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS
6.01 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.
6.02 The maximum Opportunity Public School
Choice funds granted for an eligible student shall be calculated based on
applicable state law.
6.03 The
public school that provides services to students with disabilities shall
receive funding as determined by applicable federal and state
law.
7.00 APPEAL PROCEDURES
7.01 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 of Education pursuant to this
section.
7.02 The student or the
student's parent or guardian (hereinafter the appealing party) must present a
written appeal to the State Board of Education via certified mail, return
receipt requested, no later than ten (10) calendar days, excluding weekends and
legal holidays, after the appealing party receives notice of rejection from the
superintendent of the nonresident district in accordance with Section 4.04 of
these rules.
7.02.1 The written appeal should
be sent to:
Office of the Commissioner
ATTN: Opportunity School Choice Appeal
Four Capitol Mall
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
7.02.2 Contemporaneously with the filing of
the written appeal with the Office of the Commissioner, the appealing party
must also mail a copy of the written appeal to the superintendent of the
nonresident school district.
7.02.3
In its written appeal, the appealing party shall state his or her basis for
appealing the decision of the nonresident district.
7.02.4 The appealing party must submit, along
with its written appeal, a copy of the rejection letter from the nonresident
district.
7.02.5 Any request for a
hearing before the State Board of Education must be made in the written
appeal.
7.03 The
nonresident 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 of Education no later than ten (10) days after receiving the appealing
party's written appeal.
7.03.1 Any response
from the nonresident district should be sent to:
Office of the Commissioner
ATTN: Opportunity School Choice Appeal
Four Capitol Mall
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
7.03.2 Contemporaneously with the filing of
the written response with the Office of the Commissioner, the nonresident
district must also mail a copy of the written response to the appealing
party.
7.03.3 If the appealing
party did not request a hearing before the State Board of Education, the
nonresident district may request a hearing in its response.
7.04 If a hearing is requested by
either party, the State Board of Education shall schedule the hearing for the
next regularly scheduled State Board of Education meeting in accordance with
its procedures for the submission of agenda items.
7.05 If no hearing is requested by either
party, the State Board of Education shall consider the appeal during its next
regularly scheduled State Board of Education meeting in accordance with its
procedures for the submission of agenda items.
7.06 State Board of Education Hearing
Procedures
7.06.1 A staff member of the
Department of Education shall introduce the agenda item.
7.06.2 All persons wishing to testify before
the State Board of Education shall first be placed under oath by the
Chairperson of the State Board of Education.
7.06.3 Each party shall have the opportunity
to present an opening statement of no longer than five (5) minutes, beginning
with the nonresident district. The Chairperson of the State Board of Education
may, for good cause shown and upon the request of either party, allow either
party additional time to present their opening statements.
7.06.4 Each party will be given twenty (20)
minutes to present their cases, beginning with the nonresident district. The
Chairperson of the State Board of Education may, for good cause shown and upon
request of either party, allow either party additional time to present their
cases.
7.06.5 The State Board of
Education, at its discretion, shall have the authority to require any person
associated with the application to appear in person before the State Board of
Education as a witness during the hearing. The State Board of Education may
accept testimony by affidavit, declaration, or deposition.
7.06.6 Every witness may be subject to direct
examination, cross examination and questioning by the State Board of
Education.
7.06.7 For the purposes
of the record, documents offered during the hearing by the nonresident district
shall be clearly marked in sequential, numeric order (1, 2, 3).
7.06.8 For the purposes of the record,
documents offered during the hearing by the appealing party shall be clearly
marked in sequential, alphabetic letters (A, B, C).
7.06.9 The nonresident district shall have
the burden of proof in proving the basis for the denial of the
transfer.
7.06.10 The State Board
of Education may sustain the rejection of the nonresident district or grant the
appeal.
7.06.11 The State Board of
Education may announce its decision immediately after hearing all arguments and
evidence or may take the matter under advisement. The State Board of Education
shall provide a written decision to the Department of Education, the appealing
party, and the nonresident district within fourteen (14) calendar days of
announcing its decision under this section.
ATTACHMENT 1
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