Little Rock School District — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
73 / 106
68.9%
Base Score
66 / 96
Extra Credit
7 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 2 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 1 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 7 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (24)
- 1.2 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mentorship programs for culturally diverse staff — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of a mentorship program specifically targeting culturally/racially diverse staff; general mentoring exists (e.g., UA Little Rock Trojan Teacher Residency, LEADS pipeline) but none is specifically framed around staff diversity.
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found showing regular feedback or measurement of cultural-competency training effectiveness.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of a specific implicit-bias training program for LRSD staff.
- 7.1 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Ongoing anti-bias/equity training — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of an ongoing, mandatory district-wide anti-bias/equity training series for staff.
- 7.2 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Workshops on culturally responsive teaching — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found of specific workshops on culturally responsive teaching for LRSD staff.
- 7.4 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Participation in equity-focused conferences — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found regarding staff participation in equity-focused external conferences.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation specific to LRSD was found describing dedicated mindfulness or sensory calming spaces district-wide.
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found indicating students themselves facilitate restorative circles/conferences (these appear to be led by adult behavioral specialists via the Tendaji partnership).
- EC5 [Extra Credit]: Describe additional policy… — Currently: Not rated (0/2 pts). No rationale recorded.
- 1.1 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mandatory cultural competency training for all staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Staff are expected to "understand and respect the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of students and families" per the handbook, and hiring postings list "sensitivity to cultural differences" as a job criterion, but no evidence of a mandatory, district-wide cultural competency training curriculum was found (https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/... Handbook-2025; https:…
- 1.3 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Culturally relevant PD resources in staff learning — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The handbook states staff have the right to "participate in engaging, timely, and supportive professional learning opportunities" and "equitable access to resources," suggesting general PD infrastructure, but no specific culturally-relevant PD library/resource set was identified.
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The handbook calls for rules to be "applied fairly and consistently" and the PTAS requires training evaluators and administrators in observation techniques that enable them to identify and describe teaching behavior, but no explicit staff training specifically on consistent discipline application was confirmed district-wide.
- 3.2 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Staff training in restorative practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Tendaji provides restorative-practice training as part of its contracted services, but this is delivered through a third-party partner in a subset of schools currently partnered with the Little Rock School District (LRSD) with seven schools utilizing this program rather than as a mandatory district-wide staff training.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Tendaji provides digital social-emotional learning tutorials, on-site peer mediation and "restorative circles" in partner schools, and the handbook embeds restorative philosophy, but a district-wide conflict-resolution curriculum was not confirmed.
- 3.4 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Peer mediation program — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Peer mediation is provided as part of the Tendaji partnership, which pays it almost $1.5 million between 2023 and 2025 alone to provide digital social-emotional learning tutorials, on-site peer mediation and "restorative circles," among other services, but this is limited to a subset of partner schools rather than confirmed as a universal district-wide program.
- 4.2 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Processes to review discipline data for disparities — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State data systems make discipline data available by race/school, and past ADE stakeholder meetings specifically discussed that black students were disciplined more than other races at Little Rock School District ... mirror[ing] national trends, but no current, ongoing formal district review process for disparities was confirmed.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). LRSD job postings list ability to teach to differences and sensitivity to cultural differences as a hiring criterion, suggesting some degree of cultural-competence screening, though not a formalized structured hiring rubric.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Staff have a stated right to participate in engaging, timely, and supportive professional learning opportunities that increase skills and knowledge in strategies that increase student achievement and social and emotional growth, and equitable access to resources, but no dedicated PD specifically on integrating diverse perspectives was confirmed.
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Educators selected for the district's new leadership program were chosen partly based on their leadership potential, commitment to equity, willingness to grow, and proven impact on student and adult outcomes, suggesting equity is embedded in some PD/leadership programming, though not confirmed as a standing agenda item in regular staff meetings.
- 8.3 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Trauma-informed staff training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The state provides trauma-informed SEL guidance districts are expected to use, and LRSD leadership has stated "We are a restorative district. We have not gotten away from the desire to restore students," per "We are a restorative district. We have not gotten away from the desire to restore students," said Frederick Fields, LRSD's Student/Family Services Senior Director, but a specific mandatory t…
- 9.2 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Regular audits of discipline practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Arkansas requires periodic special-education discipline data reviews (Cycle 7 Review) that include LRSD, but no evidence of a comprehensive, standalone district audit of discipline practices beyond state-mandated compliance reviews was found.
- 10.4 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student-led peer education — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The student association's stated mission to "amplify" and "empower" student voices suggests some peer-leadership activity, but no specific student-led peer-education curriculum or program was confirmed.
- 12.1 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Standing committee/task force for discipline equity — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The district convened a community task force ... developing recommendations for changes to the Little Rock School District, including possible school consolidations or closures and has a standing Personnel Policy Committee, but no dedicated standing committee specifically focused on discipline equity was confirmed.
- EC4 [Extra Credit]: LRSD Forward multi-year redesign process featuring numerous in-person/virtual community forums specifically to shape the FY28 short-term redesign plan. — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Reflects a sustained, current, large-scale community-engagement effort tied directly to district restructuring decisions, per Join us at one of our upcoming LRSD Forward Community Meetings to learn more about the FY28 Short-Term Redesign Plan ... hosting meetings throughout September at locations across Li…