25 law waivers OK'd by state schools board

Board’s move aims to keep struggling students in school

The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday approved waivers of some state laws and rules as requested by 25 school districts, a move that is largely intended to loosen minimum class time requirements for high school students, particularly those in jeopardy of dropping out.



RELATED ARTICLES

http://www.arkansas…">3 districts, 24 schools on distressed listhttp://www.arkansas…">State adopts new math standards

http://www.arkansas…">Panel forming to guide district-charter collaboration

The districts receiving the waivers include the large Conway and Bryant school systems as well as much smaller systems such as Rose Bud and Wonderview.

Twenty-two of the 25 applicant districts worked with the Plumerville-based Arch Ford Education Services Cooperative to get the waivers that will support academic and workforce development programs for alternative education students, including those who are on the verge of not graduating for reasons that include personal family and economic situations.

Act 1240 of 2015 enables Arkansas' traditional school districts to apply for some or all of the same waivers of state laws and rules that the state Board of Education has previously granted to the independently operated, open-enrollment charter schools. More specifically, the traditional district can apply for the same waivers that are granted to any charter school that draws students from the applicant district.

The districts receiving waivers Thursday brings to 32 the total number of districts that have received waivers under the 1-year-old state law.

All the applicant districts on Thursday cited the waivers awarded to the Arkansas Virtual Academy, an online charter school based in North Little Rock that serves students statewide. Quest Middle School of West Little Rock, Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville and Ozark Montessori Academy in Springdale are other open enrollment charter schools cited by the applicant districts.

Bryant Superintendent Tom Kimbrell said his district was asking for waivers from the state mandatory attendance law for high school students and for the student school day "to give students the opportunity to look at the work world."

Karen Walters, deputy superintendent of the Bryant district, said that 83 percent of high school juniors this year need only three courses to meet graduation requirements as seniors and that many students -- even those on path to graduate -- are inclined to leave school before graduation to join the workforce. Student surveys, she said, showed there is widespread student interest in internships, post-secondary education courses, jobs and community service as an alternative to more traditional high school elective courses.

With waivers that will allow more flexibility in class time and school day requirements, the Bryant district can allow students to use half-days to participate in those kinds of off-campus activities, Walters said. The district will provide a staff member to facilitate and monitor the student activities, which will start with an orientation program and end with their production of a "capstone" video project regarding their work or community service.

The board approved a more extensive list of waivers for the Lincoln Consolidated School District, including those requiring state-licensed teachers, as well as daily planning time and duty-free lunches for staff.

Mary Ann Spears, superintendent of the Lincoln district, told the board that the waivers will allow her district to expand opportunities for students -- beginning in elementary and middle school -- to ultimately graduate with trade certificates and other career preparations. Spears said there are more than 50 home-school students in her small district and 16 students who have elected to attend schools outside the district.

"We want to redesign what we do so we are a choice," Spears said.

In response to questions about whether district teachers were "blindsided" by the waiver proposals, Spears said the district won't do away with duty-free lunches and planning time for staff but will have the flexibility to alter the schedules on some days.

The board approved the Lincoln waivers on a 5-4 vote.

James Dunivan, superintendent of the Nettleton School District, said that about 45 percent of the district's 220 high school graduates each year go to college, prompting questions about the fate of the others. Waivers of school day, class size and teaching load requirements will enable the district to help students further their carer plans both at school and off campus rather than assign them to classes that are not interesting to them.

He said Jonesboro-area industries provide opportunities for student internships and job shadowing. Online courses from higher education institutions and elective courses through the Arkansas Virtual Academy charter school also would be available to students.

The Education Board after much discussion approved the waivers for the 22 districts affiliated with the Arch Ford cooperative. The identical proposal for each of the districts also requires waivers of school day hours and instructional time requirements for students.

The proposal would expand the services of at least nine career education centers in places such as Conway and Quitman to incorporate the Jobs for America's Graduates Inc., which is an established school-to-work program.

The program at the centers will target students who are likely to leave school before graduating because they lack high school credits or other problems. Students participating in the programs will have to meet eligibility requirements.

Education Board members were concerned Thursday about the magnitude of the program and the possibility that the waivers granted to the districts would go beyond affecting the alternative education programs and would be applied districtwide.

Representatives of the districts and the education service cooperative, who are sworn in at the Education Board hearing, offered assurances that the waivers are applicable to each district's alternative education program.

Besides Conway, other districts working with Arch Ford that received the waivers are Atkins, Guy Perkins, Hector, Clinton, Dover, East End, Greenbrier, Mayflower, Mount Vernon/Enola, Nemo Vista, Perryville, Pottsville, Quitman, Rose Bud, South Conway County, South Side in Van Buren County, Vilonia, Wonderview, Mena, Ashdown and Mount Ida.

The waivers are for five years.

Metro on 04/15/2016

Upcoming Events