Title 6 — Education

(a) Before expending any funding for new programs for children with disabilities that include funding for evaluation, counseling, assessment, personnel, equipment, or other capital outlay in other than public schools, the Division of Career and Technical Education shall publish a…

School districts shall establish and implement extended year programs for school-age children with disabilities for periods beyond the normal school year in accordance with each student's individualized education program.

(a) Each local educational agency in the state shall:(1) Ensure that all children with disabilities within its jurisdiction and in need of special education and related services are identified, located, and evaluated, regardless of the severity of their disability, including with…

(a) This section applies to a child who:(1) Enrolls for the first time in special education services at an Arkansas public school; and(2) Has been previously determined by a school district in another state to be eligible for special education services due to a behavioral disabil…

This subchapter shall be known as the “Children With Disabilities Act of 1973”.

(a) (1) It is the policy of this state to provide and to require school districts to provide, as an integral part of the public schools, a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities.(2) The State Board of Education is expressly authorized to assign responsib…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “A child with a disability” means a person evaluated in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment, including without limitation deafness,…

(a) Each public agency shall ensure that:(1) To the maximum extent appropriate, a child with a disability, including a child in a public or private institution or other care facility, is educated with children who are nondisabled; and(2) Special classes, separate schooling, or ot…

(a) The state shall make available a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability from three (3) years of age until the end of the school year in which the child turns twenty-one (21) years of age. (b) The State Board of Education shall provide or cause to be…

(a) (1) The responsibility of school districts and the state to provide free public education for children with disabilities is not diminished by the availability of private schools and services.(2) Whenever private schools and services are utilized, it continues to be the respon…

(a) The State Board of Education is empowered to initiate, inspect, approve, and supervise a program of education for children with disabilities as defined in this subchapter. (b) It is also designated as the agency for cooperation with the state government and the United States …

(a) The State Board of Education is granted authorization to contract primarily for appraisal and support services with the Department of Human Services, physicians, or other individuals or organizations that, in the opinion of the state board, possess the necessary expertise to …

The State Board of Education is granted authority to and is directed to cooperate with the Department of Human Services and with available treatment institutions and qualified individuals in order to provide diagnostic services to children with disabilities in need of such servic…

(a) There is established in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education a Special Education Unit. (b) The unit shall be headed by a director, who shall be qualified by education, training, and experience to take responsibility for, and give direction to, the programs of th…

(a) (1) There shall be an Advisory Council for the Education of Children with Disabilities, which shall advise and consult with the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Director of the Special Education Unit and which shall engage in such other activities as…

(a) Physical aspects and specifications for buildings, classrooms, and other facilities for, or likely to be used by, children with disabilities shall be approved by the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation or a designee. (b) The division or a designee…

A.C.A. § 6-41-213Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

Specific eligibility requirements for admission to these special services shall be the responsibility of the State Board of Education.

(a) Every school district shall test and examine, or cause to be tested and examined, each child it believes has disabilities. (b) The tests and examinations shall be administered in accordance with rules of the State Board of Education. (c) The evaluation shall be made by a mult…

(a) All decisions pertaining to change in the educational status of a child shall follow due process procedures established by the State Board of Education. (b) Due process shall include:(1) Providing for prior notification to parents of testing and provision of special education…

(a) Before any action is taken with respect to the initial placement of a child with disabilities in a special education program, a full and individual evaluation of the child's educational needs must be conducted. (b) (1) Before placement in special education services, each chil…

(a) Every public school district shall make and keep current a list of all children with disabilities tested and examined. (b) The results of tests and examinations shall be confidential except that the parent or guardian and the child age eighteen (18) or over shall have access …

A.C.A. § 6-41-219Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) It is the responsibility of school districts to expend effort on behalf of the education of each child with disabilities equal to the effort expended on account of the education of each child who does not have a disability.(2) Any additional effort necessary to provide su…

(a) (1) The State Board of Education is designated as the state agency to receive and disburse federal funds designed to improve educational opportunities provided for children with disabilities as defined in this subchapter.(2) The funds shall not include moneys appropriated by …

A.C.A. § 6-41-222Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

Each school district shall report annually to the State Board of Education at a prescribed due date the extent to which it is at that time providing for the special education for children with disabilities, as necessary to implement the policy of this subchapter.

