Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 790 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 570 3
4
By: Senator J. English 5
By: Representative Cozart 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND PROV ISIONS OF THE ARKANS AS CODE 9
CONCERNING THE ARKAN SAS OPPORTUNITY PUBL IC SCHOOL 10
CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE AR KANSAS CODE 11
CONCERNING THE PUBLI C SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015; AND 12
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 13
14
15
Subtitle 16
TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE 17
CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY 18
PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE ACT AND THE PUBLIC 19
SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015. 20
21
22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23
24
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(a)(2)(B)(iii), concerning the 25
Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 26
(iii) Further finds that a student should not be 27
compelled against the wishes of the parent, guardian, o r the student, if the 28
student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, to remain in a public 29
school district classified by the State Board of Education as a school 30
district in need of Level 5 — Intensive support under § 6 -15-2913 or §6-15-31
2915 or a public school that has a rating of “F” under §§ 6 -15-2105 and 6-15-32
2106 and state board rules; and 33
34
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(b)(1), concerning the Arkansas 35
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 36 SB570
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(b)(1) Upon the request of a parent, guardian, or student, if the 1
student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, a student may transfer 2
from his or her resident district or public school to another school district 3
or public school under this section if, at the time of the request under this 4
subdivision (b)(1): 5
(A) Either: 6
(i) The resident public school district has been 7
classified by the state board as a public school district in need of Level 5 8
— Intensive support under § 6 -15-2913 or §6-15-2915; or 9
(ii) The resident public school has a rating of “F” 10
under §§ 6-15-2105 and 6-15-2106 and state board rules , as allowed in 11
subdivision (b)(3)(B)(i)(b) of this section ; and 12
(B)(i) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii) 13
subsection (m) of this section, the parent, guardian, or student, if the 14
student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, has notified both the 15
sending resident and receiving nonresident school districts of the request 16
for a transfer no earlier than January 1 and no later than Ma y 1 of the 17
school year before the school year in which the student intends to transfer. 18
(ii)(a) If a student has a parent or guardian 19
who is an active-duty member of the military and who has been transferred to 20
and resides on a military base, then th e student's parent or guardian may 21
submit a request for transfer under this section at any time during the 22
calendar year. 23
(b) An application for transfer under 24
subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii)(a) of this section shall: 25
(1) Be filed with the nonreside nt school 26
district within fifteen (15) days of the parent's or guardian's arrival on 27
the military base; 28
(2) Include the parent's or guardian's 29
military transfer orders; and 30
(3) Include the parent's or guardian's 31
proof of residency on the military base. 32
33
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(b)(2)(A), concerning the Arkansas 34
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 35
(2)(A)(i) For the purposes of continuity of educational choice, 36 SB570
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a transfer under this section shall operate as an irrevocable election for 1
each subsequent entire school year and shall remain in force until the 2
student completes high school or the parent, guardian, or student, if the 3
student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, timely makes application 4
under a provision of law governing attendance in or transfer to another 5
public school or school district other than the student's assigned school or 6
resident district. 7
(ii)(a) Except as provided in subdivision 8
(b)(2)(A)(ii)(b) subsection (m) of this section, a transfer under this 9
section is effective at the beginning of the next academic year. 10
(b) A transfer of a student eligible under 11
subsection (m) of this section for a student who has a parent or guardian who 12
is an active-duty member of the military and who resides on a military base 13
is effective immediately upon the nonresident district’s written notification 14
of an acceptance approval of the accepting school board at its next meeting . 15
16
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(b)(3)(A), concerning the Arkansas 17
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 18
(3)(A) For each student enrolled in or assigned to a public 19
school district that is classified by the state board as a public school 20
district in need of L evel 5 — Intensive support under § 6 -15-2913 or § 6-15-21
2915 or a public school that has a rating of “F” under §§ 6 -15-2105 and 6-15-22
2106 and state board rules, a school district shall: 23
(i) Timely notify the parent, guardian, or student , 24
if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, as soon as 25
practicable after the designation is made, of all options available under 26
this section; and 27
(ii)(a) Offer the parent, guardian, or 28
student, if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age or older, an 29
opportunity to submit an application no earlier than January 1 and no later 30
than May 1 to enroll the student in the upcoming school year in any public 31
school district that is not classified by the state board as a public school 32
district in need of Level 5 — Intensive support under §§ 6 -15-2913 and 6-15-33
2915 or a public school within the resident district that does not have a 34
rating of “F” under §§ 6 -15-2105 and 6-15-2106 and state board rules. 35
(b) The opportunity to continue 36 SB570
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attending the public school or school district that the student transfers to 1
under this section remains in effect until the student graduates from high 2
school. 3
4
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(d)(2)(A) and (B), concerning the 5
Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 6
(2)(A)(i) A school district shall not deny a student the ability 7
to attend a school in the student's sc hool district of choice under this 8
section unless there is a lack of capacity at the school in the student's 9
school district of choice. 10
(ii) A lack of capacity may be claimed by a school 11
district only if: 12
(a) the The school district has reached t he 13
maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the 14
rules for standards of accreditation, state rules, or other applicable 15
federal regulations; and 16
(b) The claim is consistent with state and 17
federal law. 18
(B) The race or ethnicity of a student shall not be used 19
to deny a student the ability to attend a school in the student's school 20
