The Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is seeking public comment on its
request for a waiver of 34 C.F.R. §200.6(c)(2), which limits the total number
of students assessed in a subject area using an alternate assessment to no more
than one percent (1%) of the total number of students assessed in the State.
Arkansas requires that
all students enrolled in traditional or open-enrollment charter public schools
K-12 be assessed either without accommodations, with accommodations, or with an
alternate assessment. Arkansas follows the federal participation requirement
and, to date, has met or exceeded the federal guidelines set at 95%
participation on statewide assessment.
According to 34 C.F.R.
§200.6(c)(4), “If a State anticipates that it will exceed the cap under
paragraph (c)(2) of this section with respect to any subject for which
assessments are administered under § 200.2(a)(1) in any school year, the State
may request that the Secretary [of Education] waive the cap for the relevant
subject, pursuant to section 8401 of the Act, for one year.”
Arkansas, based upon
historical data, anticipates that approximately 1.03% of students assessed will
be assessed using the alternate assessment in the 2026-2027 school year. Since
this exceeds the 1% limit, Arkansas must request a waiver to the 1% cap for one
year (34 C.F.R. §200.6(c)(4)).
The DESE plans to
submit the waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education in the areas of
English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science. The waiver request states the DESE
will gather data on the characteristics of students participating in the
alternate assessment to ensure that assessment decisions are consistent with
the Arkansas
Guidance for Alternate Assessment Participation Criteria. In addition, the waiver also states that DESE
will collect and analyze alternate assessment data and request justification
from districts that exceed the one percent cap and address any
disproportionality in the percentage of students taking the alternate
assessment.
The proposed waiver
request will be available for review from Friday, May 1, 2026, through Thursday, June 2,
2026, on the DESE Office of Special Education website under the Assessment
& Curriculum page (LINK). Paper copies of the waiver request may be
viewed at:
DESE Office of Special Education
#4 Capitol Mall
Box 31
Little Rock, AR 72201
Any individual or
organization may submit written comments on the proposed waiver pursuant to 34
C.F.R.§200.6(c)(4) until Thursday, June 2, 2026. Please submit comments here.