005.28.19 Ark. Code R. § 008 Rules Governing the Standards For Accrediation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.19 Ark. Code R. § 008

ARKANSAS DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION RULES GOVERNING STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION OF ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Effective Date: July 1, 2020

1.00 REGULATORY AUTHORITY

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts.

1.02 These rules are promulgated pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-11-105, 6-15-202, 6-15-203, 6-15-207, 6-15-208, 6-15-209, and 25-15-201 et seq.

2.00 PURPOSE

2.01 These rules are to set forth the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas to all public schools and public school districts and to apply the Standards for Accreditation to all public schools and public school districts for the purpose of determining accreditation of the school and district.

2.02 These rules describe the minimum requirements and process whereby Arkansas public schools and public school districts are accredited, the process whereby Arkansas public schools and public school districts will be cited or placed in probationary status for failure to meet the Standards for Accreditation, and to set forth the enforcement actions that may be applied to Arkansas public schools and public school districts that fail to meet the Standards for Accreditation.

3.00 DEFINITIONS - For purposes of these Rules, the following terms mean:

3.01 "Accredited - Cited" means the status assigned to a public school or public school district that fails to meet any Standard identified by a "C" as being a cited violation in these rules.

3.02 "Enforcement action" means the intervention of the State to require compliance of a public school or a public school district that fails to meet the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts.

3.03 "Accredited - Probation" means the status assigned to a public school or public school district that fails to meet any Standard identified by a "P" as being a probationary violation in these rules or fails to correct a violation by the specified deadline for which it acquired cited status.

3.04 "Division" means the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Arkansas Department of Education.

3.05 "Public school" means:

3.05.1 A school operated by a public school district; or

3.05.2 An open-enrollment public charter school, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-23-103.

3.06 "Public school district" means:

3.06.1 A geographic area that qualifies as a taxing unit for purposes of ad valorem property taxes under Ark. Code Ann. § 26-1-101 et seq. and Arkansas Constitution, Article 14, § 3, and is either:3.06.1.1 Governed by an elected board of directors; or 3.06.1.2 Under the administrative control of the State Board or the Commissioner of Education in place of an elected board of directors; or

3.06.2 An open-enrollment public charter school, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-23-103.

3.07 "Standards for Accreditation" means the series of requirements that specify what a public school or public school district shall meet in order to be fully accredited by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

3.08 "Written curriculum" includes identified sequences of student learning expectations, pacing, materials and resources used to teach the Arkansas Academic Standards and processes for evaluating mastery of the standards at particular points in time throughout the K-12 educational program.

4.00 BI-ANNUAL REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION

The Division is responsible for the development of the Standards for Accreditation and shall review these standards every two years to ensure alignment with the laws of the State of Arkansas and the rules of Division.

The review process shall include:

4.01 Public notice ofthe intent to review the Standards. Public notice may include notice of intent provided at a State Board meeting, on the Division website, by Commissioner's Memo, or Division social media;

4.02 Organization of a committee consisting of Arkansas educators, administrators, and other stakeholders to review and provide feedback to Division staff regarding the Standards for Accreditation, particularly the Standards found to have the most violations or in conflict with state law or rules;

4.03 Revision, as needed, of the Standards for Accreditation by Division staff;

4.04 Submission of the revised Standards for Accreditation for review by the State Board of Education and consideration for release for public comment;

4.05 Submission to the Senate and House Education Committees for review and feedback to the State Board of Education; and

4.06 Review of the Senate and House Education Committee feedback and make necessary revisions.

4.07 Submit Standards for Accreditation to the Board for approval.

5.00 CITED STATUS

5.01 A public school district shall be assigned Accredited - Cited status when it is deemed to have failed to meet any standard defined with a district cited status ("D/C) in the Standards for Accreditation.

5.02 A public school shall be assigned Accredited - Cited status when it is deemed to have failed to meet any standard defined with a school cited status ("5/C") in the Standards for Accreditation.

5.03 No public school or public school district shall maintain Accredited - Cited status for violation of any particular standard for a time period greater than two (2) consecutive school years including the year the Accredited - Cited status is assigned, unless provided otherwise in these rules.

5.04 Any public school or public school district that fails to remedy itself from Accredited - Cited status for violation of a particular standard after two (2) consecutive school years shall be assigned Accredited - Probation status.

6.00 PROBATIONARY STATUS

6.01 A public school district shall be assigned Accredited - Probation status when it is deemed to have failed to meet any standard defined with a district probationary status ("D/P") in the Standards for Accreditation or was in Accredited - Cited status for the same violation the previous two (2) consecutive school years.

6.02 A public school shall be assigned Accredited - Probation status when it is deemed to have failed to meet any standard defined with a school probationary status ("S/P") in the Standards for Accreditation or was in Accredited - Cited status for the same violation the previous two (2) consecutive school years.

6.03 No public school or public school district shall maintain Accredited - Probation status for violation of any standard for more than two (2) consecutive school years including the year the Accredited - Probation status is assigned.

6.04 Any public school or public school district that fails to remedy itself from Accredited - Probation status after the two (2) consecutive school years will be subject to mandates of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-207 and Section 9.00 of these Rules.

7.00 ACCREDITATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS

7.01 A public school or public school district shall be accredited based on compliance with the Standards for Accreditation and shall be identified as Accredited.

7.02 A material and substantial failure to comply with any state or federal law, rule, or regulation that interferes with a public school or public school district's obligation to provide a general, suitable and efficient education may result in a recommendation of Accredited - Cited or Accredited - Probation status.

7.03 Any person who knowingly submits or falsifies information requested or required by the Division may be subject to licensure action pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-410 and other relevant state and federal law.

7.04 ACCREDITATION PROCESS

7.04.1 The Division shall annually review all public school and public school district accreditation reports.

7.04.2 The Division shall 7.04.2.1 Investigate any suspected deficiencies in meeting the Standards for Accreditation. 7.04.2.2 Investigate all written complaints alleging violations of the Standards for Accreditation received by the Division. 7.04.2.3 Conduct additional review of public schools and public school districts identified as being at risk of failing to meet the Standards for Accreditation. 7.04.2.4 Conduct an on-site review of public schools and public school districts whenever the Division or State Board of Education deems necessary.

7.04.3 At any time, a public school or public school district which does not meet the Standards for Accreditation, as determined by the Division, shall be notified in writing of the deficiency and the timeline for correction. Any deficiency unresolved shall be reported to the State Board of Education for consideration of action.

7.04.4 At any time but no later than May 1 the Division shall notify the public school district superintendent of the public schools or public school districts recommended accreditation status.

7.04.5 The State Board of Education will review the recommendation from the Division and make the final determination of accreditation status for the identified public schools or public school districts as outlined in Section 8.0 of these rules.

7.04.6 Public schools and public school districts classified as Accredited -Probation for more than two (2) consecutive school years shall be subject to enforcement actions pursuant to Ark. Code Ann § 6-15-207 and Section 9.00 of these Rules.

8.00 SPECIFIC TIME FRAME FOR CITATIONS OR PROBATIONS

8.01 A public school or public school district may be placed in Accredited - Cited or Accredited - Probation status at any time if any violation of the Standards for Accreditation has not been corrected or the appropriate documentation detailing the public school or public school district's plan, including necessary timelines, to...