005.28.20 Ark. Code R. § 004 Dese Rules Governing Student Discipline and School Safety

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.20 Ark. Code R. § 004

ARKANSAS DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION RULES GOVERNING STUDENT DISCIPLINE AND SCHOOL SAFETY

1.00 TITLE

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (Division) Rules Governing Student Discipline and School Safety.

2.00 REGULATORY AUTHORITY

2.01 The State Board of Education enacts these rules pursuant to its authority as set forth in Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6undefined6-11-105, 6undefined6-18-501 et seq., 6undefined6-16-1406, and 25undefined25-15-201 et seq., and Acts 557, 640, 709, and 1029 of 2019.

3.00 PURPOSE

3.01 These rules are designed to assist local school districts with the development, review and revision of student discipline and school safety policies.

4.00 DEFINITIONS

4.01 "Attribute" means an actual or perceived personal characteristic including without limitation race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, socioeconomic status, academic status, disability, gender, gender identity, physical appearance, health condition, or sexual orientation.

4.02 "Bullying" means the intentional harassment, intimidation, humiliation, ridicule, defamation, or threat or incitement of violence by a student against another student or public school employee by a written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that may address an attribute of the other student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated and that causes or creates actual or reasonably foreseeable:

4.02.1 Physical harm to a public school employee or student or damage to the public school employee's or student's property;

4.02.2 Substantial interference with a student's education or with a public school employee's role in education;

4.02.3 A hostile educational environment for one (1) or more student or public school employees due to the severity, persistence, or pervasiveness of the act; or

4.02.4 Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school or educational environment; and

4.02.5 Includes cyberbullying.

4.03 "Course time" means the number of hours of instruction devoted to a single subject during the school week.

4.04 "Cyberbullying" means any form of communication by electronic act that is sent with the purpose to:

4.04.1 Harass, intimidate, humiliate ridicule, defame, or threaten a student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated; or

4.04.2 Incite violence to a student, public school employee, or person with whom the other student or public school employee is associated.

4.05 "Electronic act" means without limitation a communication or image transmitted by means of an electronic device, including without limitation a telephone, wireless phone, or other wireless communications device, computer, or pager.

4.06 "Expulsion" means dismissal from school for a period of time that exceeds ten (10) days.

4.06 "Harassment" means a pattern of unwelcome verbal or physical conduct relating to another person's constitutionally or statutorily protected status that causes, or reasonably should be expected to cause, substantial interference with the other's performance in the school environment.

4.07 "Nontraditional scheduling" means block or other alternative scheduling as defined by the Division.

4.08 "Personal electronic device" means without limitation a:

4.08.1 Cellular telephone;

4.08.2 Paging device;

4.08.3 Beeper;

4.08.4 Mobile telephone that offers advanced computing and Internet accessibility;

4.08.5 Digital media player;

4.08.6 Portable game console;

4.08.7 Tablet, notebook, or laptop computer;

4.08.8 Digital camera and

4.08.9 Digital video or audio recorder.

4.09 "Substantial disruption" means without limitation that any one (1) or more of the following occur as a result of the bullying:

4.09.1 Necessary cessation of instruction or educational activities;

4.09.2 Inability of students or educational staff to focus on learning or function as an educational unit because of a hostile environment;

4.09.3 Severe or repetitive disciplinary measures are needed in the classroom or during educational activities or

4.09.4 Exhibition of other behaviors by students or educational staff that substantially interfere with the learning environment.

4.10 "Suspension" means dismissal from school for a period of time that does not exceed ten (10) days.

4.11 "Teacher or school administrator" means 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; and a nonlicensed classroom teacher or administrator employed in a position under a waiver from licensure, as a condition of their employment.

5.00 STUDENT DISCIPLINE

5.01 Each school district in this state shall develop written student discipline policies in compliance with these rules and shall file the policies with the Division by posting the policies on the school district's website no later than August 1 each year.

5.02 Parents, students, and school district personnel, including teachers, shall be involved in the development of school district student discipline policies.

5.02.1 School districts should attempt to ensure that those involved with the development of school district student discipline policies come from diverse racial, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds and that the group consist of a sufficient number of individuals to provide broad representation within the district.

5.03 Student discipline policies shall include, without limitation, the following offenses:

5.03.1 Willfully and intentionally assaulting or threatening to assault or abuse any student or teacher, principal superintendent, or other employee of a school system;

5.03.2 Possession by students of any firearm or other weapon prohibited upon the school campus by law or by policies adopted by the school board of directors;

5.03.3 Using, offering for sale, or selling beer, alcoholic beverages, or other illicit drugs, by students on school property; and

5.03.4 Willfully or intentionally damaging, destroying, or stealing school property by students.

5.04 Student discipline policies shall:

5.04.1 Prescribe minimum and maximum penalties, including without limitation, students' suspension or expulsion from school, for violations of any of the offenses listed in 5.03 above, and for violations of other practices prohibited by school discipline policies; however, the superintendent shall have discretion to modify the prescribed penalties for a student on a case-by-case basis;

5.04.2 Prescribe expulsion from school for a period of one (1) year for possession of any firearm or other weapon prohibited upon the school campus by law, provided, however, that the superintendent shall have discretion to modify such expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis;5.04.2.1 The policy shall require parents, guardians, or other persons in loco parentis of a student expelled for possession of a firearm or other prohibited weapon to sign a statement acknowledging that the parents have read and understand current laws regarding the possibility of parental responsibility for allowing a child to possess a weapon on school property. 5.04.2.2 The statement shall be signed by the parents, guardians, or other persons in loco parentis before readmitting a student or enrolling a student in any public school immediately after the expiration of the expulsion. 5.04.2.3 School administrators and the local school district board shall complete the expulsion process of any student that was initiated because the student possessed a firearm or other prohibited weapon on school property regardless of the enrollment status of the student.

5.04.3 Establish procedures for notice to students and parents of charges, hearings, and other due process proceedings to be applicable in the enforcement and administration of such policies by the school administrator and by the school board of directors;

5.04.4 Include prevention, intervention, and conflict resolution provisions;

5.04.5 Set forth the role and authority of public school employees and volunteers;

5.04.6 Include a provision for the seizure by school personnel of hand-held laser pointers in the possession of students;

5.04.7 Establish procedures for responding to reports received through the school safety and crisis line under Ark. Code Ann. § 6undefined6-18-111;

5.04.8 Include a provision prohibiting students from wearing, while on the grounds of a public school during the regular school day and school-sponsored activities and events, clothing that exposes underwear, buttocks, or the breast of a female, and the disciplinary action(s) that will be taken against a student for violation 5.04.8.1 This policy shall not apply to a costume or uniform worn by a student while participating in a school-sponsored activity or...