The following information applies to the Arkansas Public School Choice Act and Opportunity School Choice Act following the 2023 legislative session:

In accordance with Arkansas Code § 6-18-1905, the period for applicant filing of school choice applications for the 2024-2025 school year begins on January 1, 2024, and runs through May 1, 2024. Each school district must have a policy stating the methods by which an application may be submitted to the school district, but in no event may the district require that an application be submitted in person. 

Applicants must submit school choice applications to the nonresident district and the student's resident district. The application must be delivered or postmarked no later than May 1 of the calendar year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident district. However, if a student has a parent or guardian who is an active-duty member of the military who has been transferred to and resides on a military base, and who provides military transfer orders and documentation that confirms the date of transfer to and residence on the military base, then the student's application for a transfer is not subject to the May 1 deadline. Upon receipt of a school choice application, both the resident district and nonresident district shall place a date and time stamp on the application that reflects the date and time each district received the application.

A nonresident district shall not approve an application if granting the transfer would violate an existing and enforceable provision of a desegregation court order or a district's court-approved desegregation plan.

A nonresident district shall not deny a student the ability to transfer under this option unless there is a lack of capacity, defined in Arkansas Code §§ 6-18-227 and 6-18-1903 as when a “school district has reached the maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the rules for standards of accreditation, state rules, or other applicable federal regulations.”

The nonresident district shall review and make a determination on each application in the order in which the application was received by the nonresident district. The nonresident district shall notify the applicant in writing as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected within fifteen (15) calendar days of the nonresident district's receipt of the application.

An application under the Arkansas Public School Choice Act that is approved is effective immediately upon the nonresident district's written notification of an acceptance.  An application that is rejected is appealable to the State Board of Education under the appeals process outlined in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rule Governing Public School Choice.

An application under the Opportunity School Choice Act that is approved is effective at the beginning of the next school year. An application that is rejected is appealable to the State Board of Education under the appeals process outlined in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rule Governing Public School Choice.

The Opportunity School Choice Act is available to students attending a public school district in need of Level 5—intensive support under Arkansas Code §§ 6-15-2913 and 2915, or a public school with a rating of “F” under the public school rating system on annual school performance reports under Arkansas Code § 6-15-2105 and 2106. A student who qualifies under the Opportunity School Choice Act may apply to transfer to another public school that is not in need of Level 5 - intensive support or a public school with a rating of “F” within the public school district in which the student resides or a public school in another district if one is not available within the resident district.

A link to the current school choice application form and FAQs, as well as the Division's Rules Governing Public School Choice*, can be found at https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/office-of-school-choice-and-parent-empowerment/school-choice.

*NOTE: The Department is in the process of promulgating updates to the Rules Governing Public School Choice. A copy of the proposed rule is available on the Department's website at https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/legal/rules/pending.