Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203 (2026)

Attendance in district other than district of residence

✓ current as of May 2026

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1. Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2) of this section, when any person owns a tract of land on which the person resides and which tract of land is located partially in one (1) school district and partially in another, the school-age children of that person shall attend school in the school district where the residence is located.
2. When a person owned an undivided tract of land on which that person domiciled for ten (10) or more years before August 13, 2001, and which undivided tract of land is located partially in one (1) school district and partially in another, the school-age children of that person, and those of his or her successors in title, shall be eligible to attend the school in either of the districts regardless of the location of the home on the property.
1. A child or ward of a person who before April 1, 2009, is at least a half-time employee of a public school district in this state or is a full-time employee of an education service cooperative and is a resident of another school district in this state may enroll in and attend school in:
  1. The school district in which the parent or guardian resides;
  2. The school district in which the parent or guardian is at least a half-time employee of that public school district; or
  3. Any school district located in the county where the main office of the education service cooperative is located.
2. A child or ward of a person who on or after April 1, 2009, is a full-time employee of a public school district or an educational service cooperative and is a resident of another school district in this state may enroll in and attend school in:
  1. The school district in which the parent or guardian resides;
  2. The school district in which the parent or guardian is a full-time employee of that public school district; or
  3. Any school district located in the county where the main office of the educational service cooperative is located.
3. 1. A student enrolled in kindergarten through grade eight (K-8) under subdivision (b)(1) or subdivision (b)(2) of this section shall be entitled to continue attending school in the enrolled school district, regardless of a change to the employment status of the parent or guardian, until the end of the school year if:
    1. The parent or guardian was employed by the school district or education service cooperative for a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) days before leaving employment; and
    2. The student maintains uninterrupted enrollment in the school district and is not expelled after the parent or guardian of the student is no longer employed by the school district or education service cooperative.
  2. A student enrolled in grade nine through twelve (9-12) under subdivision (b)(1) or subdivision (b)(2) of this section shall be entitled to continue attending school in the enrolled school district, regardless of change to the employment status of the parent or guardian, through the completion of the secondary program, if:
    1. The parent or guardian was employed by the school district or education service cooperative for a minimum of three (3) consecutive contract years, with a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) contract days each year, before leaving employment; and
    2. The student maintains uninterrupted enrollment in the school district and is not expelled after the parent or guardian of the student is no longer employed by the school district or education service cooperative.
4. A nonenrolled sibling of a student who attends a nonresident school district under this subsection shall have no right to future enrollment based on the privilege of enrollment extended to his or her sibling if the parent or guardian is no longer a full-time employee of the school district or education service cooperative.
5. 1. 1. The General Assembly recognizes and embraces the responsibility of the state to promote desegregation of its schools and finds that this enactment affects such a limited class of students that desegregation will not be impeded.
    2. If, however, unforeseen circumstances result in a finding by a court that a school district is unlawfully segregated in whole or in part as a result of these provisions, the provisions in this subsection shall not apply to the children or wards of teachers in that district.
  2. Therefore, the provisions in this subsection shall not apply to the children or wards of those teachers who reside in school districts that may hereafter be found by a court to be unlawfully segregated if the finding is based upon segregation that was caused in whole or in part by the effects of these provisions.
When any employee of the Division of Correction lives on division property or will live on division property as the result of a transfer from a unit of the division to another unit, the children or wards of the employee may complete their education in the school district in which they are enrolled at the time the parent or guardian is transferred.
Any child and that child's sibling or siblings currently attending a nonresident school under subsection (a) of this section shall be allowed to complete all remaining school years at the nonresident district or may attend the resident district if he or she so chooses.
1. When a parent or guardian who while on active duty in or serving in the reserve component of a branch of the United States Armed Forces or National Guard relocates within the state due to a mobilization, deployment, or available military housing, the children of the parent or guardian may:
  1. Continue attending school in the school district the children were attending before the relocation; or
  2. Attend school in the school district where the children have relocated.
2. A child enrolled in a school district under this subsection may complete all remaining school years at the enrolled school district, regardless of mobilization, deployment, or military status of the parent or guardian.

