Education Board spikes denials, lets 2 Arkansas families change districts

The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday allowed two families who were initially denied Arkansas School Choice Act transfers for their children to make those transfers to schools in neighboring districts after all.

Board members voted twice on each appeal during a meeting Thursday, having decided at one point that they wanted to reconsider both decisions. They ultimately reversed one decision.

The Dulaney family of Jacksonville and the McAuliffe family of El Dorado had appealed to the Education Board after the Cabot and Parkers Chapel school districts rejected their applications to enroll their children in those districts.

The school districts denied the transfer requests because the students' home school systems -- Jacksonville/North Pulaski and El Dorado -- are under federal court school-desegregation orders and have claimed exemptions to participating in School Choice Act student transfers.

The School Choice Act of 2015 sets up procedures for enabling students to cross district lines to attend school in a district in which they don't reside.

The law, however, includes a provision allowing school districts under federal court desegregation orders to exercise an exemption to participating in the transfers if the transfers conflict with their court-ordered desegregation plans.

The Education Board's approval of student transfers from districts under desegregation orders was contrary to its votes on similar appeals by other families earlier this year.

Allen Roberts of Camden, an attorney for the El Dorado School District, was angry about the board actions.

"It permanently labels the board as radically segregationist," Roberts said in an interview after the votes, adding that he expects there will be one or more legal challenges to the Education Board's approval of the transfers.

The Education Board initially voted 5-3 to allow the Dulaney family's daughter, who has been attending the Jacksonville Lighthouse Academy charter school, to attend school in Cabot.

The board then voted 5-3 to deny the request of the McAuliffes to allow their three children to continue attending school in Parkers Chapel, where they have been attending school for many years under the guardianship of an aunt who was a district teacher.

The aunt now is retired from the district, and the McAuliffes learned that they would have to obtain a transfer if the children are to continue to attend the Parkers Chapel schools, which are about 1.5 miles from their home.

Whitney Moore, another attorney for the El Dorado district, argued to the Education Board that a guardianship for education purposes was not legal.

The Education Board's vote to deny the McAuliffe family appeal prompted Jacksonville/North Pulaski Superintendent Tony Wood to question why the board voted differently on the two appeals.

"Both districts are under active desegregation cases," he said.

"I would like to understand why the action was to approve one and deny the other."

Fitz Hill, a new board member, said the legal information was not fully described when he voted to support the Jacksonville-Cabot transfer.

Education Board member Jay Barth of Little Rock asked the Education Department's legal staff for direction on how to reconsider the two votes. Lori Freno, general counsel for the agency, said the board could vote on whether to reconsider the decisions.

The board did vote to reconsider but delayed new votes until after a lunch break to give the affected families time to return to the Education Department.

Board member Diane Zook moved for the second time to allow the Delaney family to transfer. She noted that the Pulaski County Special and Jacksonville/North Pulaski districts have not been declared unitary by the federal court in all areas of their operations -- but they have been declared unitary, or desegregated, in regard to student assignment plans.

"I'm erring on the side of the parents," she said.

Barth said the Education Board was obligated to abide by desegregation agreements so that the districts can win release from federal court supervision, which benefits all students.

"I think it is very important that we let the courts do this job and not do this job ourselves," Barth said about interpreting whether districts are in compliance with their court orders.

"I'm frustrated that the district did not choose to ask the court about this particular issue," Zook responded about transfers.

Those voting for the Dulaney transfer to Cabot were Zook, Hill, Charisse Dean, Ouida Newton and Brett Williamson. Barth, Joe Black and Susan Chambers voted no.

The final vote allowing the McAuliffe family to attend Parkers Chapel schools was 6-2 with board member Black joining Zook, Hill, Dean, Newton and Williamson in support.

A Section on 07/15/2016

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