(a) The House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education shall conduct biennially a study of the Succeed Scholarship Program under this subchapter to determine the following information without limitation:
(1) The number of students currently participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program;
(2) The number of students currently participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program who attended a traditional public school before receiving a Succeed Scholarship;
(3) The number of students currently participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program who did not attend a traditional public school before enrolling in a private school upon receipt of a Succeed Scholarship;
(4) The number of students who have been dismissed from the Succeed Scholarship Program by a private school that is receiving funds through the Succeed Scholarship Program;
(5) The number of students who attended a private school with a Succeed Scholarship and voluntarily returned to a traditional public school;
(6) The number of children in foster care who have entered the Succeed Scholarship Program, have been dismissed from the Succeed Scholarship Program, or have been removed from the Succeed Scholarship Program by the Department of Human Services;
(7) The number of private schools receiving Succeed Scholarship funds that are currently accredited by the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association, Inc., its successor, or another accrediting association recognized by the State Board of Education;
(8) The number of private schools receiving Succeed Scholarship funds that are currently unaccredited but have applied for accreditation to the Arkansas Nonpublic Accrediting Association, Inc., its successor, or another accrediting association recognized by the state board, and where those schools are in the accreditation process;
(9) The number of students who are enrolled in the Succeed Scholarship Program and who have taken a nationally recognized norm-referenced test and received the test results;
(10) The number of students with individualized education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., who are enrolled in the Succeed Scholarship Program and have been exempted from standardized testing requirements under § 6-41-903; and
(11) The number of student portfolios that have been developed for exempt students and a general summary of the information contained in the student portfolios as required under § 6-41-903.
(b) In addition to the above information, the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education shall:
(1) Review norm-referenced test results and student portfolios; and
(2) Provide comparative data regarding student performance in the Succeed Scholarship Program.
(c) The House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education shall compile a final report that includes the findings under subsections (a) and (b) of this section on a biennial basis, with the first report due on March 1, 2020.
Structure Arkansas Code
Subtitle 3 - Special Educational Programs
Chapter 41 - Children with Disabilities
Subchapter 9 - Succeed Scholarship Program
§ 6-41-901. Definitions — Establishment — Intent
§ 6-41-902. Student eligibility
§ 6-41-903. Private school eligibility
§ 6-41-904. Responsibilities of scholarship recipients
§ 6-41-905. Scholarship payments — Funding