Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1945 3
4
By: Representative McCollum 5
6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC 9
SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE 10
ACT OF 2015; TO ALLOW A STUDENT TO TRANSFER TO 11
ANOTHER PUBLIC SCHOOL WITHIN HIS OR HER RESIDENT 12
DISTRICT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 13
14
15
Subtitle 16
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC 17
SCHOOL CHOICE ACT; TO AMEND THE PUBLIC 18
SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2015; AND TO ALLOW 19
A STUDENT TO TRANSFER TO ANOTHER PUBLIC 20
SCHOOL WITHIN HIS OR HER RESIDENT 21
DISTRICT. 22
23
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 24
25
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-202(g), concerning the interpretation 26
of the law concerning student attendance requirements, is amended to read as 27
follows: 28
(g) This section shall not be construed to restrict a student's 29
ability to: 30
(1) Participate in a tuition agreement with a nonresident school 31
district for any tuition or fees that also apply to students assigned to the 32
school district; 33
(2) Officially transfer to another a nonresident school district 34
or another public school within a resident or nonresident school district 35
pursuant to the Public School Choice Act of 2015, § 6 -18-1901 et seq.; or 36 HB1945
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(3) Attend school as an international exchange student placed 1
with a host family by an international student exchange visitor placement 2
organization under the International Student Exchange Visitor Placement 3
Organization Registration Act, § 6 -18-1701 et seq. 4
5
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(b)(1), concerning the transfer of 6
a student to another school district or public school under the Arkansas 7
Opportunity Public School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 8
(b)(1) Upon the request of a parent, guardian, or student, if the 9
student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, a student may transfer from 10
his or her resident district or public school to another a nonresident school 11
district or another public school within his or her resident school district 12
under this section if, at the time of the request under this subdivision 13
(b)(1): 14
(A) Either: 15
(i) The resident public school district has been 16
classified by the state board as a public school district in need of Level 5 17
— Intensive support under § 6 -15-2913 or § 6-15-2915; or 18
(ii) The resident public school in which the student 19
is enrolled has a rating of “F” under §§ 6 -15-2105 and 6-15-2106 and state 20
board rules, as allowed in subdivision (b)(3)(B)(i)(b) of this section; and 21
or 22
(iii) The parent, legal guardian, or student if the 23
student is eighteen (18) years of age or older believes it is in the best 24
interest of the student to transfer to a nonresident school district or 25
another public school within his or her resident school district; and 26
(B) Except as provided in subsection (n) of this section, 27
the parent, guardian, or student, if the student is eighteen (18) years of 28
age or older, has notified both the resident and nonresident school districts 29
of the request for a transfer no earlier than January 1 and no later than May 30
1 of the school year before the school year in which the student intends to 31
transfer. 32
33
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(b)(2)(A), concerning the effective 34
date of a transfer under the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act, 35
is amended to read as follows: 36 HB1945
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(2)(A)(i) For the purposes of continuity of educational choice, 1
a transfer under this section shall operate as an irrevocable election for 2
each subsequent entire school year and shall remain in force until the 3
student completes high school or the parent, guardian, or student, if the 4
student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, timely makes application 5
under a provision of law governing attendance in or transfer to another 6
public school within the student's resident school district or a nonresident 7
school district other than the student's assigned school or resident 8
district. 9
(ii)(a) Except as provided in subsection (n) of this 10
section, a transfer under this section is effective at the beginning of the 11
next academic year. 12
(b) A transfer of a student eligible under 13
subsection (n) of this section is effective immediately upon the nonresident 14
district's written notification of an acceptance from the nonresident 15
district or other public school within the student's resident school 16
district. 17
18
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(g), concerning credits towards 19
graduation for transferring students under the Arkansas Opportunity Public 20
School Choice Act, is amended to read as follows: 21
(g)(1) A receiving district or a public school within a student's 22
resident school district that accepts a transferring student shall accept 23
credits toward graduation that were awarded by another district. 24
(2) The receiving district or public school within a student's 25
resident school district that accepts a transferring student shall award a 26
