005.28.22 Ark. Code R. § 009 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing Required Training For School Board Members

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.22 Ark. Code R. § 009

June 5, 2022

1.00 REGULATORY AUTHORITY

1.01 The State Board of Education promulgates these Rules pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6Training and instruction - Reimbursement6-13-629.

1.02 This Rule shall be known as the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Rules Governing Required Training for School Board Members.

2.00 PURPOSE

2.01 The purpose of these Rules is to outline the type and amount of training required for new and continuing local school board members.

3.00 DEFINITIONS

3.01 "Annual School Performance Report" means the report required to be posted on the DESE website for each school district annually under Ark. Code Ann. § 6Purpose - Report - Confidentiality - Rules6-15-1402.

3.02 "Comprehensive School Improvement Plan" means the plan that each local school district must prepare annually under the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public School and School Districts Standard 5-A.1.

4.00 TRAINING HOURS REQUIRED

4.01 A member of a local school district board of directors who has served on the board of directors for twelve (12) or more consecutive months shall obtain no less than six (6) hours of training and instruction by December 31 of each calendar year.

4.02 A member of a school district board of directors elected for an initial or non-continuous term shall obtain no less than nine (9) hours of training and instruction by December 31 of the calendar year following the year in which the member is elected 4.02.1 The training or instruction under Section 4.02 of this Rule shall include training or instruction on how to read and interpret an audit report and information regarding school safety and student discipline.

4.03 Hours of training and instruction obtained in excess of the minimum requirements each year may accumulate and be carried forward through December 31 of the third calendar year following the year in which the hours were obtained.

5.00 TRAINING CONTENT

5.01 The training and instruction required under this Rule shall include topics relevant to school laws, school operations, and the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the members of the boards of directors, including without limitation 5.01.1 Legal requirements, including without limitation:5.01.1.1 The following items listed or required by the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee under Ark. Code Ann. § 6Review of audit report by board6-1-101 5.01.1.1.1 Audit management letter 5.01.1.1.2 Ethical guidelines 5.01.1.1.3 School elections 5.01.1.1.4 Management of schools 5.01.1.1.5 Revolving loan funds 5.01.1.1.6 School district finances 5.01.1.1.7 School district school bonds 5.01.1.1.8 Teachers and employees 5.01.1.1.9 Teachers' salaries 5.01.1.1.10 Deposit and investments of funds 5.01.1.1.11 Improvement contracts 5.01.1.2 Other financial laws or regulations designated by DESE; 5.01.2 Role differentiation; 5.01.3 Financial management, including without limitation how to read and interpret an audit report 5.01.1.3 The training or instruction on how to read and interpret an audit report shall be conducted by a person who 5.01.1.3.1 Is licensed to practice accounting by the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy and has prior experience conducting school district financial audits. 5.01.1.3.2 The instructor of the audit training must not be an employee of Arkansas Legislative Audit unless the training is conducted for the boards of directors of multiple school districts. 5.01.1.3.3 The instructor must not be the person conducting the annual audit or other financial audit of the school district unless the training or instruction is presented in a large group setting sponsored by a statewide or regional organization that is attended by multiple school districts. 5.01.1.4 Training or instruction shall be conducted under the consultation or supervision of an individual who qualifies under Section 5.01.1.3 of these rules as part of a program that is provided:5.01.1.4.1 By an institution of higher education located in Arkansas; 5.01.1.4.2 From instruction sponsored or approved by the DESE; or 5.01.1.4.3 By an in-service training conducted by or through the Arkansas School Boards Association. 5.01.1.5 The audit training or instruction may be presented by electronic means, in person, or both. 5.01.4 Improving student achievement; and 5.01.5 Information regarding school safety and student discipline.

6.00 TRAINING PROVIDERS

6.01 This instruction may be provided to board members by an institution of higher learning in this state, by programs sponsored or approved by the DESE, or by an in service training program conducted by or through the Arkansas School Boards Association.

6.02 Any instruction directly provided to board members by either an institution of higher learning in this state, the DESE, or the Arkansas School Boards Association, which instruction meets the training content requirements of Section 5.00 of these Rules, shall not require pre-approval by the DESE. All other instruction must be pre-approved by the DESE in order for the training to count towards the required hours under Section 4.00 of this Rule.

6.03 At least thirty (30) days before a training program meeting the content requirements of Section 5.00 of these Rules is offered to members of a local school district's board of directors, the provider shall provide a detailed description of the entire program including staff qualifications to the DESE.

6.04 The DESE shall promptly review the content of the program for compliance with any and all applicable statutes and Division rules to determine if any or all of the program content shall be deemed to provide training and instruction credit and shall establish the time period the training and instruction provider is approved to offer the program.

6.05 Upon notification by the DESE of approval of the program (or a part or parts thereof) for training and instruction credit, the provider may enroll participants in the program and offer the program for training and instruction credit for the...