Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 649 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 458 3
4
By: Senator J. English 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 7
AN ACT TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCH OOL CHOICE ACT OF 20 15; 8
TO PROVIDE SCHOOL CH OICE FOR CHILDREN OF UNIFORMED 9
SERVICES FAMILIES; T O AMEND ACTS 2023, N O. 237, TO 10
AMEND THE ELIGIBILIT Y OF CHILDREN OF ACT IVE DUTY 11
UNIFORMED SERVICES P ERSONNEL TO PARTICIP ATE IN THE 12
ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONA L FREEDOM ACCOUNT 13
PROGRAM; AND FOR OTH ER PURPOSES. 14
15
16
Subtitle 17
TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 18
2015; AND TO AMEND THE ELIGIBILITY OF 19
CHILDREN OF ACTIVE DUTY UNIFORMED 20
SERVICES PERSONNEL TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 21
ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM 22
ACCOUNT PROGRAM. 23
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25
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative intent. 28
The General Assembly finds that: 29
(1) The State of Arkansas has demonstrated a strong commitment 30
to uniformed service families; 31
(2) The influx of new uniformed service families and the 32
turnover of the current force complicates the challenges faced by uniformed 33
service families in determining the best education program to meet their 34
children's educational needs, especially in light of the limited available 35
and affordable family housing options; 36 SB458
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(3) Resident public school districts have generally rejected 1
uniformed service families' requests to permit their children to attend a 2
public school within the public school district in which they will live upon 3
the availability of permanent housing, which doubles the number of school 4
transitions children of uniformed service families undergo during a typical 5
three-year assignment; 6
(4) Effective school transitions for children of uniformed 7
service families are further adversely impacted when uniformed service 8
families arrive after the May 1 deadline by which students must apply for 9
school transfers, and removing this deadline for children of un iformed 10
service families addresses a growing problem in the Little Rock Air Force 11
Base off-base community and proactively interdicts a major problem in the 12
Fort Smith area with the anticipated arrival of the F -35 and F-16 training 13
center personnel; 14
(5) Separating the public school district commitment from the 15
housing decisions of uniformed service families by providing uniformed 16
service families with a public school to public school choice option for 17
their children relieves the conflict faced by the unif ormed service families 18
and maximizes the potential for educational success for children of uniformed 19
service families; and 20
(6) By amending portions of relevant law to change the term 21
"military" to instead read "uniformed services", the General Assembly can 22
ensure better continuity of access to educational programs for children of 23
all uniformed service families and alignment among all school choice programs 24
in the State of Arkansas. 25
26
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1902 is amended to read as follows: 27
6-18-1902. Definitions. 28
As used in this subchapter: 29
(1) “Nonresident district” means a school district other than a 30
student's resident district; 31
(2) “Parent” means a student's parent, guardian, or other person 32
having custody or care of the student; 33
(3) “Resident district” means the school district in which the 34
student resides as determined under § 6 -18-202; and 35
(4) “Transfer student” means a public school student in 36 SB458
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kindergarten through grade twelve (K -12) who transfers to a nonresident 1
district through a public school choice option under this subchapter ; 2
(5) "Uniformed service member" means an active or reserve 3
component member of the: 4
(A) United States Army, United States Navy, United States 5
Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Space Force, or United 6
States Coast Guard; 7
(B) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 8
Commissioned Officer Corps; or 9
(C) United States Commissioned Corps of the Public Health 10
Service; and 11
(6) "Uniformed service veteran" means a f ormer uniformed service 12
member who has been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable . 13
14
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1905(a)(3), concerning an application 15
submitted by a student seeking to attend a school in a nonresident district, 16
is amended to read as follows: 17
(3) If a student seeks to attend a school in a nonresident 18
district, the student's parent or guardian shall submit an application: 19
(A) To the nonresident district and to the student's 20
resident district; 21
(B)(i) On a form approved by the Division of Elementary 22
and Secondary Education . 23
(ii) If a student has a parent or guardian who is an 24
active-duty member of the military and who has been transferred to and 25
resides on a military base, then the student's parent or guardian shall file 26
an application for transfer under this section within fifteen (15) days of 27
the parent's or guardian's arrival on the military base, which shall include 28
without limitation the parent's or guardian's: 29
(a) Military transfer orders; a nd 30
(b) Proof of residency on the military base ; 31
and 32
(C)(i) Postmarked or delivered no later than May 1 of the 33
year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident 34
district. 35
(ii) However, if a student has a parent or guardian 36 SB458
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who is an active-duty member of the military, then the student's application 1
for a transfer under this section is not subject to the May 1 deadline under 2
subdivision (a)(3)(C)(i) of this section if the student's parent or legal 3
guardian: 4
(a) Has been transferred to and resides on a 5
military base; and 6
(b) Provides military transfer orders that 7
