Six Arkansas families will address the Board of Education on Monday to request that children be transferred out of their home school districts.
The appeals are being made by parents in the Forrest City School District, whose arguments will be heard as part of the Arkansas Public School Choice Act. The legislation, signed into law in late April, allows students to transfer out of residential school districts, but education systems may deny requests if acceptance requires a physical expansion or hiring of additional faculty.
The Forrest City School District claims it is exempt from the legislation due to its involvement in a 1969 desegregation case, which allegedly allowed students to chose their place of education among racially identifiable schools. But parents in the lawsuit say the cited case is irrelevant to the wishes of those students wishing to transfer.
Attorneys say the district notified the Education Department of the exemption after the April 1 deadline, which has led officials to believe it can no longer opt out of the law for the 2013-2014 school year.
