Title 6 — Education

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Military Child School Transitions Act of 2021”.

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Maintaining a positive education trajectory is challenging for children of uniformed services families due to their parents' frequent reassignments and deployments, which interrupt academic progress, social growth, and achievement;(2) Ensur…

(a) The purpose of this chapter is to:(1) Maximize the potential for effective school transitions by children of uniformed services families through provisions of this chapter administered by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and implemented by public school dist…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Activated reserve components” means members of the reserve component of the uniformed services who have received a notice of intent to mobilize or deploy under Title 10 of the United States Code, Title 32 of the United States Code, or state mobili…

(a) This chapter shall apply to dependent children of:(1) Members of the active duty and activated reserve components of the uniformed services;(2) Veterans of the uniformed services who were injured in the line of duty and are medically separated or retired;(3) Members of the un…

(a) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall administer:(1) This chapter; and(2) The state's participation in and compliance with the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children under § 6-4-301 et seq. (1) This chapter; and (2) The stat…

(a) (1) Upon receipt of the unofficial copies of a student's education records by a receiving district, and as soon as practicable, a receiving district shall preregister and provisionally place a student based on the information provided in the unofficial education records that …

(a) Members of the uniformed services under § 6-28-105 who wish to enroll their children in public school should, as soon as possible, provide advance notice to public schools regarding the enrollment of a student under this chapter to ensure the best opportunity for a smooth tra…

(a) At the request of a military family, a receiving district may enroll an inbound transitioning child of a military family in virtual distance-learning or digital coursework, if available, to facilitate a smooth transition between the student's previous coursework and the curri…

(a) A student shall furnish his or her required immunization records to a receiving district within thirty (30) days of enrolling in the receiving district or within such time as is reasonably determined under Division of Elementary and Secondary Education rules. (b) For a series…

(a) A student shall enroll in a receiving district in the same grade level in which he or she was enrolled at the sending district, regardless of the student's age. (b) A student who has completed a grade level in the sending district shall be eligible for enrollment in the next …

(a) If the academic courses are offered and there is space available, when a student transitions under this chapter before or during a school year, the receiving district shall provisionally honor the placement of the student in academic courses based on the student's enrollment …

(a) A receiving district shall provisionally provide services to a student with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., according to the student's existing individualized education program. (b) A receiving district:(1) Shall m…

If a student's parent or legal guardian has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment, the student may be granted additional excused absences at the discretion of the public school in which he or she is enrolled.

(a) In order to ensure the on-time graduation of a student under this chapter, a receiving district shall:(1) Waive specific courses that are required for graduation if similar coursework has been satisfactorily completed by a student under the control of another public school or…

(a) Each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school shall:(1) Designate a military family education coordinator to serve as the primary point of contact for each child of a military family and his or her parent or legal guardian;(2) Annually by September 1 p…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall require a public school to report the enrollment of a student with a parent who is an active duty or reserve component member of the armed forces as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6311, as it ex…

The requirement for state coordination is established under § 6-28-106 and under § 6-4-302, Article VIII.

(a) Under this chapter, the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education or his or her designee shall serve as both the:(1) Chair of the Arkansas Council for Military Children; and(2) Compact Commissioner for Arkansas. (1) Chair of the Arkansas Council for Military Children…

(a) The Arkansas Council for Military Children created by § 6-28-106 shall be composed of the following members:(1) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education or his or her designee, serving as Chair of the Arkansas Council for Military Children as established by § 6-…

(a) The purpose of the Arkansas Council for Military Children is to assist state and local education agencies, in collaboration with local military commands, in the promotion of the provisions of this chapter and the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Chil…

(a) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall designate a military family education liaison. (b) The military family education liaison shall:(1) Have specialized knowledge related to the:(A) Educational needs of children of military families; and(B) Obstacles t…

(a) This chapter shall not affect the immunity from suit granted to state officials and state employees under § 25-44-305 or to the state and its official agencies under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20. (b) The exercise of the powers and performance of duties provided for …

(a) A public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school that shows a significant commitment to serving students and families connected to the United States Armed Forces may be designated as a Purple Star School or Purple Star School District. (b) The Division of …

(a) Each public school with twenty (20) or more children of military families enrolled annually by October 1 shall:(1) Adopt the Purple Star School Program developed by the Arkansas Council for Military Children and approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education; …

(1) The Arkansas Council for Military Children shall:(1) Develop and review biennially and amend as necessary the Purple Star School Program model;(2) When developing, reviewing, and amending the Purple Star School Program as required under subdivision (1) of this section, incorp…

(1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall:(1) Provide relevant resources for the orientation and training of public school district military family education coordinators and public school military family education facilitators under this chapter;(2) Administer…