(a) The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas may petition the State Board of Education for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts to receive public charter school status under the Arkansas Quality Charter Schools Act of 2013, § 6-23-101 et seq.
(b) If the petition is granted, funding for the public charter school shall be made pursuant to an appropriation by the General Assembly for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts.