in Arkansas

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

Charter schools in Arkansas are public schools operated independently of public school systems, either by nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Although they are largely publicly funded, charter schools are exempt from many of the requirements imposed by state and local boards of education regarding hiring and curriculum. As public schools, charter schools cannot charge tuition or impose special entrance requirements; students are usually admitted through a lottery process if demand exceeds the number of spaces available in a school. Charter schools generally receive a percentage of the per-pupil funds from the state and local school districts for operational costs based on enrollment. In most states, charter schools do not receive funds for facilities or start-up costs; therefore, they must rely to some extent on private donations. The federal government also provides revenues through special grants. As of March 2017, 44 states and the District of Columbia had approved legislation authorizing the creation of public charter schools. Six states had not.

Background[edit]

History[edit]

The Arkansas State Legislature approved Arkansas' charter school law in 1995.

In 1991 Minnesota became the first state to pass a charter school law.^[1]

The National Conference of State Legislatures defines charter schools as follows:^[2]

Across the nation, charter schools have grown in number since the passage of the first public charter school law. As of March 2017, 44 states plus the District of Columbia had enacted charter school laws, and in 2013 it was estimated that 4.6 percent of all public school students attended charter schools. Performance results of charter schools nationally have been mixed, with some performing demonstrably better and others closing because they could not meet required standards.^[2][4][5]

Arkansas passed its charter school law in 1995, making it one of the earlier states to enact such a measure. However, the law heavily restricted the number and type of charter schools that could open. Only conversion schools, which are traditional public schools that convert to charter schools within their local school districts, were allowed. Furthermore, conversions were only allowed if they were approved by two-thirds of school employees and parents, were approved by the local school board, and were willing to follow regulations issued by the Arkansas State Board of Education. Thus, while there was no cap on the number of public school conversions, no charter schools opened in Arkansas for several years.^[6]

The state legislature amended the law in 1999 to allow what the state calls "open-enrollment" schools, or charter schools approved by the Department of Education that can enroll students from around the state. The amendment capped the number of open-enrollment schools at 12 total, to be equally distributed through the state’s four districts. Six years after the initial charter school law, 2001 saw the opening of the state's first four charter schools.^[6]

The cap on open-enrollment schools was raised in 2005 from 12 to 24, and in 2007 the rule requiring equal distribution between districts was abolished.^[6]

Participation[edit]

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 50 total charter schools in Arkansas in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 23,700 students. Overall, charter school students accounted for 4.92 percent of total public school enrollment in Arkansas in 2015.^[7]

Demographics[edit]

See also: Charter school demographics and Demographic information for all students in the United States

The table below presents information about the race/ethnicity of charter school students in Arkansas in the 2013-2014 school year, as reported by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. To facilitate comparison, the same figures are also provided for all public school students.^[8][9]

State law[edit]

Authorizers[edit]

Charter school authorizers are, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), the organizations "designated to approve, monitor, renew, and, if necessary, close charter schools." NASCA has identified six primary types of charter school authorizers:^[10]

1. Higher education institutions (HEI)
2. Independent charter boards (ICB)
3. Local education agencies (LEA)
4. Non-education government entities (NEG)
5. Not-for-profit organizations (NFP)
6. State education agencies

The table below lists charter school authorizers in Arkansas as of June 2016. Click [show] to expand the table's contents.

Enrollment regulations[edit]

In Arkansas, conversion charter school enrollment is limited to its local school district boundaries. Open-enrollment charter schools, by contrast, may accept students from anywhere in the state. Beyond this, charter schools in Arkansas may not discriminate for any reason prohibited by federal law.^[11]

If there are not enough open slots to meet demand, a charter school must use a lottery system to determine enrollment. The law allows the lottery to be weighted to comply with desegregation laws.^[11]

At open-enrollment schools, current students do not have to participate in the admissions process in subsequent years following their initial enrollment. Open-enrollment schools may also choose to give preference for the children of school founders, not to exceed 10 percent of total school enrollment, and to siblings of current students. The law is silent on these matters in regards to conversion schools.^[11]

Funding[edit]

In Arkansas, charter schools receive a portion of their funding from the state.

