Title 6, Education

(a) The board of directors of a school district may appoint and provide for the payment of at least one (1) physician or nurse and assign the physician or nurse to the public schools of the district for the purpose of making physical examinations of the public school students as …

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, no infant or child shall be admitted to a public or private school or childcare facility of this state who has not been age-appropriately immunized from poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, red (rubeola) measles, rubella, and oth…

(a) (1) (A) (i) No school-based health clinic may be established in a public school until requested by resolution by the school district board of directors, and no child shall receive school-based health clinic services without parental consent.(ii) Parental consent to contracept…

(a) (1) Beginning with the 1991-1992 school year, any schools located in a school district in which forty percent (40%) or more of the students enrolled in the school on October 1 of the preceding school year were eligible for free or reduced-price meals shall establish a school …

(a) Each public school district shall provide a health services program under the direction of a licensed registered nurse in accordance with the laws of the State of Arkansas and Division of Elementary and Secondary Education rules. (b) In order to improve the health status and …

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as “Alex's Law”. (b) As used in this section:(1) (A) “Epinephrine” means a neurotransmitter and a hormone that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of anaphylaxis.(B) “Epinephrine” o…

(a) A school district shall develop procedures concerning student physical activity in its public schools that include without limitation the recognition and management of the following events or conditions that may be encountered by a student during athletic training and physica…

(a) (1) Annually, a public school district shall participate in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education health services survey related to:(A) On-campus healthcare needs of public school students;(B) On-campus healthcare services; and(C) The availability of health care …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Healthcare provider” means an allopathic or osteopathic physician, neuropsychologist, chiropractor or chiropractic physician, advanced practice registered nurse, certified athletic trainer, physician assistant, or physical therapist; and(2) (A) “Y…

(a) Upon written request of a parent or guardian of a student with diabetes and authorization by the treating physician of the student, a student in the classroom, in another area designated at the school, on school grounds, or at a school-related activity may:(1) Perform blood g…

(a) Each public school and open-enrollment charter school shall post a sign that contains the toll-free telephone number for the Child Abuse Hotline established by the Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police under § 12-18-301. (b) (1) The sign in su…

(a) As used in this section:(1) (A) “Athletic activity” means an organized athletic activity that is sponsored or associated with a school and in which the participants, a majority of whom are under nineteen (19) years of age, are: (i) Engaged in an athletic game or competition a…

(a) A student may possess and use a topical sunscreen to avoid overexposure to the sun without written authorization from a parent, legal guardian, or healthcare professional while on school property or at a school-related event or activity if the sunscreen is approved by the Uni…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Hunger-Free Students' Bill of Rights Act”. (b) As used in this section, “school” means a tax-supported kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public school that participates in the United States Department of Agriculture …

(a) (1) As used in this section, “excess food” means any food that remains after a school has served breakfast and lunch to students during a school day.(2) “Excess food” does not include any food that has expired, been opened, or been consumed. (1) As used in this section, “exce…

(a) A public school or open-enrollment public charter school serving students in grades six through twelve (6-12) shall inform public school students of the availability of feminine hygiene products at no charge from the public school or open-enrollment public charter school in a…

(a) (1) Self-administration of a stress dose medication by a public school student with adrenal insufficiency while the student is at his or her public school, on his or her public school grounds, or at an activity related to his or her public school may be permitted with the aut…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Healthy Active Arkansas Schools Act”. (b) By the 2022-2023 school year, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall, in consultation with the Department of Health, develop guidance for public schools and open-e…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Seizure Safe Schools Act”. (b) As used in this section, “seizure action plan” means a written, individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare for the healthcare needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure di…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Coach Safely Act”. (b) As used in this section:(1) “Association” means an organization that administers or conducts high-risk youth athletic activities on property that is owned, leased, managed, or maintained by the state,…

(a) Federal funds appropriated to the Department of Education for a child nutrition program shall be used to provide school breakfasts and lunches at no cost to each qualifying student. (b) (1) A public school that serves a school breakfast or a school lunch as part of a child nu…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall consult and collaborate with the Criminal Justice Institute and the office of the Arkansas Drug Director to ensure that, no later than January 1, 2024, each public high school campus in the State of Arkansas has an opio…

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, at the direction of the State Board of Education and in cooperation with any other appropriate state agencies, shall develop and publish an itemized listing of all information to be maintained in a student's permanent record…

The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall promulgate rules and standards governing the school transportation program in school districts that promote and provide a safe, efficient, and economical system of pupil transportation.

