Teacher and Administrator Recruitment and Retention

Act 646 of the 2021 regular session amended Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-1901 and § 6-17-1902 and added § 6-17-1903. The law, as amended, requires that all public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools create and post to its website a three-year Teacher and Administrator Recruitment and Retention Plan by August 1, 2022. The plan must be updated annually and include all of the requirements set forth in § 6-17-1902(c), including without limitation:

The goals set by the school district or open-enrollment public charter school for recruiting and retaining teachers and administrators of minority races and ethnicities who increase diversity among the district staff and, at a minimum, reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the district’s students;
The steps the district or school has taken and will take to meet its goals and the progress in meeting each of the goals; and
The steps the school district or school will take to students to pursue a career in education, with an emphasis on students of minority races and ethnicities.

Prior to the amendments listed above, the law required plans to be applicable to the next ten (10) years and include the requirements set forth in § 6-17-1901(d), prior to its amendment, including without limitation:

The progress of the school district in recruiting minority teachers and administrators;
Developing an employee composition that reflects racial and ethnic diversity; and
The steps of the school district to encourage minority students to pursue a career in education.

In order to be in compliance for the 2021-2022 school year, each school district and charter school with more than 5% minority students must complete and submit electronically the Minority Teacher and Administrator Recruitment signature page and either a 10-year plan matching the previous requirements or a 3-year plan matching the new requirements, no later than October 15, 2021, to ade.equityassistance@ade.arkansas.gov.

School districts and charter schools with a minority student composition of 5% or less must only submit the signature page with the box marked stating that the district or charter school’s minority student composition is 5% or less. However, we encourage schools with a minority student composition of 5% or less to submit a draft plan that matches the new requirements to the EAC for feedback and guidance.

Resources for schools:

To understand minority recruitment planning obligations under § 6-17-1901, et seq., and to review targeted recruitment strategies, view the presentation Keeping Up with the Kids: Increasing Minority Teacher and Administrator Representation (Video). The presentation shares targeted minority recruitment strategies in the following areas:

Posting and partnering in non-conventional ways
Seeking out non-conventional talent pools and supporting them in the application process
Identifying strategies that address the barriers of targeted individuals
Promoting attributes that appeal to targeted individuals

A planning tool created by the EAC to help districts create their plan. Use of this tool is not required.