Title 6, Education

The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall study the effects of mobility on the performance of highly mobile students and recommend programs to improve the performance of such students.

(a) School performance category level ratings shall apply to each school's achievement for the year in which the achievement is measured. (b) (1) Each school's rating shall be published annually by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and by the school district and …

(a) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules necessary to implement this subchapter pursuant to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. (b) The state board may, by rules adopted under the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq., and…

(a) The General Assembly finds that there is a need for an incentive program for outstanding schools. The General Assembly further finds that performance-based incentives are commonplace in the private sector and should be infused into the public sector as a reward for productivi…

(a) The school rating system shall be a multiple-measures approach that shall include without limitation:(1) Academic achievement on the annual statewide student assessment;(2) Student growth on the annual statewide student assessment; and(3) (A) School-level graduation rate or r…

(1) A course shall be considered as taught by a school district in compliance with the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts if:(1) A course required to be taught by a school district under the State Board of Education's Standards for Accredi…

(a) The purpose of this section is to assist small, rural public schools in providing students access to the most rigorous courses available if it is the desire of students to take accelerated learning courses in the place of regular courses and, in doing so, to meet the requirem…

(a) (1) Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, a public school district may submit a plan for approval to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to award units of high school course credit based on a demonstration of subject matter competency instead of, or in combin…

(a) This section is intended to:(1) Improve student achievement and close achievement gaps among student subgroups by providing public access to school-level improvement plans;(2) Improve parental involvement and communication with parents;(3) Increase transparency and accountabi…

(a) (1) The purpose of the best financial management practices reviews is to improve Arkansas school district management's use of resources and to identify cost savings.(2) (A) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and Arkansas Legislative Audit are directed to devel…

(a) As used in this section, “general business manager” means a chief financial officer or business manager, however the position is titled, who:(1) Is an employee of the public school district or is contracted to perform financial services;(2) Is responsible for the fiscal opera…

(a) (a) Representatives from the Division of Higher Education and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall meet with the respective chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education, or their designees, along with the selected superi…

(a) There is created the Office of Education Renewal Zones. (b) The office shall be under the supervision of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. (c) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall select an individual to serve as the Director of the O…

(a) A public school, an education service cooperative, or an institution of higher education is authorized to enter into one (1) or more interlocal agreements through which they collaborate to improve public school performance and academic achievement. (b) Each interlocal agreeme…

(a) (1) The Office of Education Renewal Zones, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the local school districts shall exercise due diligence to assure, to the extent that funds are available, that each school identified as a school in need of the specialized sup…

(a) Each school participating in an education renewal zone shall include in its school-level improvement plan required in § 6-15-2914 the following:(1) Goals for improving student achievement;(2) Measurable benchmarks for achieving student improvement goals;(3) A timeline for rea…

(a) Each education renewal zone, using guidelines and indicators set by the Office of Education Renewal Zones, shall prepare an annual report to the office describing the progress toward accomplishing the goals of the education renewal zone. (b) The office shall prepare an annual…

The provisions of this subchapter shall be contingent on the appropriation and availability of funding for the education renewal zone program.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program Act of 2007”.

(1) It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a pilot program affording public school districts and public charter schools the opportunity to develop teacher compensation plans tailored to the public school district's or public charter school's needs to accomplish the f…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Knowledge and skill base portion of compensation” means that portion of a teacher's compensation under a Rewarding Excellence in Achievement plan that considers, but is not limited to, input factors such as years of experience and degree le…

The State Board of Education is authorized and directed to establish rules for the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program consistent with this subchapter.

(a) (1) (A) A public school district or public charter school desiring to participate in the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program shall submit an application to the State Board of Education.(B) A public school district may apply on behalf of a single school within the publ…

(a) A Rewarding Excellence in Achievement plan approved for participation in the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program shall describe how:(1) Teachers can achieve career advancement and additional compensation;(2) The public school district or public charter school will pro…

(a) Staff development activities for a public school district or public charter school participating in the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program shall:(1) Focus on the school classroom and research-based strategies that improve student learning;(2) Provide opportunities fo…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall commission an annual evaluation of the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement plan of each public school district and public charter school participating in the Rewarding Excellence in Achievement Program. (b) An annual ev…

(a) (1) In addition to the program evaluation required by § 6-15-2608, each participating school district or public charter school shall report on the implementation and effectiveness of its Rewarding Excellence in Achievement plan and make recommendations by August 15 each year …

To the extent that the provisions of this subchapter or the terms of an approved Rewarding Excellence in Achievement plan directly conflict with any provision of § 6-17-201 et seq. or the provisions of any other state law relating to the compensation of public school teachers, th…

(a) As used in this section, “school in need of support” means a public school identified as in need of comprehensive support and improvement, additional targeted support, or targeted support and improvement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Educational Support and Accountability Act”.

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Arkansas Constitution, Article 14, § 1, requires the State of Arkansas to provide a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools to the children of the state;(2) Under the decision of the Supreme Court in Lake View School …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Academic growth” means the calculation of a student's academic progress from one school year to the next, as measured by assessments and other criteria required by rule of the State Board of Education;(2) “College and career readiness assessmen…

(1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop and implement a comprehensive accountability system for Arkansas public schools and school districts that:(1) Establishes clear academic standards that are periodically reviewed and revised;(2) Maintains a state…

(1) The State Board of Education shall:(1) Approve:(A) Academic standards for each content area; and(B) A statewide student assessment system, including without limitation performance levels for statewide assessments;(2) Promulgate rules to implement the comprehensive accountabil…

(a) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall establish academic standards that define what students shall know and be able to demonstrate in each content area.(2) Instruction in all public schools shall be based on the academic standards to prepare students to…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall implement a statewide student assessment system to be administered by Arkansas public schools on a schedule determined by the State Board of Education that includes the following components:(1) Developmentally appropria…

(a) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall provide analyses of data produced by statewide student assessments.(2) The analyses of data shall:(A) Use statewide student assessment results and other valid and reliable measures of student learning, as determined…

(a) Any material containing the personally identifiable information, including without limitation identifiable scores, of individual students on any test taken under the provisions of this subchapter shall not be:(1) Considered a public record within the meaning of the Freedom of…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall recommend student performance levels for the statewide student assessment system to the State Board of Education for its approval. (b) Student performance levels shall be adopted for the following academic content areas…

(a) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall collaborate with public school districts to transition to a student-focused learning system to support success for all students.(2) As part of a public school district's student-focused learning system, the public s…

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that all students in Arkansas public schools be taught by qualified and effective educators and that low-income or minority students not be taught at disproportionate rates by educators who are ineffective, inexperienced, or teaching a…

(a) (1) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to establish:(A) (i) The process for determining the differentiated levels of support that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education will provide to school districts.(ii) The levels of support shall include: (a)…

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is the responsibility of:(1) The state and educational service cooperatives to support their public school districts; and(2) A public school district to support its schools. (1) The state and educational service cooperatives to support their…

(a) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules governing the classification of public school districts as in need of Level 5 — Intensive support and the support to be provided. (b) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall notify in writing the public scho…

(1) If a public school district is classified as in need of Level 5 — Intensive support, the State Board of Education may:(1) Direct the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education to conduct an analysis of all school district systems and make recommendations for action by…

(a) For a public school district under the authority of the State Board of Education, the state board shall review quarterly the progress of the public school district toward improving the issues that caused the classification of the public school district as in need of Level 5 —…