diploma to a nonresident student who transfers to the receiving school 27
district or public school within the student's resident school district if 28
the student meets the receiving district's or public school's graduation 29
requirements. 30
31
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-227(i), concerning requirements for 32
students transferring under the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice 33
Act, is amended to read as follows: 34
(i)(1) Unless excused by the receiving school district for illness or 35
other good cause: 36 HB1945
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(A) Any student participating in the opportunity public 1
school choice option shall: 2
(i) Remain in attendance throughout the school year; 3
and 4
(ii) Comply fully with the school's code of conduct; 5
and 6
(B) The parent or guardian of each student participating 7
in the opportunity public school choice option shall comply fully with the 8
receiving public school's or school district's parental involvement 9
requirements. 10
(2) A participant who fails to comply with this section shall 11
forfeit the opportunity public school choice option. 12
13
SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1901(b)(3), concerning legislative 14
findings under the Public School Choice Act of 2015, is amended to read as 15
follows: 16
(3) These benefits of enhanced quality and effectiveness in our 17
public schools justify permitting a student to apply for admission to a 18
school in any school resident or nonresident district beyond the school 19
district in which the student resides, provided that the transfer by the 20
student does not conflict with an enforceable judicial decree or court order 21
remedying the effects of past racial segregation in the resident school 22
district or nonresident school district . 23
24
SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1903 is amended to read as follows: 25
6-18-1903. Public school choice program established. 26
(a) A public school choice program is established to enable a student 27
in kindergarten through grade twelve (K -12) to attend a school in a 28
nonresident district or another public school within a resident district , 29
subject to the limitations under § 6 -18-1906. 30
(b)(1) Each school district shall participate in a public school 31
choice program that allows students to attend any resident school or 32
nonresident district, consistent with this subchapter. 33
(2) Each school district shall: 34
(A) Establish a policy that allows an enrolled student to 35
transfer to another public school within a student's resident or nonresident 36 HB1945
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district; and 1
(B) Publicly post the policies and procedures for a 2
student to apply for a transfer as permitted under subdivision (b)(2)(A) of 3
this section. 4
(c)(1) A school district shall not deny a student the ability to 5
attend a school in the student's school district of choice under this section 6
unless there is a lack of capacity at the school in the student's school 7
district of choice. 8
(2) A lack of capacity may be claimed by a school district only 9
if: 10
(A) The school district has reached the maximum student -11
to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the rules for 12
standards for accreditation, state rules, or other applicable federal 13
regulations; and 14
(B) The claim is consistent with state and federal law. 15
(3) A school district receiving transfers under this section 16
shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, 17
ethnicity, religion, or disability, or residential address . 18
(d)(1) The board of directors of a public school district shall adopt 19
by resolution specific standards for acceptance and rejection of applications 20
under this subchapter. 21
(2) The standards: 22
(A) May include without limitation the capacity of a 23
program, class, grade level, or school building; 24
(B) May include a claim of a lack of capacity by a school 25
district only if the school district has reached at least ninety percent 26
(90%) of the maximum authorized student population in a program, class, grade 27
level, or school building; 28
(C) Shall include a statement that priority will be given 29
to an applicant who has a sibling or stepsibling who: 30
(i) Resides in the same household; and 31
(ii) Is already enrolled in the nonresident district 32
or other public school within the resident district by choice; and 33
(D) Shall not include an applicant's: 34
(i) Academic achievement; 35
(ii) Athletic or other extracurricular ability; 36 HB1945
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(iii) English proficiency level; or 1
(iv) Previous disciplinary proceedings, except that 2
an expulsion from another district may be included under § 6 -18-510. 3
(3) A school district or another public school within a school 4
district receiving transfers under this subchapter shall not discriminate on 5
the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, or 6
disability. 7
(e) A nonresident district or another public school within a resident 8
district shall: 9
(1) Accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by 10
another district or other public school within a resident district ; and 11
(2) Award a diploma to a nonresident student who transfers under 12
this subchapter if the student meets the nonresident district's or public 13
