Title 6, Education

(a) (1) (A) Each school year, each public school district board of directors and governing entity of an open-enrollment public charter school shall establish by policy the first day of the school year for student attendance in public elementary and secondary schools.(B) The first…

(a) At least ten (10) days before the beginning of the session of school, it shall be the duty of all school district boards of directors to provide ample means of publicity, by posting or printing notices or by public announcement, as to the date on which any session of school s…

(a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that public school facilities in the state are now effectively utilized only nine (9) or ten (10) months each year and that such facilities could be more efficiently utilized and educational opportunities in the various schoo…

(a) Local matching funds shall be required for the Parents as Teachers program. (b) (1) Only public school districts or education service cooperatives established under The Education Service Cooperative Act of 1985, § 6-13-1001 et seq., are eligible for grants to operate Parents …

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is authorized and directed to cooperate with and assist local school districts in this state in the establishment of an Arkansas school fire marshal program. (b) Such program shall include, but shall not be limited to, the fo…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is authorized to establish a special section within its organization, to be known as the Equality Assistance Center, designed to provide assistance to the school districts of the state in desegregation and nondiscrimination. …

(a) The various programs and departments of the Department of Education that are financed from state, federal, or cash funds are authorized to pay rent for space utilized in the buildings annexed to the Department of Education Building. (b) Such rent is to be paid from authorized…

(a) Every student and teacher in the public schools participating in any of the following courses is required to wear industrial-quality eye protective devices at all times while participating in the following courses or laboratories:(1) Vocational or industrial arts shops or lab…

(a) (1) It shall be unlawful for any member of the board of directors, administrator, or employee of a public school to knowingly authorize the participation of students in an event or activity held at a location where some students would be excluded or not given equal treatment …

(a) A public school in this state shall observe a one-minute period of silence at the beginning of school each school day. (b) During the period of silence a student may, without interfering with or distracting another student:(1) Reflect;(2) Pray; or(3) Engage in a silent activi…

(a) It is found and determined by the General Assembly that granting local school districts greater flexibility in scheduling instructional time can reap educational benefits for the students and financial rewards for the school district. It is the intent of this section to autho…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall cooperate with and assist local school districts in this state in the establishment of a program to inform students about healthcare coverage under the ARKids First Program Act, § 20-77-1101 et seq. (b) The informationa…

(a) (1) By May 1 of each year, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall identify school districts that are underperforming in the area of direct-service Medicaid billing.(2) The division shall direct identified school districts to increase direct-service Medicaid …

(1) The General Assembly finds:(1) It is the duty of the State of Arkansas to provide a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools to the children of the state under Arkansas Constitution, Article 14, § 1;(2) The General Assembly is obligated to ensure the pro…

(a) (1) As used in this section, “public school” means:(A) A school that is part of a public school district under the control and management of a local school district board of directors; or(B) An open-enrollment public charter school.(2) “Public school” includes the Arkansas Sc…

(a) (1) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to require that:(A) Each school campus have an automated external defibrillator;(B) Appropriate school personnel be adequately trained on an ongoing basis; and(C) Each school-sponsored sporting event for grades seven thr…

(a) The State Board of Education, after consultation with the Department of Health, shall develop rules based on guidelines for automated external defibrillator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training that incorporates at least the following:(1) Healthcare provider oversight, …

(a) After each regular, fiscal, or extraordinary session of the General Assembly, the board of directors of each public school district in the state and the superintendent of the school district shall review the acts of the General Assembly for that session to determine whether a…

(a) (1) As used in this section, “floor plan” means a document containing:(A) A schematic drawing of facilities and property used by each public school in the school district, including the configuration of rooms, spaces, and other physical features of buildings;(B) The location …

(a) A superintendent may delay the start time or release early a school or schools in the school district due to any of the following emergency circumstances:(1) Inclement weather;(2) Contagious disease outbreak; or(3) Utility outage. (1) Inclement weather; (2) Contagious disease…

(a) If a superintendent closes school for a regularly scheduled school day due to exceptional or emergency circumstances such as a contagious disease outbreak, inclement weather, or other acts of God, the superintendent may make up missed school days by adding time to the beginni…

(a) A school district board of directors may accept from a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction a school resource officer to assist with school security, safety, emergency preparedness, emergency response, or any other responsibility assigned to the school resource offi…

(a) (1) (A) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Division of Career and Technical Education may require a school district or public school to submit data and other information deemed necessary to assure that a school district or public school is in compliance…

(1) The score on statewide student assessments for an English learner student:(1) Shall not be counted for growth or achievement purposes in the accountability ratings of a public school or public school district if the English learner student has been enrolled in a public school…

(a) A superintendent of a public school district is immune from civil liability and suit for damages for the enforcement of policies adopted by the board of directors of the public school district if the policies are in compliance with state or federal law. (b) Personnel of the D…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Patriotic Access to Students in Schools Act”. (b) As used in this section, “patriotic society” means any youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code, as it existed on January 1, 2017. (c) (1) Beginning with the…

(a) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, each public school shall provide bleeding control training as a component of a health course to be taught to students in grades nine through twelve (9-12). (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health,…

(a) For the purposes of this section, “minor” means a:(1) Child who is under eighteen (18) years of age; or(2) Person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and a student in a public secondary school. (1) Child who is under eighteen (18) years of age; or (2) Person who is eig…

(a) The General Assembly finds that the students of the Natural State are the state's greatest resource. (b) The last Wednesday in September of each year shall be recognized as “A Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students”. (c) The Governor shall:(1) Annually proclaim the last Wednesda…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Star-Spangled Banner Act”. (b) The General Assembly finds that:(1) It is of the utmost importance that Arkansas youth learn the importance of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”;(2) The regular playing of “The S…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a public school district or open-enrollment public charter school that sponsors or supervises an overnight trip involving a public school student shall ensure that a public school student attending the overnight trip eithe…

(a) As used in this section, “natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle” includes without limitation afros, dreadlocks, twists, locs, braids, cornrow braids, Bantu knots, curls, and hair styled to protect hair texture or for cultural significance. (b) A school district administr…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Religious Viewpoint Antidiscrimination Act”. (b) A public school district:(1) Shall treat a public school student's voluntary expression, if any, of a religious viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the same mann…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025”. (b) At the beginning of each school year, each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school shall provide each enrolled student and individual employed by…