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Arkansas House Bill HB1738

Arkansas 2023 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1738 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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4-State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 1
4+State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/3/23 1
55 94th General Assembly A Bill 2
66 Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1738 3
77 4
88 By: Representative McAlindon 5
99 By: Senator G. Stubblefield 6
1010 7
1111 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1212 AN ACT TO CREATE THE PARENTS' BILL OF RIG HTS; AND FOR 9
1313 OTHER PURPOSES. 10
1414 11
1515 12
1616 Subtitle 13
1717 TO CREATE THE PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS. 14
1818 15
1919 16
2020 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 17
2121 18
2222 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, is amended to add an 19
2323 additional subchapter to read as follows: 20
2424 Subchapter 25 — Parents' Bill of Rights 21
2525 22
2626 6-18-2501. Title. 23
2727 This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Parents' Bill 24
2828 of Rights". 25
2929 26
3030 6-18-2502. Legislative findings. 27
3131 The General Assembly finds that: 28
3232 (1) This act shall require public school district boards of 29
3333 directors and governing bodies of open -enrollment public charter schools to 30
3434 adopt procedures that comport with certain provisions of la w regarding the 31
3535 notification of a student's parent of specified information; 32
3636 (2) Procedures for notification of a student's parent must 33
3737 reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the 34
38-upbringing and control of thei r children in a specified manner; and 35
39- (3) This act shall also prohibit public school personnel from 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
38+upbringing and control of their children i n a specified manner; 35
39+ (3) This act shall also prohibit public school personnel from 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
4040
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4242
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4444 discouraging or prohibiting parental notification and involvement in critical 1
45-decisions that affect students' mental, emotional, or physical well-being. 2
46- 3
47- 6-18-2503. Definitions. 4
48- As used in this subchapter: 5
49- (1)(A) "Parent" means an individual standing in parental 6
50-relation to a student, including: 7
51- (i) The biological or adoptive parent of a student; 8
52- (ii) A student's legal guardian; and 9
53- (iii) A person standing in loco parentis to a 10
54-student. 11
55- (B) "Parent" shall not include an individual: 12
56- (i) As to whom the parent -child relationship has 13
57-been terminated; and 14
58- (ii) Not entitled to possession of or access to a 15
59-child under a court ord er; and 16
60- (2)(A) "Sex" means the physical condition of being male or 17
61-female based on genetics and physiology. 18
62- (B) A public school district or open-enrollment public 19
63-charter school may rely upon a public school student's sex as identified on 20
64-his or her original birth certificate issued at or near the time of his or 21
65-her birth. 22
66- 23
67- 6-18-2504. Parental rights. 24
68- A parent shall be entitled to: 25
69- (1) Access all information that directly relates to his or her 26
70-child, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 27
71-1232g, from the public school in which his or her child is enrolled; 28
72- (2) Review, upon request, all of the following that are used in 29
73-a classroom to which the parent's child is assigned, including while the 30
74-parent's child is par ticipating in virtual or remote learning, in conjunction 31
75-with the right to challenge instructional materials under § 6 -16-155: 32
76- (A) Teaching materials; 33
77- (B) Instructional materials; 34
78- (C) Required textbooks; 35
79- (D) Course syllabi; 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
45+decisions that affect students' mental, emotional, or physical well -being; 2
46+and 3
47+ (4) An additional purpose of this act is to prohibit classroom 4
48+teachers from being compelled to adopt controversial viewpoints. 5
49+ 6
50+ 6-18-2503. Definitions. 7
51+ As used in this subchapter: 8
52+ (1) "Controversial viewpoint" means an idea that espouses, 9
53+promotes, advances, or compels a student to believe any of the following, 10
54+which constitute discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national 11
55+origin: 12
56+ (A) Members of one (1) race, color, sex, or national 13
57+origin are morally superior to members of another race, color, se x, or 14
58+national origin; 15
59+ (B) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, 16
60+sex, or national origin, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether 17
61+consciously or unconsciously; 18
62+ (C) An individual's moral character or status as either 19
63+privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, 20
64+sex, or national origin; 21
65+ (D) Members of one (1) race, color, sex, or national 22
66+origin cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race, 23
67+color, sex, or national origin; 24
68+ (E) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, 25
69+sex, or national origin, bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated 26
70+against or receive adverse treatment because of, actions committed in the 27
71+past by other members of the same ra ce, color, sex, or national origin; 28
72+ (F) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, 29
73+sex, or national origin, should be discriminated against or receive adverse 30
74+treatment to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion; 31
75+ (G) An individual should f eel discomfort, guilt, anguish, 32
76+or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, 33
77+color, sex, or national origin; or 34
78+ (H) Virtues such as merit, excellence, hard work, 35
79+fairness, neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindness are racist or 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
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8282
8383
84- (E) Lesson plans; and 1
85- (F) Other teaching aids; 2
86- (3)(A) Remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or 3
87-other public school activity if the class or other public school activity 4
