Memo Text
Section 8524 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act
of 2015 (ESSA), requires that, as a condition of receiving ESEA funds,
each school district must certify in writing to the Arkansas Division of Elementary and
Secondary Education (DESE) that it has no policy that prevents, or otherwise
denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public schools as
set forth in guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to all school administrators, dated
January16, 2020.
This guidance
is available at the following website:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html
DESE must send USDE a list of those school districts or charter schools that have not filed the required assurance or
against which complaints have been made to DESE that the
school district or charter school does not comply with the guidance. USDE
may withhold federal funds until the LEA comes into compliance.
In
order to be in compliance for the 2022- 2023 school year, each school district
and charter school must complete the attached assurance form and return it to DESE, no later than September 15, 2022,
by email to ADE.equityassistance@ade.arkansas.gov.