§ 6-18-204 — Attendance in another district - Conditions

(a) The title of this section shall be "An Act Making It Legal for a Student Living in One School District to Attend School in Another School District under Specified Conditions". (b) A student may attend school in another district under the following conditions: (1) A student in grades nine through twelve (9-12) inclusive may attend school in another district for the purpose of enrolling for courses that will constitute not more than fifty percent (50%) of the classes taken by him or her during the school day; (2) Such classes shall be limited to those that are not offered by the student's home district and are required by the student to meet his or her educational objectives; (3) In order to qualify for such attendance, the student shall file a projected course of study with his or her principal or school counselor before enrollment in another school, and subsequent enrollment may be entered into only after it is determined that the desired courses cannot be taken in the home district; (4) The resident district of a student taking advantage of the provisions of this section shall pay tuition to the district that the student attends in an amount not less than a proportion of the home district's state foundation funding per student equal to a ratio that the number of classes taken by a student outside his or her home district bears to the total number of classes taken by the student; and (5) (A) A student wishing to take advantage of the provisions of this subsection must have the permission of the receiving district in order to enroll in that district. (B) The amount of tuition shall be agreed upon by both districts before enrollment in the receiving district, except that if an agreement cannot be reached by the opening date of the receiving school, an appeal shall be made to the Assistant Commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education within thirty (30) days from the opening date of school, and his or her decision shall be final. (C) Under these conditions, the student may enroll at the beginning date of school in the receiving district. (c) (1) A student may attend school in another district for the purposes of enrolling for alternative education programs, secondary area vocational centers, or community-based education programs for which the resident district has entered into a compact with another district. (2) The resident district of a student taking advantage of the provisions of this subsection shall pay tuition to the district or education service cooperative that is the administrative agency for the compact program in the amount agreed upon in the compact or as required by state rule. (d) Attendance of a student enrolled in another school under the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be counted for state aid purposes by the student's resident district. (e) Eligibility for participation in interschool activities by any such student shall be in accordance with regulations of the Arkansas Activities Association. (f) The purpose of this section is not to be construed in any manner other than that of broadening the curriculum and program offerings that may be made available to students whose home districts do not offer subjects needed by such students to realize their educational objectives.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2023, No. 109,§ 2, eff. 8/1/2023. Amended by Act 2019, No. 315,§ 244, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 1512, eff. 7/1/2019. Acts 1983, No. 14, §§ 1-6; 1983, No. 149, §§ 1-6; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 80-1562 -- 80-1567; Acts 1999, No. 1554, § 3; 2005, No. 2121, § 7.