Act 1590 was enacted during the 2007 regular session. This law sets up procedures for districts to use if they wish to apply for approval during the 2007-2008 school year to use the current year excess National School Lunch Act (NSLA) funds to provide a non-recurring bonus to the classroom teachers or to supplement the teacher salary schedule.
The Rules Governing the Distribution of Student Special Needs Funding were approved by the State Board of Education in September 2007 and have been reviewed by the Legislature. The rules establish the specific procedures to be followed by districts in applying for the allowed NSLA flexibility.
Therefore, superintendents who intend to apply for the NSLA flexibility during the 2007-2008 school year are being asked to write a letter to Dr. Kenneth James, Commissioner of Education, requesting to use the NSLA flexibility. The list of information which must be provided either in the district’s Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (ACSIP) Plan or as an addendum attachment is attached to this letter. If the superintendent has already submitted the district’s ACSIP Plan and included all of the required information, the superintendent still needs to write a letter to Commissioner James so the Commissioner will know the districts which will be seeking approval for accessing the NSLA flexibility. In addition, if the superintendent did not provide all the requested information, then the required information must be submitted as an attachment to the ACSIP Plan. If the district has already submitted the ASCIP Plan, the district should make copies of the required information from the ACSIP Plan and attach to the letter requesting NSLA flexibility. If all the information were not provided in the ACSIP, then the additional information should also be attached to the letter of request. The list of the required information is attached to this Commissioner’s Memorandum.
The letter to the Commissioner, along with the required information, is to be sent by November 16, 2007.
Districts by rule have until March 31, 2008, to make this decision. But approval is tied to distribution of funds through the ACSIP Plan; so districts need to respond as soon as possible with the letter of request.
If a district has questions regarding the procedures, please contact Dr. Bobbie Davis, at 501-682-1297 for further information.