005.28.22 Ark. Code R. § 018 Dese Rules Governing the Arkansas Educational Support and Accountability Act

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.22 Ark. Code R. § 018

Effective May 31, 2022

1.00 Regulatory Authority

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education ("Division") Rules Governing the Arkansas Educational Support and Accountability Act (AESAA).

1.02 These rules are adopted pursuant to the authority of the State Board of Education under Ark Code Ann. §§ 6Powers and duties6-11-105 6Title6-15-2901 et seq., and 25Title25-15-201 et seq.

1.03 These rules are further adopted pursuant to the requirements of the State's plan adopted under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No 114-95 20 U.S.C. § 20Statement of purpose6301 et seq.

2.00 Legislative Findings and Purpose

2.01 The State Board of Education ("State Board") notes that the Arkansas General Assembly finds that it is the State's responsibility:2.01.1 To provide a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools to the children of the state as required by the Arkansas Constitution, Article 14 § 1; 2.01.2 To provide all public school children with a substantially equal opportunity for an adequate education to meet the State's duty set forth by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee, 351 Ark. 31 (2002); 2.01.3 To ensure that all students in the public schools of this state have a substantially equal opportunity to achieve and demonstrate academic readiness, individual academic growth, and competencies through the application of knowledge and skills in core subjects, consistent with state academic standards through a student-focused learning system; and 2.01.4 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 subject for which they are not currently licensed.

2.02 The purpose of these rules is to establish a comprehensive accountability system that: 2.02.1 Provides increasing levels of state assistance to help the local public school district board of directors to meet its burden of providing all public school children with a substantially equal opportunity for an adequate education, while allowing state intervention to occur if the local government chronically fails to meet the burden in spite of the state assistance, to meet the state's responsibility set forth by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee, 351 Ark. 31 (2002), quoting DuPree v. Alma School District No. 30, 279 Ark. 340 (1983); 2.02.2 Uses multiple measures of student academic achievement and growth; 2.02.3 Allows flexibility for public schools and school districts to utilize local decision-making while maintaining quality in education; and 2.02.4 Empowers the State and public school districts to assess the effectiveness of student-focused education using multiple factors, measures, and indicators of student achievement and school quality, rather than relying solely on an annual statewide assessment.

2.03 To promote the state's goal of providing all Arkansas public school students with qualified and effective educators, the Division will support educator effectiveness by implementing State Board-approved systems that will:2.03.1 Encourage licensure and career advancement; 2.03.2 Provide flexibility to hire well-qualified individuals; 2.03.3 Provide personalized, differentiated professional support, growth and development opportunities for all educators; and 2.03.4 Incentivize retention of effective teachers and leaders.

2.04 The State of Arkansas cannot be the sole guarantor of each individual student's success. Parents, students, families, educational institutions, and communities, as collaborative partners in education, play an important role in the success of individual students.

3.00 Definitions

For purposes of these rules:

3.01 "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.

3.02 "College and career readiness" means the student has knowledge and skills in core academic disciplines and dispositions necessary to graduate prepared for college, career, and community engagement.

3.03 "College and career readiness assessment" means a set of criterion-referenced measurements of a student's acquisition of the knowledge and skills that the student needs to be college and career ready.

3.04 "Comprehensive support" means support required for a public school identified as being within the lowest-performing five percent (5%) of Title I schools as required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95.

3.05 "District Test Coordinator (DTC)" means an individual designated by the superintendent to ensure that the district complies with state assessment requirements. 3.05.1 The DTC shall be an: 3.05.1.1 Educator, as defined in these rules, employed by the district; 3.05.1.2 Individual employed by the district and under the direct supervision of an educator employed by the district; or 3.05.1.3 Individual contracted by the district to complete all responsibilities of the DTC and under the direct supervision of an educator employed by the district. 3.05.2 The educator employed by the district assigned to supervise the DTC under 3.05.1.2 or 3.05.1.3, shall be responsible for ensuring that all provisions of applicable law and these Rules are followed.

3.06 "Educator" means a person holding a valid Arkansas standard teaching license, an ancillary license, a provisional license, a technical permit, or an administrator's license issued by the State Board. 3.06.1 "Educator" also includes a licensed or non-licensed classroom teacher or administrator employed in a position under a waiver from licensure.

3.07 "English language arts (ELA)" means the academic standards for English, reading, and writing.

3.08 "English Learners" are students whose primary or home language, other than English, has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English language proficiency.

3.09 "Formative Assessment" means a planned, ongoing process used by all students and teachers during teaching and learning to elicit and use evidence of student learning to improve student understanding of intended disciplinary learning outcomes and support students to become more self-directed learners.

3.10 "Individualized Education Program (IEP)" means the same as in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 20Short title; findings; purposes1400 et seq.

3.11 "Parent" means the same as in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 34 CFR § 34What definitions apply to these regulations?99.3.

3.12 "Professional development plan" means the same as in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17704.

3.13 "Public school" means: 3.13.1 A school operated by a public school district; or 3.13.2 An open-enrollment public charter school, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 6Definitions6-23-103.

3.14 "Public school district" means:3.14.1 A geographic area that qualifies as a taxing unit for purposes of ad valorem property taxes under Ark. Code Ann. § 26Definitions26-1-101 et seq. and Arkansas Constitution, Article 14, § 3, and is either: 3.14.1.1 Governed by an elected board of directors; or 3.14.1.2 Under the administrative control of the State Board or the Commissioner of Education in place of an elected board of directors; or 3.14.2 An open-enrollment public charter school, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 6Definitions6-23-103.

3.15 "School District Systems" means the operations and procedures that occur within a public school district. 3.15.1 Systems include, without limitation: 3.15.1.1 Academics; 3.15.1.2 Student Support Services; 3.15.1.3 District Operations and Fiscal Governance; 3.15.1.4 Human Capital; 3.15.1.5 Stakeholder Communication / Family and Community Engagement; and 3.15.1.6 Facilities and Transportation. 3.15.2 Systems are defined as a set of independent parts or actions that act together to make a more complex whole.

3.16 "Student success plan" means a personalized education plan intended to assist students to meet educational milestones towards graduation and achieving readiness for college, career, and community engagement.

3.17 "Student-focused learning system" means a system of learning in which collaborative and flexible decisions are made based on equity for each student with consideration given to academic measures, personal competencies, interests, aptitudes, aspirations, and needs.

3.18 "Superintendent" means the person responsible for oversight of all operations of the public school district.

3.19 "Targeted support" means support required for a public school identified as having a subgroup of students labeled "consistently under performing" as required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95.

4.00 Arkansas Academic Standards

4.01 The...