Are Arkansas fifth-grade, sixth-grade, and 'encore' art and music teachers, whose class roster changes through the day, entitled to the same per-teacher classroom funding their grade-level colleagues receive?

Plain-English summary

Representative Greg Leding asked whether fifth-grade, sixth-grade, and "encore" art-and-music teachers, whose class rosters change throughout the day, were entitled to the same $500 classroom-supply funding that other pre-K through sixth-grade teachers got. The school district's chief financial officer had concluded that because these teachers do not have the same students for at least 50 percent of the day, they were not eligible.

The Attorney General read the statute the other way. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b), every school district had to provide, to every pre-K through sixth-grade teacher, the greater of two figures: either $20 per student enrolled in that teacher's class for more than 50 percent of the school day (measured at the end of the first three months of the year), or a flat $500 to spend on classroom supplies. The statute's key word was "or." It set up alternatives, not a single test with a precondition.

The CFO's argument treated the 50-percent enrollment criterion as a gateway for both funding amounts. That reading collapsed the alternatives and was, in the AG's view, antithetical to the plain language. If a teacher could not qualify under the $20-per-student formula because the class population rotated, the teacher still qualified for the flat $500.

The answer was the same for the second question. If the class as a whole stays the same size but the individual students rotate in and out, the per-student count under (b)(1)(A)(i) might not produce a result, but the flat $500 amount under (b)(1)(A)(ii) still applies.

The statute also imposed corresponding obligations on teachers and districts: teachers had to provide receipts documenting purchases, and districts had to adopt reasonable procedures for teachers to draw from or be reimbursed from the discretionary fund. The Department of Education could waive the requirement if a district was in fiscal distress.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What does the classroom-funding statute actually say?

Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A) directed each school district, according to its established reimbursement policy, to provide each pre-K through sixth-grade teacher, each fiscal year, the greater of: (i) $20 per student enrolled in the teacher's class for more than 50 percent of the school day at the end of the first three months of the school year, or (ii) $500 for the teacher to apply toward the purchase of related commodities.

Why did the CFO read it differently?

The CFO appeared to treat the 50-percent enrollment threshold as a precondition for any funding, so that a teacher who never had the same students for 50 percent of the day could not qualify for the $20-per-student amount and therefore could not qualify for the flat $500 either. The AG disagreed, observing that the statute uses "or" to set alternatives. The flat $500 is its own alternative, with no enrollment precondition.

What is an "encore" teacher?

In Arkansas elementary schools at the time, "encore" usually referred to art, music, and similar specialty teachers who taught short classes to multiple groups of students through the day. Their class composition rotated by design. The opinion read the statute to cover them on the same footing as other pre-K through sixth-grade teachers.

Did this opinion change funding levels?

No. AG opinions are advisory. The opinion told districts and the Department of Education how the AG read § 6-21-303(b). A district that disagreed could still take a different position; the opinion's effect would be persuasive in any dispute.

What if a district was in fiscal distress?

Section 6-21-303(c) let the Department of Education waive the classroom funding requirement for a district in fiscal distress. The opinion flagged this without saying it applied to the asking district.

Were teachers required to do anything to get the $500?

Yes. Section 6-21-303(b)(1)(B) required teachers to provide their districts with receipts documenting their purchases. Section 6-21-303(b)(2) required districts to adopt reasonable procedures for teachers to draw from or be reimbursed from the discretionary fund.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion construed Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b) (Repl. 2013), the provision governing per-teacher classroom-supply funding in Arkansas public schools. The key operative language was the "greater of" formulation in (b)(1)(A), which the AG read as alternative funding amounts rather than a single test with a precondition. Subsection (b)(1)(B) imposed the receipt requirement on teachers; (b)(2) imposed the procedural-adoption requirement on districts; and (c) provided a fiscal-distress waiver.

The opinion did not rely on Arkansas Supreme Court case law to reach its conclusion. It treated the statute as clear and unambiguous and applied the ordinary meaning of "or" as a disjunctive connector.

Citations

• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b) (Repl. 2013)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A)(i)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A)(ii)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(B)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(2)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(c)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2015-073
August 6, 2015

The Honorable Greg Leding
State Representative
P.O. Box 1445

STATE OF ARKANSAS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE

Fayetteville, AR 72702-1445

Dear Representative Leding:

This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding classroom funding for fifth- and sixth-grade and "encore" teachers pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b) (Repl. 2013). As background for your request, you relay that the chief financial officer for a school district "says that because 5th, 6th, and encore teachers (those who teach art and music) do not have the same students 50 percent of the day, they are not eligible for $500 in classroom funding that is typically provided to teachers."

You further explain that it is your understanding that "these teachers do have the same level of students throughout the day, but that the class membership changes throughout the day. It is because of the changing population of students that the CFO is arguing these teachers are not eligible for the $500 in classroom funding."

With this background in mind, you ask the following questions:

1. Concerning classroom funding that is typically provided to teachers, where teachers, particularly 5th, 6th and encore teachers of art and music, do not have the same students 50% of the day, are these teachers eligible for the $500 in classroom funding for which their colleagues, who do not have a similar changing of population, are eligible?

2. Where this same group of teachers has the same level of students throughout the day, but the class membership changes throughout the day, would the teachers be eligible for the $500 in classroom funding?

RESPONSE

The answer to both of your questions is "yes," in my opinion. The Arkansas Code is clear and unambiguous on this point:

Each school district, according to its established reimbursement policy, shall provide to each prekindergarten through sixth grade teacher in each fiscal year for use by that teacher in his or her classroom or for class activities the greater of
(i) Twenty dollars ($20.00) per student enrolled in the teacher's class for more than fifty percent (50%) of the school day at the end of the first three months of the school year; or
(ii) Five hundred dollars ($500) for the teacher to apply toward the purchase of related commodities.

We can see from the emphasized words above that every school district is required to provide the classroom funding for every prekindergarten (pre-K) through sixth-grade teacher. The question remaining is how much each teacher is allowed.

As the law quoted above makes clear, each pre-K through sixth-grade teacher is allowed one of two funding amounts: either 1) $20 per student who is enrolled in that teacher's class for more than 50% of the day for the first three months of the school year; or, 2) $500, whichever amount is greater. The key word here is "or," a conjunction used to represent alternatives — either one or the other.

I understand that one might argue that the condition necessary for the former funding amount to apply — having students enrolled in a teacher's class for more than 50% of the day — is also a necessary condition for the latter funding amount to apply. In my opinion, though, that is antithetical to the plain language of the statute. Thus, in my opinion, if a pre-K through sixth-grade teacher does not qualify for classroom funding under the funding formula in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A)(i) because of changing student populations during the day, then that teacher is entitled to the flat $500 classroom funding pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b)(1)(A)(ii).

Assistant Attorney General Ray Pierce prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.

Sincerely,

LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
LR/RP:cyh