§ 6-23-304 - Requirements -- Preference for certain districts. - Arkansas Statutes

6-23-304. Requirements -- Preference for certain districts.

(a) The State Board of Education may approve or deny an application based on:

(1) Criteria provided by law or by rule adopted by the state board;

(2) Findings of the state board relating to improving student performance and encouraging innovative programs; and

(3) Written findings or statements received by the state board from any public school district likely to be affected by the open-enrollment public charter school.

(b) The state board shall give preference in approving an application for an open-enrollment public charter school to be located in any public school district:

(1) When the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches is above the average for the state;

(2) When the district has been classified by the state board as in academic distress under 6-15-428; or

(3) When the district has been classified by the Department of Education as in some phase of school improvement status under 6-15-426 or some phase of fiscal distress under the Arkansas Fiscal Assessment and Accountability Program, 6-20-1901 et seq., if the fiscal distress status is a result of administrative fiscal mismanagement, as determined by the state board.

(c) (1) The state board may grant no more than a total of twenty-four (24) charters for open-enrollment public charter schools.

(2) An open-enrollment public charter applicant's school campus shall be limited to a single open-enrollment public charter school per charter except as allowed in subdivision (d)(3) of this section.

(3) An open-enrollment public charter school shall not open in the service area of a public school district administratively reorganized under 6-13-1601 et seq. until after the third year of the administrative reorganization.

(4) A private or parochial elementary or secondary school shall not be eligible for open-enrollment public charter school status.

(d) (1) The General Assembly recognizes by established relevant demonstrated educational accountability measures that the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Delta College Preparatory Open-Enrollment Charter School has:

(A) Improved student learning through innovative ideas and techniques;

(B) Increased learning opportunities for all students; and

(C) Created special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who were previously identified as low-achieving.

(2) As a result, the Knowledge Is Power Program is recognized as an effective method for:

(A) Meeting the statutory intent of this chapter;

(B) Closing the achievement gap in public schools for economically disadvantaged, racial, and ethnic subgroups, which is addressed by the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program Act, 6-15-401 et seq., and 6-15-1601 et seq.; and

(C) Otherwise providing an alternative education that has been proven adequate and equitable to Arkansas students.

(3) Therefore, a charter applicant that receives an approved open-enrollment public charter may petition the state board for additional licenses to establish an open-enrollment public charter school in any of the various congressional districts in Arkansas if the applicant meets the following conditions, subject to the normal application, review, and approval process of the state board:

(A) The approved open-enrollment public charter applicant has demonstrated success in student achievement gains, as defined by the state board;

(B) The approved open-enrollment public charter applicant has not:

(i) Been subject to any disciplinary action by the state board;

(ii) Been classified as in school improvement or academic or fiscal distress; and

(iii) Had its open-enrollment public charter placed on probation or suspended or revoked; and

(C) The state board determines in writing by majority of a quorum of the state board present that the open-enrollment public charter applicant has generally established the educational program results and criteria set forth in this subdivision (d)(3).