(a) The board of directors of each school district in the state is authorized to purchase vehicles and otherwise provide means for transporting pupils to and from school, when necessary. (b) To this end it may hire or purchase such school buses or other vehicles and hire persons …

(a) It is declared that the directors of all school districts and special school districts in this state in the discharge of their duties as such directors act in a necessary governmental function. (b) Therefore, no action for personal injuries or damage to property arising out o…

Drivers or operators of school buses shall comply with all laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to school bus drivers or operators not in conflict with the provisions of § 6-19-101, § 6-19-103, § 6-19-105 [repealed], and § 6-19-106.

A person who has been convicted within the past three (3) years of operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or who is under nineteen (19) years of age on June 30 following his or her last birthday shall not be per…

(a) (1) An applicant for employment as a school bus driver shall submit an application to the school district in which he or she seeks employment.(2) The application shall include a statement signed by the applicant that authorizes the release of his or her traffic violation repo…

(a) (1) An applicant seeking employment as a driver or an operator of a school bus, either privately or publicly owned, is required to take and pass a series of tests as prescribed by the Division of Arkansas State Police under § 27-23-108 and the Division of Public School Academ…

The driver or operator of a school bus shall wear a seat belt at all times while operating the school bus whenever the bus is so equipped.

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Motor vehicle” means all vehicles, all movable engines, or machines that are operated or propelled by motor vehicle fuel and that are operated and used for travel on public roads and highways; and(2) (A) “School bus” means a motor vehicle designed…

(a) The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall adopt and enforce rules to govern the design and operation of all school buses used for the transportation of school children when the buses are owned and operated by a school district or p…

(a) All motor vehicles owned and operated by public school districts in Arkansas and used exclusively for school purposes shall be exempt from taxation by the state, county, or municipality. (b) This exemption is to include license tag fees and charges as well as property taxes.

No school bus owned by a school district in this state shall be required to be registered under the motor vehicle registration laws of this state.

(a) School buses purchased with loans from the Revolving Loan Fund must meet the prescribed minimum standards, laws, rules, and regulations for school buses and must be owned and operated by the district purchasing them. (b) (1) Except as provided under § 6-21-306(b), the purchas…

(a) (1) The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall establish a system of permit numbers to be used in identifying school buses owned or operated by or in behalf of school districts in this state.(2) The system of permit numbers shall as…

(a) Every school bus used for the transportation of pupils to or from school shall be equipped with one (1) or more mirrors of sufficient size so positioned on the bus as to permit the driver to see clearly the area immediately in front of the bus. (b) The Division of Public Scho…

(a) As used in this section, “school bus” means:(1) A motor vehicle designed to carry ten (10) or more passengers that is:(A) Owned by a public or a governmental agency or a private school and operated for the transportation of students to or from school or school-sponsored activ…

(a) As used in this section, “school bus” means:(1) A motor vehicle designed to carry ten (10) or more passengers that is:(A) Owned by a public or a governmental agency or a private school and operated for the transportation of students to or from school or school-sponsored activ…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Cellular telephone” means a wireless two-way communication device that requires the operator to dial numbers manually and that:(A) Includes radio-telephone communications used in cellular telephone service, personal communication service, or the f…

After April 11, 2005, no public school in the state shall purchase nonconforming vans, as defined by the federal motor vehicle safety standards in existence on January 1, 2005, to transport students to or from school or to any school-related activity.

(1) The Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation or its successor shall undertake measures to provide for the safe, reliable, and efficient transportation of school children, including, but not limited to, the following:(1) Develop and implement a comprehe…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Electronic warning device” means a nine-inch by twenty-four-inch (9″ x 24″) electronic driver alert sign that uses a light-emitting diode (LED) screen and is to be mounted between the two (2) windows of the rear emergency exit door on a Type C bus…

(a) If a school bus is not equipped with an electronic warning device as defined under § 6-19-125, a school district may have printed or otherwise displayed on the exterior of a school bus between the two (2) windows of the rear emergency exit door on a Type C bus or immediately …

(a) The purpose of this section is to protect children from abusive behavior while riding a school bus. (b) A school district board of directors may create and implement a program to authorize a parent of a child enrolled in the school district to act as a monitor in a school bus…