(a) Upon the request of a parent or guardian, or the student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, a student may transfer from his or her resident district or public school to a nonresident school district or nonresident school under opportunity school choice if, at the time of the request either:

1. (1)

   1. (A) The resident public school district has been classified by the State Board of Education as a public school district in need of Level 5 — Intensive support under Arkansas Code § 6-15-2913 or § 6-15-2915; or
   2. (B) The public school in which the student is enrolled has a rating of “F” under Arkansas Code §§ 6-15-2105 and 6-15-2106; or
   3. (C) The parent, legal guardian, or student, if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, believes it is in the best interest of the student to transfer to a nonresident school district or nonresident school; and
2. (2) Except as provided in Subpart 4 of this part, a parent or guardian, or the student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, has notified both the resident and nonresident school districts, if applicable, of any request to transfer no earlier than January 1 and no later than June 1 of the school year before the school year in which the student intends to transfer.

(b) For each student enrolled in or assigned to a public school district that is classified by the state board as a public school district in need of Level 5 — Intensive support or a public school within the resident district that has a rating of “F,” the school district shall:

1. (1) Timely notify the parent or guardian, or the student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, as soon as practicable after the designation is made of the options available under Subpart 3 of this part; and
2. (2) Offer that person an opportunity to submit an application no earlier than January 1 and no later than June 1, except as provided in Subpart 4 of this part, to enroll the student in the upcoming school year in a nonresident school district or nonresident school.

(d)

1. (1)

   1. (A) Except as provided in Subpart 4 of this part, by July 1 of the school year in which the student seeks to enroll in a nonresident district, the nonresident district shall notify the applicant and the resident district in writing as to whether the application has been accepted or rejected.
   2. (B) If the applicant has applied to attend a school within the student’s resident district, the resident district shall notify the applicant in writing as to whether the student’s application has been accepted or rejected by July 1.
   3. (C) The notification shall be sent via first-class mail to the address on the application.
2. (2) If the application is accepted, the superintendent of the district in which the nonresident school is located shall state in the notification letter the deadline by which the student must enroll in the receiving school.
3. (3) If the application is rejected, the superintendent of the district in which the nonresident school is located shall state in the notification letter the specific reasons for the rejection.
4. (4) A school district shall not deny a student the ability to transfer to a nonresident school under this part unless there is a lack of capacity at the nonresident school.

5. (5)

   1. (A) A lack of capacity may be claimed by a school district only if the nonresident school has reached the maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, the Rules Governing Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and Public School Districts, 6 CAR pt. 61, or other applicable federal regulations.
   2. (B) For the purposes of this part, a school district may claim a lack of capacity if, as of the date the application for opportunity school choice is made, ninety-five percent (95%) or more of the seats at the grade level at the nonresident school are filled.

6. (6) A school district receiving transfers under this part shall not discriminate on the basis of:

   1. (A) Gender;
   2. (B) National origin;
   3. (C) Race;
   4. (D) Ethnicity;
   5. (E) Religion;
   6. (F) Disability; or
   7. (G) Residential address.
7. (7) An applicant may appeal a school district’s decision to deny a student admission to a school in the student’s school district of choice due to a lack of capacity to the state board by postmarking or delivering the appeal within ten (10) days after the applicant receives written notice from the district that admission has been denied.
8. (8) If any provision of this part conflicts with a federal desegregation court order applicable to a school district, the federal desegregation court order shall govern.

(e) For the purposes of continuity of educational choice, a transfer under this subpart shall:

1. (1) Operate as an irrevocable election for each subsequent entire school year; and

2. (2) Remain in force until:

   1. (A) The student completes high school; or
   2. (B) The parent or guardian, or student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older, timely makes application under a provision of law governing attendance in or transfer to another public school within the student’s resident school district or a nonresident school district.

(g)

1. (1) Students with disabilities who are eligible to receive services from the transferring school district under federal or state law, including students receiving additional funding through federal title programs specific to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, and who participate in the Arkansas Opportunity Public School Choice Act program, shall remain eligible to receive services from the receiving school district as provided by state or federal law.
2. (2) Any funding for the student shall be transferred to the school district to which the student transfers.

(h)

1. (1) The receiving public school or school district may transport students to and from the transferring public school or school district, and the cost of transporting students shall be the responsibility of the transferring public school or school district except as provided under subdivisions (h)(2) and (3) of this subsection.
2. (2) A transferring public school or school district shall not be required to spend more than four hundred dollars ($400) per student per school year for transportation required under this subsection.
3. (3) Upon the transferring public school district’s removal from classification as a public school district in need of Level 5 – Intensive support or the transferring public school’s receipt of a rating other than “F”, the transportation costs shall no longer be the responsibility of the transferring public school or school district, and the student’s transportation and the costs of transportation shall be the responsibility of the parent or guardian or of the receiving public school district if the receiving public school district agrees to bear the transportation costs.

(i)

1. (1) Unless excused by the school for illness or other good cause:

   1. (A) Any student participating in the opportunity public school choice option shall:

(i) Remain in attendance throughout the school year; and

1. (ii) Comply fully with the receiving school’s code of conduct; and

   1. (B) The parent or guardian of each student participating in the opportunity public school choice option shall comply fully with the receiving school’s parental involvement requirements.
2. (2) A participant who fails to comply with this section shall forfeit the opportunity school choice option.

(k) The receiving district or receiving school shall award a diploma to a student transferred under this part if the student meets the receiving district’s or public school’s graduation requirements.

1. (l) A district under the opportunity public school choice program shall request public service announcements to be made over the broadcast media and in the print media at such times and in such a manner as to inform parents or guardians of students in adjoining districts of the:
2. (1) Availability of the program;
3. (2) Application deadline; and

4. (3) Requirements and procedure for nonresident students to participate in the program.

   1. (m) A student who transfers to another public school or a nonresident school district under this subpart shall not be:
5. (1) Denied participation in an extracurricular activity at the public school or nonresident school district to which he or she transfers based exclusively on his or her decision to transfer to the public school or nonresident school district; or
6. (2) Disciplined in any manner based exclusively on the exercise of his or her right to transfer to another public school or a nonresident school district under this part.