Arkansas § 6-23-304 - Requirements — Preference for certain districts.

§ 6-23-304. Requirements — Preference for certain districts.

The authorizer may approve or deny an application based on: Criteria provided by law or by rule adopted by the State Board of Education; Findings of the authorizer relating to improving student performance and encouraging innovative programs; and Written findings or statements received by the authorizer from any public school district likely to be affected by the open-enrollment public charter school. The authorizer shall give preference in approving an application for an open-enrollment public charter school to be located in any public school district: When the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches is above the average for the state; When the district has been classified by the state board as in need of Level 5 — Intensive support under § 6-15-2915; or When the district has been classified by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education as in some phase of fiscal distress under the Arkansas Fiscal Assessment and Accountability Program, § 6-20-1901 et seq., if the fiscal distress status is a result of administrative fiscal mismanagement, as determined by the state board. The division, the state board, or a combination of the division and state board may grant no more than a total of twenty-four (24) charters for open-enrollment public charter schools except as provided under subdivision (c)(1)(B) of this section. If the cap on the number of charters available for an open-enrollment public charter school is within two (2) charters of meeting any existing limitation or cap on available open-enrollment charters, the number of available charters shall automatically increase by five (5) slots more than the most recent existing limitation or cap on open-enrollment charters. By March 1 each year, the division shall issue a commissioner's memo stating the existing limitation on the number of charters available for open-enrollment public charter schools and the number of charters available for open-enrollment public charter schools during the next application cycle. An open-enrollment public charter applicant's school campus shall be limited to a single open-enrollment public charter school per charter except as allowed in subsection (d) of this section. An open-enrollment public charter school shall not open in the service area of a public school district administratively reorganized under the Public Education Reorganization Act, § 6-13-1601 et seq., until after the third year of the administrative reorganization. A private or parochial elementary or secondary school shall not be eligible for open-enrollment public charter school status. A charter applicant that receives an approved open-enrollment public charter may petition the authorizer for additional licenses to establish an open-enrollment public charter school in any of the various congressional districts in Arkansas if the applicant meets the following conditions: The approved open-enrollment public charter applicant has demonstrated academic success as defined by the state board for all public schools; The approved open-enrollment public charter applicant has not: Been subject to any disciplinary action by the authorizer; Been classified as in need of Level 5 — Intensive support or fiscal distress; and Had its open-enrollment public charter placed on charter school probation or suspended or revoked under § 6-23-105; and The authorizer determines in writing by majority of a quorum present that the open-enrollment public charter applicant has generally established the educational program results and criteria set forth in this subsection.