The Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has expanded the maximum number Alternative Method of Instruction days available to school districts this year from five days to 10.
The state has also reopened the application period for districts that didn't previously submit an alternative instruction plan.
The Alternative Method of Instruction rule changes — contained in a commissioner's memo to districts this week — are in recognition of the potential for coronavirus COVID-19 to cause a school district to close as a way to stem the spread of the respiratory ailment. The Alternative Method of Instruction plans enable students and faculty to do school work at home on days when schools are closed, without having to make up the days on school holidays or at the end of the school year.