Section 6-28-102 - Legislative findingsThe General Assembly finds that:
(1) Maintaining a positive education trajectory is challenging for children of uniformed services families due to their parents' frequent reassignments and deployments, which interrupt academic progress, social growth, and achievement;(2) Ensuring a quality, effective education for their children is the top concern of military families, which translates to a personnel readiness issue for the uniformed services when service members elect to separate to ensure education stability for their children;(3) Countering disruptions adversely impacting successful school transitions is best led by advance notice of a child of a military family's pending transition, swift transfer of education records, well-trained school administrators assessing those records, and the collaborative building of an effective future curriculum plan with military service families;(4) Consistent application of qualification and eligibility guidelines provide the basis for a child of a military family's effective educational experience;(5) Advanced access to interscholastic and club sports and other extracurricular activities is essential to social development and reinforcing a welcoming reception at new schools;(6) The uniform collection and sharing of information regarding the numbers of children of military families transitioning helps decision makers craft programs and make the well-informed decisions that bolster broad education success for children of military families;(7) Cooperation and informed collaboration among the educational system, parents and legal guardians, and children of military families are essential to the academic success of a child of a military family;(8) Coordination of state and public school district efforts to serve the purposes and carry out the obligations of this chapter is best met through a consolidated state coordinating body to orchestrate collaborative efforts of the state, public school districts, installation commands, and military service families;(9) Arkansas is recognized for its establishment and exercise of local programs that facilitate successful school transfers on behalf of children of military families that provide public school districts with the resources, methodologies, and personnel training to support effective transitions by all children of military families;(10) Consolidating guidance and administration of programs established by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and public school districts ensures smooth transitions for children of military families; and(11) To best meet the needs of children of military families requires periodic needs assessment across the state and the potential modification, expansion, or extension of programs.Added by Act 2021, No. 1031,§ 2, eff. 7/28/2021.