The Arkansas State Board of Education on Friday approved a final school safety rule, clearing the way for school systems to receive state reimbursement for school safety-related costs.
At the same meeting, the Board of Education stated:
An emergency rule (valid for 120 days) was approved regarding the process for allocating more than $30 million in state aid for tuition and related costs for private school students this fiscal year.
Accepted the Charter Authorization Committee’s recommendation to establish two new open enrollment charter schools to open in the 2024-25 school year.
New rules approved by the Commission on School Safety and Educational Freedom Account voucher payments will not become final until they are reviewed by the Arkansas Legislative Council.
Springdale School Board Member Kathy Rollins said the school board only received public comments on the rule early Friday and did not have time to consider the comments, so the school board will approve the rule immediately. I asked if it was necessary.
Jason Weatherly, safe schools coordinator for the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said school districts are awaiting the final rule so they can be reimbursed for safety costs incurred in July, August and September of this year. He said the district was reimbursed $9.3 million for May and June expenses. The distribution of state funds was then suspended until safety regulations were approved.
The final rule for managing school safety requires public schools to conduct a comprehensive school safety assessment at least once every three years in cooperation with local law enforcement, fire, and emergency management officials. That is what is required. The first evaluation must be made by August 1 of next year.
According to the regulations, records reflecting a school’s safety assessment cannot be made available for public inspection. According to the rules, the school board’s discussion of the results of the safety assessment must take place in a closed board meeting.
The rules also require lockdown drills at least once a year to respond to potential threats on campus. Tornado drills are held three times a year, the first time being held by October 15 of the school year. Fire drills must be held monthly. The outer door must be closed and locked during class hours, except during transfer time. However, under no circumstances may a person be prevented from exiting the building.
The rule also addresses training requirements for school resource officers and school leaders. Officers who do not meet training requirements will not be able to serve in their roles until training is completed.
Additionally, the rules require communication systems and establish threat reporting requirements.
voucher
The board approved an emergency rule establishing a process for distributing state funds to private and parochial schools participating in the new Education Freedom Account voucher program.
The emergency rule will be used until a nearly identical draft permanent rule is submitted for public review and possible revision.
Ultimately, rules regarding the payment process will be incorporated into the still-pending draft regulations to implement the entire Educational Freedom Account program.
The voucher program is part of the Arkansas Learning Act (Act 237 of 2023), introduced by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a way to reshape public education in the state.
The Educational Freedom Account will provide up to $6,672 or $7,413 in state funding for private school expenses this year.
Students eligible to receive the higher amounts are those who participated last school year in a small, publicly funded voucher system aimed primarily at students with special educational needs. The now defunct Succeed Scholarship program has been absorbed into the Education Freedom Accounts program, which is being phased in over three years.
In a Sept. 30 report to lawmakers, the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education projected fiscal costs for the current fiscal year to be $32.5 million.
The new emergency rule states: “The Department shall make four equal quarterly payments from the Participating Student’s Educational Freedom Account to the Participating School or Service Provider.”
The regulations direct that a third-party clearinghouse set up an account for students who are approved to participate in the program.
The rules also require families to verify their spending and submit funding requests to third-party vendor ClassWallet.
Third-party payers distribute state payments to private schools or service providers after cost requests are reviewed and approved by the state Department of Education.
As of September 20, a total of 4,795 students at 94 private and parochial schools authorized to accept state-funded vouchers have used the new Education Freedom Account to offset tuition and other costs. are doing. Additional students were at various stages of application, and some were rejected.
Student eligibility criteria will be expanded next year, allowing all students to apply for vouchers in 2025-2026.
School safety grants are provided by the state to school districts to help them implement the recommendations of the Arkansas School Safety Commission and Learning Act.
charter school
The school board on Friday approved two new open-enrollment charter schools without discussion: Pinecrest Preparatory Academy in Fayetteville and Civica Career and College Academy in Bentonville.
Plans for both schools had been reviewed by the state Charter Authorization Commission and recommended to the State Board of Education.
Pinecrest Academy is planned to serve as many as 2,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade by 2028-2029. The Arkansas school will be part of her network of 26 charter schools serving 18,000 students in Florida, Nevada and Idaho.
The sponsoring organization is Pinecrest Academy in Arkansas, and Carlos Alvarez is the primary point of contact for the school.
Civica Career and College Academy serves up to 2,550 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
School plans call for college preparatory programs with an emphasis on career readiness. Potential career focuses include health sciences, business and marketing, economics and international studies, computer science, early childhood educator, and more.
The proposed Arkansas charter campus has sister campuses in Hialeah, Florida, Milliken, Colorado, and Las Vegas.
The sponsoring organization is Civica Educational Foundation Inc., with Alvarez once again serving as the point of contact.