A.C.A. § 6-41-308Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

A.C.A. § 6-41-311Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) Public school districts and entities receiving state or federal funds to provide special education programming shall keep an accurate account, in the manner and on the forms prescribed by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, of all moneys expended for special e…

(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to contract with a school district and with the boards of other institutions under the control of a public board or commission for services to be provided for exceptional children as provided for in Title VI, Part B of Pub. L. No. 91…

The General Assembly finds that proficiency in braille reading and writing is essential for the satisfactory educational progress of visually impaired students and that braille instruction must be used in combination with other special education services that are appropriate to t…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Compliance citation” means a citation issued by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education that documents a school's failure to comply with state education laws; and(2) “Individualized education program” means the evaluation of the educ…

(a) Each school district shall ensure that at least one (1) time per year a licensed teacher of the visually impaired, or other qualified person as determined by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, conducts an assessment of the educational progress of each visuall…

Each student who needs braille reading and writing instruction shall receive instruction from either a licensed teacher of the visually impaired or a person who is qualified in braille instruction as determined by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall have the authority to require publishers of textbooks to furnish electronic media for the text portion of those textbooks required by visually impaired students. (b) The electronic media shall be immediately capable of …

Failure of a school district to come into compliance with the provisions of this subchapter shall be grounds for a compliance citation from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

When administering a state-mandated assessment or a state-mandated test, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and each school district shall allow a student that has been evaluated through appropriate testing, including a comprehensive eye examination by an optometr…

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Dyslexia, if not diagnosed early, can be severely detrimental to a child's academic success as well as his or her self-esteem;(2) Most children identified as having characteristics of dyslexia and related disorders can be treated successful…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is:(A) Neurological in origin;(B) Characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the p…

(a) (1) A school district shall screen each student in kindergarten through grade three (K-3) using a high quality, evidence-based screener approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.(2) The screening of students shall be performed with fidelity and include wi…

(a) If a student's performance on an initial screener, level I screening, or level II dyslexia screening under § 6-41-603 indicates a need for dyslexia intervention services, the student's parent or legal guardian shall be:(1) Notified of the results of the dyslexia evaluation; a…

(a) Dyslexia intervention for a student whose dyslexia level I or level II screening under § 6-41-603(c) indicates the need for dyslexia intervention services may include the following instructional approaches:(1) Explicit, direct instruction that is systematic, sequential, and c…

(a) The superintendent of a school district annually shall report the results of the school district screening required under § 6-41-603. (b) Before July 15, a public school district shall report on the website of the public school district or in writing to the parents of each st…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall employ at least one (1) dyslexia specialist with a minimum of three (3) years of field experience in screening, identifying, and treating dyslexia and related disorders to provide technical assistance for dyslexia and r…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall ensure that each teacher receives professional awareness on:(1) The characteristics of dyslexia; and(2) The evidence-based interventions and accommodations for dyslexia. (1) The characteristics of dyslexia; and (2) The …

(1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall collaborate with the Division of Higher Education to ensure that all teacher education programs offered at state-supported institutions of higher education provide dyslexia professional awareness of the:(1) Characterist…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. (b) (1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall maintain a committee for the purpose of developing and updating the Arkansas Dyslexia Resource Guide.(2) The com…

(a) (1) A public school district that fails to comply with this subchapter:(A) Shall be in violation of the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts; and(B) May be placed on probationary status.(2) A public school district placed on probationary…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall:(1) Create a network of Certified Academic Language Therapists to support public schools for the purpose of providing a specialized dyslexia instructional program designed to provide therapy to public school students wi…