005.28.20 Ark. Code R. § 013 Dese Rules Governing the Succeed Scholarship Program

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.20 Ark. Code R. § 013

Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing the Succeed Scholarship Program

Effective July 2, 2020

1.00 Authority

1.01 The Arkansas State Board of Education's authority for promulgating these Rules is pursuant to Ark. Code Ann §§ 6Powers and duties6-11-105, and 6Definitions - establishment - intent6-41-901 et seq., and Acts 327, 637, and 894 of 2017, and Acts 548 and 1078 of 2019.

1.02 These Rules shall be known as the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing the Succeed Scholarship Program.

2.00 Purpose

2.01 The purpose of these Rules is to establish guidelines for the implementation of the Succeed Scholarship Program in order to provide a scholarship to a private school of choice for students in foster care and students with disabilities that have an individualized education program or an individualized service plan in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 20 U.S.C. § 20Short title; findings; purposes1400 et seq.

3.00 Definitions

3.01 "Division" means the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

3.02 "Foster care" means the care of a child by a group home or group facility on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis away from the home of the child's parent or parents;

3.03 "Foster parent" means the responsible official or officials of a group home or group facility that provides foster care to a child;

3.04 "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised by a public school in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 20 U.S.C. § 20Short title; findings; purposes1400 et seq., and its implementing regulations 34 C.F.R §§ 34Definition of individualized education program300.320 through 34Development, review, and revision of IEP300.324.

3.05 "Individualized service plan" means a written statement developed by the public school district that describes the special education and related services the public school district will provide to a parentally-placed child with a disability enrolled in a private school or home school who has been designated to receive services, consistent with 34 C.F.R. §§ 34Equitable services determined300.137 through 34Location of services and transportation300.139.

3.06 "Parent" means a student's parent or foster parent;

3.07 "Scholarship Payment" means a disbursement to the parent or legal guardian of a student participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program contingent upon appropriation and funding for the purpose of implementing the Succeed Scholarship Program.

3.08 "School District" means a geographic area with an elected board of directors that qualifies as a taxing unit for purposes of ad valorem property taxes under Title 26 of the Arkansas Code, and whose board conducts the daily affairs of public schools pursuant to the supervisory authority vested in it by the General Assembly and Title 6 of the Arkansas Code. For the purposes of these Rules, all references to "school district" include open enrollment public charter schools, except as waived by the State Board of Education pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6Application forms and procedures for open-enrollment public charter schools6-23-301 et seq.

3.09 "School Year" means the year beginning July 1 of one calendar year and ending June 30 of the next calendar year.

3.10 "Severely Disabled" is an individual that has an individualized education program in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 20Short title; findings; purposes1400 et seq.

4.00 Student Eligibility

4.01 A parent or legal guardian of a public school student may apply for a Succeed Scholarship to enroll his or her child in a private school if: 4.01.1 The student is currently enrolled in a public school district and has attended public school for at least the one (1) full school year immediately prior to the school year for which the scholarship payments would be disbursed 4.01.1.1 Section 4.01.1 does not apply if: 4.01.1.1.1 The student is a dependent of an active duty member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces; or 4.01.1.1.2 The Superintendent of the student's resident school district waives the requirement; 4.01.2 The student: 4.01.2.1 Is in foster care or has been in the foster care system and achieved permanency through adoption, reunification, or permanent guardianship; 4.01.2.2 Has an individualized education program in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 20Short title; findings; purposes1400 et seq., or has been medically diagnosed by a licensed physician as a child with a disability under 20 U.S.C. § 20Definitions1401(3)(A); 4.01.2.2.1 A student who has had the enrollment requirement waived by the superintendent under the provisions of 4.01.1.1.2, must have had an IEP active on the last date he or she was enrolled in a public school, or in the case of a preschool student who has never been enrolled in a public school, have had an IEP or Individual Program Plan (IPP), as defined by the Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, standards, active on the last date he or she was enrolled in the preschool program. 4.01.2.3 Participated in the Succeed Scholarship Program during the prior school year and has not yet graduated from high school or attained twenty-one (21) years of age; or 4.01.2.4 Has an individualized service plan in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 20State eligibility1412(a)(10) and 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.137 through 300.139. 4.01.3 The student has been accepted for admission into a private school that is eligible to participate in the Succeed Scholarship Program; 4.01.4 The parent has notified the student's current school district of the request for a...