1. (a) Public school districts desiring to participate in the Arkansas Alternative Pay Program must submit an application to the State Board of Education.
2. (b) The program may be for licensed employees, classified employees, or both employee groups, and all eligible employees may participate in the program.
3. (c) A program may be implemented on a districtwide or on a school-by-school basis.

4. (d)

   1. (1) Alternative Plan Committee and collaborative efforts are required for consideration.

   2. (2) Evidence of collaborative efforts among the participating:

      1. (A) School board;
      2. (B) Administrators;
      3. (C) Teachers;
      4. (D) Classified employees;
      5. (E) Association representatives; and
      6. (F) Parents of children attending the school district.
   3. (3) A committee shall be established from the groups in subdivision (d)(2) of this section with fifty percent (50%) of the committee being composed of teachers.
   4. (4) The committee members shall be selected by the respective groups that they represent.
   5. (5) The program is a personnel policy and shall be promulgated in accordance with Arkansas Code §§ 6-17-201 et seq. and 6-17-2301 et seq. except to the extent that those personnel policies are negotiated in any school district that recognizes an organization representing a majority of teachers.

   6. (6)

      1. (A) Show-of-interest resolution that states at least seventy percent (70%) of the employees are interested.
      2. (B) Another percentage may be established with approval by a majority vote of the teachers and the local school board.
   7. (7) The committee shall be charged with the design, implementation, and evaluation of the program.

5. (e) Objective criteria that shall be considered in all plans are:

   1. (1) Measurable indicators of student achievement;

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Percent of alternative pay that is related to the annual increases in student test scores.
      2. (B) No more than fifty percent (50%) of the program’s eligibility requirements for alternative pay is allowed to be based on an individual teacher’s students’ test scores;
   3. (3) There is a clear system of payment that is not arbitrary;
   4. (4) The alternative pay shall be at least ten percent (10%) of the salary and payable in one (1) year based upon one (1) contract year;
   5. (5) There is an established and ongoing support system for the participants with both financial and administrative resources to implement the program;
   6. (6) The program is aligned to the school’s/district’s Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Plan;
   7. (7) The plan is a part of a larger set of reforms; and

   8. (8)

      1. (A) At least fifty-one percent (51%) of each employee group listed in subdivision (d)(2) of this section must elect to participate to implement any plan for that employee group.
      2. (B) This is with the understanding that individual employees have the right to choose not to participate in the plan for that group.

Codification Notes: Arkansas Code § 6-17-119 was repealed by Acts 2021, No. 544, § 27.