History. Acts 1983, No. 822, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 80-1568; Acts 1987, No. 624, § 1; 1991, No. 915, § 1; 1993, No. 1105, § 1; 1995, No. 726, § 1; 1997, No. 1304, § 1; 1999, No. 947, § 1; 2001, No. 1207, § 1; 2003, No. 144, § 1; 2007, No. 379, § 1; 2007, No. 617, § 12; 2009, No. 1368, § 1; 2011, No. 981, § 7; 2017, No. 1065, § 1; 2019, No. 910, § 684.

Amendments. The 2009 amendment rewrote (b).

The 2011 amendment substituted “that public school district” for “a public school” in (b)(1)(B); substituted “is a full-time employee of a public school district” for “is at least a full-time employee of a public school in one (1) school district” in the introductory paragraph of (b)(2); and substituted “that public school district” for “the public school” in (b)(2)(B).

The 2017 amendment added (e).

The 2019 amendment, in (c), substituted “Division of Correction” for “Department of Correction”, and “division” for “department” three times.

Research References

U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.

Survey of Legislation, 2003 Arkansas General Assembly, Education Law, School Attendance, 26 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 392.

Case Notes

Constitutionality.

Subsection (b) permitting children or wards to enroll in either their home school district or the district where their parents or guardians teach rests upon a rational basis and is not unconstitutional under Ark. Const., Art. 2, § 18, concerning equality in privileges and immunities. That which might facilitate a teacher's transportation of his children, or enables them to be nearer to the teacher, or to each other, during school hours, may well be deemed useful in an alleviating problems which might otherwise distract a teacher, or necessitate his withdrawal from active teaching. Love v. Hill, 297 Ark. 96, 759 S.W.2d 550 (1988).

In General.

The making of a choice created by this section does not result in a “transfer” as contemplated by § 6-18-317; the prohibition of § 6-18-317 is against “legal transfers,” dealt with generally in former § 6-18-306, which provides for petitioning to attend school in a nonresident district, requiring the approval of both the sending and the receiving district. The legislature did not use the term “legal transfer” in subsection (b) of this section but referred to “enrolling” in the district where the parent teaches; there is no suggestion in the latter statute that the legislature intended this process to be comparable to “legal transfer;” therefore, these statutes are not irreconcilable. Love v. Hill, 297 Ark. 96, 759 S.W.2d 550 (1988).

Cited: Davis v. Holt, 304 Ark. 619, 804 S.W.2d 362 (1991).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1988–2012 · leading case: Love v. Hill, 759 S.W.2d 550 (Ark. 1988).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Love v. Hill, 759 S.W.2d 550 (Ark. 1988). · cites it 7× “Appellants argue that Act 624, codified as Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203 (b) (Supp. 1987), is unconstitutional in that it violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution and is a grant of privileges to one class of citizens not equally belonging to all…”

Davis v. Holt, 804 S.W.2d 362 (Ark. 1991). · cites it 2× “” Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203 (Supp. 1989). In 1989, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 242 which became effective July 3, 1989.”

Teague ex rel. T.T. v. Arkansas Bd. of Educ., 873 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (W.D. Ark. 2012). · cites it 4× “See Ark.Code Ann. § 6-18-203(5), § 6-18-317. Finally, some of the state’s lawmakers themselves have determined that the limitation in Ark.”

— Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203(5) — 1 case

Teague ex rel. T.T. v. Arkansas Bd. of Educ., 873 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (W.D. Ark. 2012). “See Ark.Code Ann. § 6-18-203(5), § 6-18-317. Finally, some of the state’s lawmakers themselves have determined that the limitation in Ark.”

— Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203(b) — 1 case

Love v. Hill, 759 S.W.2d 550 (Ark. 1988). “Appellants argue that Act 624, codified as Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203 (b) (Supp. 1987), is unconstitutional in that it violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution and is a grant of privileges to one class of citizens not equally belonging to all…”

— Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-203(b)(l) — 1 case

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