Funding for charter schools is different from state to state, and even between districts within states. In Arkansas, conversion schools and open-enrollment schools are funded differently. As part of a local school district, conversion schools receive per-pupil funding equal to the amount received by other public schools in the district, including local funds. The law states that open-enrollment schools receive foundation funding equal to other public schools directly from the state, and as such are not eligible for funding from local revenues. Open-enrollment schools may fundraise to make up the difference.^[11][12]

Accountability[edit]

See also: Accountability measures for charter schools

Arkansas law states that a charter contract between a school and authorizing body must detail performance standards the school has to meet in order to be approved for renewal. The Arkansas Department of Education is required to perform an annual evaluation of each charter school based on measures such as test scores, attendance, and grades. Charter schools must submit an annual report to the Department of Education on the test scores and performance of their students. A report must also be issued to parents, the community, and the authorizer.^[11]

When problems within a charter school are found, the authorizer is required to notify the school to allow it the chance to correct them. The authorizer may also amend the charter, place the school on probation, revoke the charter, or deny charter renewal.^[11]

Charter school law rankings[edit]

In January 2016, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a report ranking all of the nation's charter school laws. Arkansas' law ranked 29 out of 43. The organization ranked each state's law by considering what it called "20 essential components of a strong charter school law." The table below compares Arkansas' score with that of neighboring states. To access the full report, including methodology, click here.^[13]

Issues[edit]

Debate[edit]

Proponents of charter schools such as the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools argue that, due to their freedom from some state oversight and regulation, they can adopt more innovative educational approaches. This allows them to cater to their particular higher-risk school age populations, which are generally composed of more minority and poor students. In addition, advocates argue that charter schools empower parents and improve traditional public schools through competition.

Meanwhile, critics such as Diane Ravitch argue that charter schools have not been proven to produce significantly higher levels of academic achievement as promised. It is difficult to find data comparable to traditional public schools. Critics also contend that charter schools divert funds from traditional public schools, which continue to enroll significant majorities of public school students, thereby compounding problems at failing schools and generating unequal outcomes for students.^[14]

Funding inequity[edit]

In 2014, the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform released a report identifying disparities between charter school funding and traditional public school funding. Examining 31 states, the researchers considered all sources of charter school funding, including public funds, grants, and philanthropic donations. Researchers found that charter schools received on average 28.4 percent less than traditional public schools. Tennessee's funding disparity was lowest at 0.1 percent, while Louisiana's was highest at 58.4 percent. The disparity in Arkansas was -33 percent, earning the state an F grade. Charter schools in the state received on average $4,130 less per pupil than traditional public schools.^[15]

Below is a chart that compares Arkansas' grade and funding disparity with those of surrounding states. To access the full report, click here.

Charter school management organizations and other groups[edit]

See also: Charter school management organization

Most of the charter schools in Arkansas are freestanding, meaning they do not contract with a charter school management organization for education services. In the 2010-2011 school year, 22 schools were freestanding, six operated under charter management organizations, and two operated under education management organizations.

Charter management organizations (CMOs) are nonprofit associations that form a network of charter schools with a shared vision and provide education services to those schools. As of October 2014, the largest CMOs in Arkansas were the KIPP Foundation, managing five schools, and Lighthouse Academies, managing four schools.^[16][17]

Education management organizations (EMOs) are for-profit companies that form a network of charter schools with a shared vision and provide education services to those schools. As of October 2014, K12 operated as one of the only EMOs in Arkansas, managing Arkansas Virtual Academy for grades kindergarten through 10. The state's Charter Authorizing Panel rejected an application in 2014 from Connections Education to open a second virtual charter school in Arkansas.^[18]

While Arkansas has no official charter school advocacy organization, the Arkansas Public School Resource Center provides general support and advocacy to public schools around the state, with a special focus on rural public schools and charter schools. They provide information and support in the forms of “legal services, financial analysis and management, technology, and teaching and learning.”^[19]

Innovation[edit]

See also: Charter school innovation indicators and High-performing charter schools

Charter school proponents argue that charter schools have the freedom to adopt more innovative practices, which in turn lead to improved academic performance. To get a sense of the level of innovation occurring in charter schools, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools surveyed charter schools across the country on the various innovative education practices they employed. In Arkansas, an average of 23 percent of charter schools reported using innovative practices in the 2011-2012 school year. The table below displays the prevalence of a variety of innovative practices in Arkansas as a percentage of all charter schools in the state. The figures are compared with those in surrounding states.^[20]

Ballot measures and legislation[edit]

Ballot measures[edit]

See also: School choice on the ballot and List of Arkansas ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked no statewide ballot measures relating to school choice in Arkansas.

Legislation[edit]

The following is a list of recent charter school bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Arkansas state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Arkansas charter school. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Charter schools
• Charter school statistics for all 50 states
• School choice
• Public education in Arkansas
• School choice in Arkansas
• Arkansas Department of Education
• Charter school management organization

External links[edit]

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers

Footnotes[edit]

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