The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday gave final approval to four open-enrollment charter schools to begin in 2022 and 2023 — three in Pulaski County and one in Fort Smith.
The newly approved schools are:
• Premier High School of Fort Smith, which will open in 2022-23.
• IDEA Public Schools Arkansas, which has applied to establish two campuses within the borders of the Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts in the 2023-24 school year.
• Arkansas Military and First Responders Academy, a school for grades 9-12 likely to operate within the Pulaski County Special district, starting in 2022-23.
Each of the plans was approved by the state Charter Authorizing Panel last month. The Education Board has the authority to conduct its own hearing on charter school applications but voted 7-0 Thursday to not review the panel decisions on Premier and IDEA. After one question from an Education Board member about the anticipated enrollment of female students at the Arkansas Military academy, the board approved the plan with another 7-0 vote.
Specific addresses for the planned schools have not been selected and announced.
No representatives from school districts in which the schools will be located spoke against the plans on Thursday prior to the Education Board vote.
Twelve open-enrollment charter systems operate in Pulaski County, not counting statewide virtual academies and a charter school for adults that does not receive state school funding. Several of the 12 systems include multiple campuses. Open-enrollment charter schools are operated by nonprofit organizations other than traditional public school districts.