TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "BULLYING"; AND TO CREATE A PROCESS WHEREBY A PUBLIC SCHOOL MAY CONDUCT MULTIPLE, SIMULTANEOUS INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE SAME ALLEGATION OF BULLYING UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

New bullying rules for Arkansas schools

The law changes what counts as bullying in Arkansas public schools and how schools handle overlapping allegations. Bullying covers a student's intentional harassment, intimidation, humiliation, ridicule, false attacks on reputation, or threats or encouragement of violence. It targets another student or school employee through written, spoken, electronic, or physical acts. The act must involve a real or reasonably perceived power imbalance and be repeated or highly likely to happen again. It may target traits of the victim or someone connected to them. It must cause actual or reasonably foreseeable harm: physical injury, property damage, major interference with learning or an employee's educational role, or major school disruption. Harm also includes a hostile school environment caused by how severe, persistent, or widespread the conduct is. When the same facts may violate another state or federal law or rule, schools can use that investigation process instead of the bullying-law process. Schools must finish the chosen process and still follow all applicable state and federal laws and rules.