School choice law under the microscope

The Northwest Arkansas Times reports on West Fork School District's denial of most of the 75 transfer requests it received from Greenland School District students due to a race clause in the school choice regulations. Greenland closed the 90-student Winslow Elementary School after the 2006-2007 school year ended, prompting many parents to request a school choice transfer.

Under current law, a district cannot admit students under school choice if it has a higher percentage of students from that race than the students’ home district. However, Rep. Janet Johnson pushed through a revision to school choice this year (Act 552 of 2007) that would allow West Fork to admit the students, but it won't affect these specific requests until the following school year.