school's graduation requirements. 14
(f) The superintendent of a school district shall cause public 15
announcements to be made over the broadcast media and either in the print 16
media or on the internet to inform parents of students in adjoining districts 17
and within the school district of the: 18
(1) Availability of the public school choice program; 19
(2) Application deadline; and 20
(3) Requirements and procedure for nonresident students to 21
participate in the public school choice program. 22
23
SECTION 8. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1904 is amended to read as follows: 24
6-18-1904. General provisions — Definitions. 25
(a) The transfer of a student under the Arkansas Public School Choice 26
Act of 1989, § 6-18-206 [repealed], or the Public School Choice Act of 2015, 27
§ 6-18-1901 et seq., is not voided by this subchapter and shall be treated as 28
a transfer under this subchapter. 29
(b)(1) A student may accept only one (1) school choice transfer per 30
school year. 31
(2)(A) A student who accepts a public school choice transfer may 32
return to his or her resident district or the public school within his or her 33
resident district from which he or she transferred during the school year. 34
(B) If a transfer student returns to his or her resident 35
district or the public school within his or her resident district from which 36 HB1945
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he or she transferred or enrolls in a private or home school, the student's 1
transfer is voided, and the student shall reapply if the student seeks a 2
future school choice transfer. 3
(c)(1) A transfer student attending a nonresident school or another 4
public school within the student's resident district under this subchapter 5
may complete all remaining school years at the nonresident district. 6
(2) A present or future sibling of a student who continues 7
enrollment in the nonresident district or another public school within his or 8
her resident district under this subsection and applies for a school choice 9
transfer under § 6-18-1905 may enroll in the nonresident district or the 10
other public school within his or her resident district if the nonresident 11
district or the public school has the capacity to accept the sibling without 12
adding teachers, staff, or classrooms or exceeding the regulations, rules, or 13
standards established by law. 14
(3) A present or future sibling of a student who continues 15
enrollment in the nonresident district or another public school within his or 16
her resident district and who enrolls in the nonresident district or the 17
other public school within his or her resident district under subdivision 18
(c)(2) of this section may complete all remaining school years at the 19
nonresident district or the other public school within his or her resident 20
district. 21
(d)(1) The transfer student or the transfer student's parent is 22
responsible for the transportation of the transfer student to and from the 23
school in the nonresident district where the transfer student is enrolled. 24
(2) The If a student transfers to a nonresident district under 25
this subchapter, the nonresident district may enter into a written agreement 26
with the student, the student's parent, or the transfer student's resident 27
district to provide the transportation. 28
(e) For purposes of determining a school district's state aid, a 29
transfer student is counted as a part of the average daily membership of the 30
nonresident district where the transfer student is enrolled if the student 31
transfers to a nonresident district under this subchapter . 32
(f)(1) A student who transfers to another public school within his or 33
her resident district or a nonresident district under this subchapter shall 34
not be: 35
(A) Denied participation in an extracurricular activity at 36 HB1945
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the public school within his or her resident district or nonresident district 1
to which he or she transfers based exclusively on his or her decision to 2
transfer to the public school or nonresident district; or 3
(B) Disciplined in any manner based exclusively on the 4
exercise of his or her right to transfer to another public school within his 5
or her resident district or a nonresident district under this subchapter. 6
(2)(A) However, a student who transfers to another public school 7
or a nonresident school district under this subchapter shall complete a 8
Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form as defined by the Arkansas 9
Activities Association. 10
(B) A Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form shall 11
be completed and filed with the: 12
(i) Public school within his or her resident 13
district or nonresident school district to which the student transfers under 14
this section; and 15
(ii) Arkansas Activities Association. 16
(C)(i) Before a student is eligible to participate in an 17
extracurricular activity at the public school within his or her resident 18
district or nonresident school district to which he or she transfers, the 19
Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form submitted by the student as 20
required under subdivision (f)(2)(B) of this section shall be signed by the: 21
(a) Superintendent of the student's resident 22
school district; 23
(b) Superintendent of the nonresident school 24