district of choice A school district receiving transfers under this section 21
shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, r ace, 22
ethnicity, religion, or disability . 23
24
SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(d)(4), concerning the Arkansas 25
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 26
(4) An applicant shall not request a hearing before the state 27
board if his or her application for a transfer is rejected due to the 28
application not being timely received by both the resident district and 29
nonresident district. 30
(5) The division shall promulgate rules governing the use of 31
school capacity as a basis for d enying admission under this section. 32
33
SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227, concerning the Arkansas 34
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to add an additional 35
subsection to read as follows: 36 SB570
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(m)(1) A student shall be eligible for enrollment in the public school 1
district of his or her choice if he or she is a dependent of a: 2
(A) Uniformed service member in full -time active-duty 3
status as defined by Title 10, Title 32, Title 33, or Title 42 of United 4
States Code; 5
(B) Surviving spouse of a uniformed service member; 6
(C) Reserve component uniformed service member during the 7
period six (6) months before until six (6) months after a Title 10, Title 32, 8
Title 42, or state active duty mobilization and service; or 9
(D) Uniformed service vet eran who is returning to civilian 10
status at the conclusion of the uniformed service veteran's active duty 11
status. 12
(2) A student eligible for a school transfer under this 13
subsection shall be permitted only one (1) school transfer per academic year. 14
(3) The parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco 15
parentis to a student eligible for a school transfer under this subsection 16
shall be responsible for the transportation of his or her child to and from a 17
nonresident district. 18
(4) If a student elig ible for transfer under this subsection 19
seeks to attend a public school in a nonresident district, the student's 20
parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the student, 21
or the student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or olde r, shall 22
submit an application approved by the division to the student's nonresident 23
district and resident district by regular mail, email, or in person, which 24
shall include a copy of the: 25
(A) Identification card of the student's parent, legal 26
guardian, person standing in loco parentis to the student, or the student if 27
the student if eighteen (18) years of age or older, which qualifies the 28
student under this section; and 29
(B) Official orders, assignment notification, or notice of 30
mobilization of the student's parent, legal guardian, or person standing in 31
loco parentis to the student. 32
(5) An application deadline required under this section shall 33
not apply to a student eligible for transfer under this subsection. 34
35
SECTION 8. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1903(c), concerning the Public School 36 SB570
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Choice Act of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 1
(c)(1) This subchapter does not require a school district to add 2
teachers, staff, or classrooms or in any way to exceed the requirements and 3
standards establishe d by existing law A school district shall not deny a 4
student the ability to attend a school in the student’s school district of 5
choice under this section unless there is a lack of capacity at the school in 6
the student’s school district of choice . 7
(2) A lack of capacity may be claimed by a school district only 8
if: 9
(A) The school district has reached the maximum student -10
to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the rules for 11
standards for accreditation, state rules, or other applicable federal 12
regulations; and 13
(B) The claim is consistent with state and federal law. 14
(3) A school district receiving transfers under this section 15
shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, 16
ethnicity, religion, or disability. 17
18
SECTION 9. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1905(a), concerning an appli cation for 19
a transfer under the Public School Choice Act of 2015, is amended to read as 20
follows: 21
(a)(1) An application under this section shall be accepted no earlier 22
than January 1 and no later than May 1 each year. 23
(2)(A) Each school district sha ll have a policy stating the 24
method by which a parent or guardian of a student , or a student who is 25
eighteen (18) years of age or older, may submit a school choice application, 26
including without limitation: 27
(i) Regular mail; 28
(ii) Email; and 29
(iii) Hand delivery. 30
(B) A public school district shall not require a parent or 31
guardian of a student to file in-person filing of an application in person. 32
(3) If a student seeks to attend a school in a nonresident 33
district, the student's parent or guardian, or a student who is eighteen (18) 34
years of age or older, shall submit an application: 35
(A) To the nonresident district and to the student's 36 SB570
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resident district; 1
(B)(i) On a form approved by the Division of Elementary 2
and Secondary Education . 3
(ii) If a student has a parent or guardian who is an 4
active-duty member of the military and who has been transferred to and 5
resides on a military base, then the student's parent or guardian shall file 6
an application for transfer under this section w ithin fifteen (15) days of 7
the parent's or guardian's arrival on the military base, which shall include 8
without limitation the parent's or guardian's: 9
(a) Military transfer orders; and 10
(b) Proof of residency on the military base ; 11
and 12
(C)(i) Postmarked or delivered no later than May 1 of the 13
year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident 14
district, except as otherwise provided for dependents of uniformed service 15
members and uniformed service veterans under this s ubchapter. 16
(ii) However, if a student has a parent or guardian 17
who is an active-duty member of the military, then the student's application 18
for a transfer under this section is not subject to the May 1 deadline under 19
subdivision (a)(3)(C)(i) of this se ction if the student's parent or legal 20
guardian: 21
(a) Has been transferred to and resides on a 22
military base; and 23
(b) Provides military transfer orders that 24
confirm the date of transfer to the military base. 25
26
SECTION 10. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1905, concerning an application for a 27
transfer under the Public School Choice Act of 2015, is amended to add an 28
additional subsection to read as follows: 29
(f)(1) For each application received under this section, the 30
nonresident district shall notify the applicant in writing as to whether the 31
student’s application has been accepted or rejected within fifteen (15) 32
calendar days of the nonresident district’s receipt of the application . 33
(2) A transfer of the student is effective immediately upon the 34
nonresident district’s written notification of an acceptance. 35
APPROVED: 4/12/23 36