The following memo applies to school choice eligibility for the school districts located in Garland County only. Pursuant to federal court order, the Garland County school districts are currently obligated to follow the Arkansas Public School Choice Act of 1989. The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education calculates and provides to the Garland County school districts, the data necessary to determine school choice eligibility under the 1989 Act. This eligibility data may be found at the following link: https://adedata.arkansas.gov/statewide/ReportList/State/SchoolChoiceEligibility.aspx.

Attached to this memo is the application for participation in school choice under the 1989 act (revised 12-30-21) in both a PDF and fillable PDF format. Also attached are the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Guidelines, Procedures, and Enforcement of the Arkansas Public School Choice Act (2007). 

NOTE: The Department is in the process of promulgating updates to its current Rules Governing Public School Choice. This rule does not govern public school choice in Garland County at this time but would be applicable in the event school districts in Garland County were to achieve unitary status. 

Attachments