district to which the student transfers if the student transfers to a 25
nonresident district under this subchapter ; and 26
(c) Parent, legal guardian, or person standing 27
in loco parentis to the student. 28
(ii) The superintendent of a student's resident 29
school district and the superintendent of the nonresident school district to 30
which a student transfers , or the superintendent of the student's resident 31
district if the student is transferring to another public school within his 32
or her resident district, shall sign the Changing Schools/Athletic 33
Participation form unless there is demonstrable evidence: 34
(a) Of recruiting by the receiving school 35
district or public school personnel; or 36 HB1945
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(b) The student is transferring to the public 1
school within his or her resident district or the nonresident school district 2
solely for athletic purposes. 3
(D) A Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form shall 4
be used only for eligibility determination of a student who transfers to 5
another public school within his or her resident district or nonresident 6
school district under this subchapter and is enrolled in the receiving school 7
district or by July 1 before the student enters grades seven through twelve 8
(7-12). 9
(E)(i) Public school district personnel and registered 10
volunteers, as defined by the Arkansas Registered Volunteers Program Act, § 11
6-22-101 et seq., shall not recruit students to the public school at which 12
they are employed or volunteer for athletic purposes. 13
(ii) As used in this section, “recruiting” means the 14
use of undue influence or special inducement by an individual who is 15
connected directly or indirectly with a school that is a member of the 16
Arkansas Activities Association in an attempt to encourage, induce, pressure, 17
urge, or entice a prospective student of any age to transfer to the school or 18
retain a student at the school for the purpose of participating in 19
extracurricular activities. 20
(3) As used in subdivision (f)(1) of this section, 21
“extracurricular activity” means an interschool activity not included in a 22
regular curriculum, including without limitation sports and special interest 23
clubs or groups. 24
25
SECTION 9. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1905 is amended to read as follows: 26
6-18-1905. Application for transfer. 27
(a)(1) An application under this section shall be accepted no earlier 28
than January 1 and no later than May 1 each year. 29
(2)(A) Each school district shall have a policy stating the 30
method by which a parent or guardian of a student, or a student who is 31
eighteen (18) years of age or older, may submit a school choice application, 32
including without limitation: 33
(i) Regular mail; 34
(ii) Email; and 35
(iii) Hand delivery. 36 HB1945
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(B) A public school district shall not require in -person 1
filing of an application. 2
(C) Each school district shall determine for each school 3
within the school district the capacity of each school and each grade level. 4
(3) If a student seeks to attend a school in a nonresident 5
district or another school within his or her resident district , the student's 6
parent or guardian, or a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, 7
shall submit an application: 8
(A) To the nonresident district and to the student's 9
resident district, or only to the resident district if the student is 10
applying to transfer to another public school within his or her resident 11
district; 12
(B) On a form approved by the Division of Elementary and 13
Secondary Education; and 14
(C) Postmarked or delivered no later than May 1 of the 15
year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident 16
district or other public school within the student's resident district , 17
except as otherwise provided for dependents of uniformed service members and 18
uniformed service veterans under this subchapter. 19
(b) Both the nonresident district and the resident district , or only 20
the resident district if a student applies to transfer to another public 21
school within his or her resident district, shall, upon receipt of the 22
application submitted under subsection (a) of this section , place a date and 23
time stamp on the application that reflects the date and time each the 24
nonresident district or resident district if a student applies to transfer to 25
another public school within his or her resident district received the 26
application. 27
(c) A nonresident district or a resident district if a student applies 28
to transfer to another public school within his or her resident district 29
shall review and make a determination on each application in the order in 30
which the application was received by the nonresident district or resident 31
district. 32
(d) Before accepting or rejecting an application, a nonresident 33
district or a resident district if a student applies to transfer to another 34
public school within his or her resident district shall determine whether the 35
limitation under § 6 -18-1906 applies to the application. 36 HB1945
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(e)(1) By July 1 of the school year in which a student seeks to enroll 1
in a nonresident district or a resident district if a student seeks to enroll 2
