1. (a)

   1. (1) Each education service cooperative shall be evaluated during the 2012-2013 school year, and at least once within each five-year period, on a schedule established by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.
   2. (2) All active education service cooperatives must be visited by an evaluation committee of not more than nine (9) persons.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Each evaluation shall include but not be limited to an investigation of:

      1. (A) User satisfaction;
      2. (B) Service adequacy;
      3. (C) Extent of local financial support;
      4. (D) Staff qualifications; and
      5. (E) Performance and administration effectiveness.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) At least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the onsite evaluation conducted by the evaluation committee, the education service cooperative to be evaluated shall complete a self-study and submit the self-study to the commissioner or his or her designee.
      2. (B) The self-study should include an analysis of each of the evaluation categories listed in subsection (e) of this section.
      3. (C) A self-study guide is attached as Appendix 1 to this part.
   3. (3) During the onsite evaluation, the evaluation committee shall review available evidence to verify the conclusions of the self-study.

3. (c) The final evaluation, including any self-evaluation, shall be:

   1. (1) Included in the annual report to the Department of Education required by Arkansas Code § 6-13-1020 and 6 CAR § 1-121; and
   2. (2) Made available on the website of the education service cooperative.
4. (d) The evaluation criteria herein have been developed collaboratively between the department and the director of each education service cooperative.

5. (e)

   1. (1) The evaluation criteria is outlined in the rubric for evaluation attached as Appendix 2 to this part.
   2. (2) Each education service cooperative shall receive an overall evaluation rating from one (1) to five (5).
   3. (3) The overall evaluation rating will consist of an average of the individual category ratings as outlined in the rubric for evaluation attached as Appendix 2 to this part.

6. (f)

   1. (1) The report of the evaluation committee shall be filed with:

      1. (A) The education service cooperative visited;
      2. (B) Its constituent school districts; and
      3. (C) The State Board of Education.
   2. (2) The state board shall acknowledge receipt of the report and comment on any deficiencies identified in the report that should be corrected for the education service cooperative to remain eligible for base funding.

   3. (3) The report shall identify each education service cooperative as being in one (1) of the following category levels, based on the evaluation:

      1. (A) “Level 5”, education service cooperative of excellence;
      2. (B) “Level 4”, education service cooperative exceeding standards;
      3. (C) “Level 3”, education service cooperative meeting standards;
      4. (D) “Level 2”, education service cooperative on alert; or
      5. (E) “Level 1”, education service cooperative in need of immediate improvement.
   4. (4) As set forth in Arkansas Code §§ 6-13-1021 – 6-13-1022, this section, and 6 CAR § 1-123, the evaluation committee may recommend to the state board that an education service cooperative be dissolved.

7. (g) The intent of this evaluation procedure is to:

   1. (1) Provide a means for school districts to express their concerns about the operation of their education service cooperative; and
   2. (2) Ensure that each education service cooperative remains alert and responsive to the needs of the local schools it serves.
8. (h) An education service cooperative that receives a performance category level of level 1 shall be reevaluated during the evaluation cycle the following year.

9. (i) For all education service cooperatives that receive a performance category level of level 1 for two (2) consecutive years, the department shall:

   1. (1) Withhold base funding to the education service cooperative; or
   2. (2) Take over administration of the education service cooperative.

10. (j)

    1. (1) For each evaluation, the commissioner shall appoint the evaluation committee and designate its chair.

    2. (2) The evaluation committee shall include the following from outside the boundary of the education service cooperative being evaluated:

       1. (A) A department staff member;
       2. (B) A teacher;
       3. (C) An administrator;
       4. (D) A college staff member; and
       5. (E) A present or former staff member of an area education service agency.

    3. (3) In addition, the evaluation committee shall include from within the education service cooperative’s area a:

       1. (A) Member of a school district board of directors;
       2. (B) Representative of business and industry; and
       3. (C) School parent from each of two (2) school districts.
11. (k) Each education service cooperative shall pay the reasonable costs of its evaluation.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules contained the following at the end of the section: "Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-1021".