Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-202 directs the State Board of Education to include in the Standards for Accreditation a provision regarding the attainment of unitary status for school districts that have not been released from court supervision over desegregation obligations.

The district’s responsibilities regarding its desegregation obligations are outlined in Standard 3-A.10 of the Standards for Accreditation:

3-A.10 Each public school district which has not obtained full and complete unitary status and has not been released from court supervised desegregation obligations shall seek to obtain a declaration of full and complete unitary status and release from all court supervision from the federal courts.

3-A.10.1 Beginning September 15 of each year, any public school district identified in Section 3-A.10 shall submit written quarterly reports to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education detailing the district’s outstanding desegregation obligations and the district’s efforts towards obtaining full unitary status and release from court supervision. The detailed plan shall include the district’s progress towards meeting its obligations and timelines for reaching a determination of full unitary status and release from court supervision.

3-A.10.2 If the Division is unable to verify the public school district’s efforts to comply with the submitted detailed plan required by these Rules, the Division shall recommend to the State Board of Education whether the public school district should be placed on Accredited – Probation status in accordance with these Rules.

All districts that have not been declared unitary as outlined in section 3-A.10 above, shall submit the required reports to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Reports must be submitted by email to legal@ade.arkansas.gov.

The first quarterly report of the year must be received by September 15, 2023. Failure to comply may result in the district being placed on probationary status in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-202.