in another public school within his or her resident district under this 3
subchapter, the superintendent of the nonresident district or the 4
superintendent of the resident district if the student applies to transfer to 5
another public school within his or her resident district shall notify the 6
student's parent or guardian and the resident district , if applicable, in 7
writing as to whether the student's application has been accepted or 8
rejected. 9
(2) If an application is rejected, the superintendent of the 10
nonresident district or the superintendent of the resident district if the 11
student applies to transfer to another public school within his or her 12
resident district shall state in the notification letter the reason for 13
rejection. 14
(3) If an application is accepted, the superintendent of the 15
nonresident district or the superintendent of the resident district if the 16
student applies to transfer to another public school within his or her 17
resident district shall state in the notification letter a reasonable 18
deadline by which the student shall enroll in the nonresident district or the 19
resident district if the student applies to transfer to another public school 20
within his or her resident district and after which the acceptance 21
notification is null. 22
(f)(1) For each application received under this section, the a 23
nonresident district or a resident district if a student applies to transfer 24
to another public school within his or her resident district shall notify the 25
applicant in writing as to whether the student's application has been 26
accepted or rejected within fifteen (15) calendar days of the nonresident 27
district's or resident district's receipt of the application. 28
(2) A transfer of the student is effective immediately upon the 29
nonresident district's or resident district's written notification of an 30
acceptance. 31
(g)(1) Each school district shall report annually to the Secretary of 32
the Department of Education the number of transfer applications, acceptances, 33
denials, and reasons for each denial under this subchapter. 34
(2) The data received by the secretary under subdivision (g)(1) 35
of this section shall be published annually on the Division of Elementary and 36 HB1945
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Secondary Education website. 1
2
SECTION 10. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1907(b), concerning rules promulgated 3
under the Public School Choice Act of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 4
(b)(1) A student whose application for a transfer under § 6 -18-1905 is 5
rejected by the a nonresident district or a resident district if a student 6
applies to transfer to another public school within his or her resident 7
district may request a hearing before the state board to reconsider the 8
transfer. 9
(2)(A) A request for a hearing before the state board under 10
subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be in writing and shall be 11
postmarked no later than ten (10) days after the student or the student's 12
parent or legal guardian, as applicable, receives a notice of rejection of 13
the application under § 6 -18-1905. 14
(B) As part of the review process, the a student or a 15
parent or legal guardian of the student may submit supporting documentation 16
that the transfer would be in the best educational, social, or psychological 17
interest of the student. 18
(3) If the state board overturns the determination of the 19
nonresident district or resident district if the student applied to transfer 20
to another public school within his or her resident district on appeal, the 21
state board shall notify the parent, the nonresident district, if applicable, 22
and the resident district of the basis for the state board's decision. 23
(4) A student is not permitted to request a hearing before the 24
state board if his or her application for a transfer is rejected due to the 25
application's not being timely received by both the resident district and 26
nonresident district , if applicable. 27
28
SECTION 11. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1909(b), concerning an application of 29
a child who is a dependent of certain uniformed service members under the 30
Public School Choice Act of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 31
(b) If a student eligible under subsection (a) of this section seeks 32
to attend a school in a nonresident district or another public school within 33
his or her resident district , the student's parent, legal guardian, or person 34
standing in loco parentis to the student shall submit an application approved 35
by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education by regular mail, 36 HB1945
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electronic mail, or in person to the student's nonresident district , if 1
applicable, and resident district, which 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
9
SECTION 12. Arkansas Code § 6 -18-1909(e), concerning the 10
transportation of a child who is a dependent of certain uniformed service 11
members and who transfers under the Public School Choice Act of 2015, is 12
amended to read as follows: 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 if the student transfers to a nonresident district under 17
this subchapter. 18
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