School Choice

1. beginning with date from the 2007-2008 school year, and for each subsequent school year, the number of students eligible for and participated in the public school choice option; and,

2. for the current school year, a list of available schools to which students eligible to participate in public school choice may transfer. [34 C.F.R. § § 200.39(c)(1)(iv); 200.42(b)(5); 200.43(b)(5); 200.43(c)(1)(iii)]

Another educational option exists for parents when the child attends a school that has been identified as persistently dangerous, or when a student has been the victim of a violent crime on school property [§ 9532]. Such students have the option of transferring to a different, safer public school. State educational agencies (SEAs) must identify schools that are persistently dangerous in time for LEAs to notify parents and students at least 14 calendar days prior to the start of the school year that the school has been so identified [68 Fed. Reg. 35671 (June 16, 2003)]. For more information on the unsafe school choice option in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, go to: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/unsafeschoolchoice.doc.

Attached is a one-page guide that further outlines public school choice requirements. Other helpful resources on public school choice include the United States Department of Education (USDOE) Public School Choice Non-Regulatory Guidance found at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/schoolchoiceguid.doc and Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner’s Memo: Parent Notification of School Improvement Status and Transfer Options (LS-10-012).

For more information visit http://arkansased.org/acsip/index.html or contact Deborah Bland or Bernice Martin-Russell at 501-682-4372.