As mandated by Arkansas Code Annotated §6-15-202 (as amended by Act 1684 of 2005), the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) will conduct an On-campus Standards Review (OSR) of each school district no less than one (1) time every four (4) years. ADE may visit any school campus for an OSR at other times as determined necessary by the Commissioner of Education or the State Board of Education.
Monitoring reviews for the 2005-2006 school year will occur between October 2005 and March 2006. The 2005-2006 OSR will begin with some of those districts monitored between the fall of 2003 and spring of 2004. In addition, the schedule is based upon annexations and/or consolidations that occurred prior to the scheduled 2004-2005 monitoring cycle. Please refer to the attachment indicating the school year in which school districts are scheduled for the four (4) year monitoring. Team leaders from the Standards Assurance Unit (SAU) will contact district superintendents by telephone in advance of the OSR to outline the monitoring review procedures and to confirm date and time. Following contact, the team leader will send the superintendent a packet with details to assist districts and school officials in preparing for the monitoring review. A Commissioner’s Memo regarding a videoconference on the OSR visit is forthcoming.
An OSR Checklist (see attachment) will be used during the monitoring review. For each item on the checklist that has not been shaded, support documentation should be prepared by the district for the OSR team. Checklist documentation for review should be organized by item number to facilitate the monitoring review process. An administrative staff member or other licensed district personnel familiar with the process must be available for questions during OSR. For shaded items, it is not necessary to prepare folders for review during the on-campus monitoring. Shaded items have been placed on the checklist as a technical assistance tool to assist districts in maintaining compliance with these areas. These items are monitored by ADE sections (including but not limited to Equity, Gifted/Talented Education, Special Education) and/or are included on the Cycle 2 Statement of Assurance.
Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated §6-15-206, districts in which schools receive a final accreditation status of accredited-probationary may be reviewed at an interval more frequently than once every four (4) years. Arkansas Code Annotated §6-15-206 and Arkansas Department of Education Standards for Accreditation Rule 23.03 require ADE to annually review all reports and investigate suspected deficiencies in meeting standards. Each year ADE shall make a random OSR to a select number of school districts and review those schools for compliance with the standards. The SAU or ADE shall notify all school districts and schools not meeting the Standards for Accreditation of deficiencies by May 15 of each year. In the year of the OSR, the assignment of the annual accreditation status will result from the Cycle 2 data submission and the OSR.