2019 Arkansas Code
Title 6 - Education
Subtitle 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education Generally
Chapter 18 - Students
Subchapter 5 - Discipline
§ 6-18-503. Written Student Discipline Policies Required - Definition
(a)
(1)
(A) Each school district in this state shall develop written student discipline policies in compliance with the rules established by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and shall file the policies with the division.
(B) The rules required under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section may include minimum standards of quality, experimentation with innovative programs, and a system to judge the effectiveness of the program.
(C) The discipline policy required under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section shall include provisions for:
(i) Placement of a student with disciplinary, socially dysfunctional, or behavioral problems not associated with a physical or mental impairment or disability in an alternative learning environment provided by the district; and
(ii) Procedures for responding to reports received through the school safety and crisis line under § 6-18-111.
(2) Behavioral problems include being at risk of not satisfactorily completing a high school education.
(b)
(1) A school district that authorizes use of corporal punishment in its discipline policy shall include provisions for administration of the punishment, including that it be administered only for cause, be reasonable, follow warnings that the misbehavior will not be tolerated, and be administered by a teacher or school administrator and only in the presence of a school administrator or his or her designee, who shall be a teacher or school administrator employed by the school district.
(2) As used in this subchapter, “teacher or school administrator” means:
(A) A person employed by a school district and required to hold a valid Arkansas standard teaching license, an ancillary license, a provisional license, a technical permit, or an administrator's license issued by the State Board of Education; and
(B) An unlicensed classroom teacher or administrator employed in a position under a waiver from licensure.
(3) A school district that authorizes use of corporal punishment under subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall not:
(A) Use corporal punishment on a child who is intellectually disabled, nonambulatory, nonverbal, or autistic; or
(B) Include in its written student discipline policy a provision to allow the use of corporal punishment on a child who is intellectually disabled, nonambulatory, nonverbal, or autistic.
(c)
(1) A school district shall include in its student discipline policies a provision prohibiting students from wearing, while on the grounds of a public school during the regular school day and at school-sponsored activities and events, clothing that exposes underwear, buttocks, or the breast of a female.
(2) Subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall not apply to a costume or uniform worn by a student while participating in a school-sponsored activity or event.
(3) A school district shall specify in its student discipline policies the disciplinary actions that will be taken against a student for a violation of subdivision (c)(1) of this section.
(4) Subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall not be enforced in a manner that discriminates against a student on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, sex, disability, or national origin.
(d) Any amendments or revisions to a school district's student discipline policies shall be developed and adopted in the same manner as the original policies required by § 6-18-502 and shall be consistent with the rules established by the division.
(e) Any amendment or revision to the student discipline policies adopted by a school district shall be submitted to the division within thirty (30) days after the adoption of such amendment or revision.
