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DESE seeks faster enforcement and new graduation requirements in proposed accreditation rules
Summary
The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education proposed changes to Arkansas accreditation rules including immediate notification of deficiencies, 15‑day cure/plan timelines, emergency waiver authority for the commissioner, posting school calendars by Aug. 1, and adding nonacademic graduation requirements such as personal finance, CPR and a digital course.
Agency officials from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education presented proposed revisions to the standards for accreditation and answered committee questions about enforcement timelines and monitoring changes.
Mary Claire Hyatt explained that the division’s monitoring tool will enable near‑real‑time notification of standard deficiencies and proposed shortening the period for curing or submitting a plan from 30 days to 15 days. "Within the 15 days, either fix it or submit a plan of how you're going to fix it," Hyatt said, while noting that some deficiencies (for example, a missing course) cannot be cured immediately and would require a documented plan.
Hyatt also described a proposed allowance for the commissioner to waive certain waiver‑timelines in emergency circumstances — such as statewide flooding or other natural disasters — allowing a district to request exceptions after the current April 20 deadline when warranted. She said the rules would not permit waivers that conflict with statutory requirements (for example, student performance or curriculum required by law).
The DESE presenters outlined several substantive appendix changes: publishing the State Board‑approved list of courses on the division’s website, clarifying that the 120 clock‑hour high‑school credit unit applies only to high school courses, requiring districts to post their school calendars by August 1, and incorporating recess and nutrition/wellness plan monitoring aligned with Acts passed in 2019. The rules also add three nonacademic graduation requirements (personal and family finance, CPR and a digital course) and update counseling language to reflect the school counseling law.
Committee members asked for clarification about appeal rights, waivers, which standards may be waived and how summative ratings and data will be used; DESE officials said the appeal process would begin immediately after notification and that some standards (student performance, curricular requirements established by law) are not waivable under the proposed language.
Next steps: DESE will take feedback from the committee and staff will track questions for consideration in the next review cycle.