confirm the date of transfer to the military base. 8
9
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1905(d) and (e), concerning the 10
acceptance or rejection of an application to attend a school in a nonresident 11
district, are amended to read as follows: 12
(d) Before accepting or rejecting an application, a nonresident 13
district shall determine whether : 14
(1) One (1) of the limitations limitation under § 6-18-1906 15
applies to the application ; and. 16
(2)(A) The resident district has met its numerical net maximum 17
limit on school choice transfers under § 6 -18-1906. 18
(B) The nonresident district shall contact the resident 19
district to determine whether the resident di strict has met its net maximum 20
limit under subdivision (d)(2)(A) of this section. 21
(C) In determining whether a resident district has met its 22
net maximum limit on school choice transfers under subdivision (d)(2)(A) of 23
this section, the nonresident distr ict shall review and make a determination 24
on each application in the order in which the application was received by the 25
nonresident district. 26
(D) If the resident district has met its numerical net 27
maximum limit on school choice transfers, the nonreside nt district shall 28
issue a rejection of the affected school choice application. 29
(E)(i) If an applicant under this section has been 30
rejected due to the numerical net maximum limit, then the applicant shall 31
retain priority for a transfer under this subcha pter until July 1 and be 32
reconsidered when the resident district is no longer at the numerical net 33
maximum limit. 34
(ii) The resident district shall promptly notify the 35
nonresident district when it is no longer at its numerical net maximum limit. 36 SB458
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(e)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(4) of this section, by By 1
July 1 of the school year in which the a student seeks to enroll in a 2
nonresident district under this subchapter, the superintendent of the 3
nonresident district shall notify the student's parent or guardian and the 4
resident district in writing as to whether the student's application has been 5
accepted or rejected. 6
(2) If the an application is rejected, the superintendent of the 7
nonresident district shall state in the notification lett er the reason for 8
rejection. 9
(3) If the an application is accepted, the superintendent of the 10
nonresident district shall state in the notification letter a reasonable 11
deadline by which the student shall enroll in the nonresident district and 12
after which the acceptance notification is null. 13
(4) The July 1 deadline under subdivision (e)(1) of this section 14
does not apply in the case of an application received from a student who has 15
a parent or guardian who is an active -duty member of the military and who has 16
been transferred to and resides on a military base. 17
18
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter 19, is 19
amended to add an additional section to read as follows: 20
6-18-1909. Public school choice for dependent of uniformed service 21
member and uniformed service veteran. 22
(a) A child shall be eligible for enrollment in the public school 23
district of his or her choice if he or she is a dependent of a: 24
(1) Uniformed service member in full -time active-duty status; 25
(2) Surviving spouse of a uniformed service member; 26
(3) Reserve component uniformed service member during the period 27
six (6) months before until six (6) months after a Title 10, Title 32, or 28
state active duty mobilization and service; or 29
(4) Uniformed service veteran who is returning to civilian 30
status at the conclusion of the uniformed service veteran's active duty 31
status. 32
(b) If a student eligible under subsection (a) of this section seeks 33
to attend a school in a nonresident district, the student's parent, legal 34
guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the student shall submit an 35
application approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education by 36 SB458
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regular mail, electronic mail, or in person to the student's nonresident 1
district and resident district, whic h includes: 2
(1) A copy of the identification card of the student's parent, 3
legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis that qualifies the 4
student under this section; and 5
(2) A copy of the official orders, assignment notification, or 6
notice of mobilization of the student's parent, legal guardian, or person 7
standing in loco parentis. 8
(c) An application deadline required under this subchapter shall not 9
apply to a school transfer under this section. 10
(d) A student eligible for a school transfer under this section shall 11
be permitted only one (1) school transfer per academic year under this 12
section. 13
(e) The parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to 14
a student eligible for a school transfer under this section shall be 15
responsible for the transportation of his or her child to and from a 16
nonresident district. 17
18
SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-2506(a)(3)(A)(i)(e), as amended by 19
Acts 2023, No. 237, and concerning a student's initial eligibility to 20
participate in the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account Program, 21
is amended to read as follows: 22
(e) A child of active -duty military uniformed 23
service personnel, as identified under Title 10 or, Title 32, Title 33, or 24
Title 42 of the United States Code; 25
26
SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6-18-2506(a)(3)(B)(i)(c)(2), as amended by 27
Acts 2023, No. 237, and concerning a student's eligibility for the 2024 -2025 28
school year to participate in the Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom 29
Account Program based on the status of his or her parent, legal guardian, or 30
person standing in loco parentis to the student, is amended to read as 31
follows: 32
(2) In the military reserves uniformed 33
service reserve components ; 34
APPROVED: 4/11/23 35
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