88-conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs. 5
89- (B) A parent who removes a child temporarily from a class 6
90-or other public school activity under subdivision (3)(A) of this section 7
91-shall present or deliver to the teacher of the parent's child a written 8
92-statement that authorizes the temporary removal of the parent's child f rom 9
93-the class or other public school activity. 10
94- (C) However, a parent shall not remove the parent's child 11
95-temporarily from a class or public school activity to: 12
96- (i) Avoid the administration of a test to the 13
97-parent's child; or 14
98- (ii) Prevent the parent's child from taking a 15
99-subject for the duration of the academic semester; 16
100- (4)(A) Gain access to a meeting of the following, except in 17
101-cases of an executive session or when prohibited by law or court order : 18
102- (i) The public school district board of directors of 19
103-the public school district in which the parent's child is enrolled; or 20
104- (ii) The governing body of the open -enrollment 21
105-public charter school in which the parent's child is enrolled. 22
106- (B) A public school district board of directors shall hold 23
107-each public meeting within the boundaries of the public school district as 24
108-required by law, except in cases in which it holds a joint meeting with 25
109-another: 26
110- (i) Public school district board of directors; or 27
111- (ii) Governmental entity if the boundaries of the 28
112-governmental entity are in whole or in part within the boundaries of the 29
113-public school district. 30
114- 31
115- 6-18-2505. Public school district and open-enrollment public charter 32
116-school responsibilities. 33
117- The duties of public school district boards of directors and governing 34
118-bodies of open-enrollment public charter schools under this subchapter shall 35
119-include the requirement to: 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
84+sexist, or were created by members of a particular race, color, sex, or 1
85+national origin to oppress members of another race, color, sex, or national 2
86+origin; 3
87+ (2)(A) "Parent" means an individual standing in parental 4
88+relation to a student, including: 5
89+ (i) The biological or adoptive parent of a student; 6
90+ (ii) A student's legal guardian; and 7
91+ (iii) A person standing in loco parentis to a 8
92+student. 9
93+ (B) "Parent" shall not include an individual: 10
94+ (i) As to whom the parent -child relationship has 11
95+been terminated; and 12
96+ (ii) Not entitled to possession of or access to a 13
97+child under a court order; and 14
98+ (3)(A) "Sex" means the physical condition of being male or 15
99+female based on genetics and physiology. 16
100+ (B) A public school district or open-enrollment public 17
101+charter school may rely upon a public school student's sex as identified on 18
102+his or her original birth certificate issued at or near the time of his or 19
103+her birth. 20
104+ 21
105+ 6-18-2504. Parental rights. 22
106+ A parent shall be entitled to: 23
107+ (1) Access all information that directly rel ates to his or her child 24
108+from the public school in which his or her child is enrolled; 25
109+ (1) Access full information regarding the activities of a public 26
110+school in which the parent's child is enrolled; 27
111+ (2) Review all of the following that are used in a classroom to 28
112+which the parent's child is assigned, including while the parent's child is 29
113+participating in virtual or remote learning, in conjunction with the right to 30
114+challenge instructional materials under § 6 -16-155: 31
115+ (A) Teaching materials; 32
116+ (B) Instructional materials; 33
117+ (C) Required textbooks; 34
118+ (D) Course syllabi; 35
119+ (E) Lesson plans; and 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
120120
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122122
123123
124- (1) Make available for review by parents, upon request, all of 1
125-the following that are reasonably available: 2
126- (A) Teaching materials; 3
127- (B) Required textbooks; 4
128- (C) Course syllabi; 5
129- (D) Lesson plans; and 6
130- (E) Required tests scheduled for the school year; 7
131- (2)(A) Adopt procedures for notifying a student's parent within 8
132-twenty-four (24) hours, or the timeframe otherwise specified by state or 9
133-federal law, if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring 10
134-related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well -being 11
135-and the public school district's or open-enrollment public char ter school's 12
136-ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the 13
137-student. 14
138- (B) Procedures adopted under subdivision (2)(A) of this 15
139-section shall reinforce the fundamental right of a parent to make decisions 16
140-regarding the upbringing and control of the parent's child by requiring 17
141-public school district and open-enrollment public charter school personnel 18
142-to: 19
143- (i) Encourage a student to discuss issues relating 20
144-to the student's well -being with the student's parent; or 21
145- (ii) Facilitate discussion of the student's well -22
146-being with the student's parent. 23
147- (C) Procedures adopted under subdivision (2)(A) of this 24
148-section shall not prohibit a parent from accessing any of the education and 25
149-health records pertaining to the parent's child that are created, maintained, 26
150-or used by the public school district or open-enrollment public charter 27
151-school in which the parent's child is enrolled and that the parent is 28
152-entitled to access under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 29
153-U.S.C. § 1232g, or other state or federal law ; 30
124+ (F) Other teaching aids; 1
125+ (3)(A) Remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or 2
126+other public school activity if: 3
127+ (i) The class or othe r public school activity 4
128+conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs; or 5
129+ (ii) The parent deems the class or public school 6
130+activity to espouse, promote, advance, or compel the parent's child to adopt 7
131+a controversial viewpoint. 8
132+ (B) A parent who removes a child temporarily from a class 9
133+or other public school activity under subdivision (3)(A) of this section 10
134+shall present or deliver to the teacher of the parent's child a written 11
135+statement that authorizes the temporary removal of the parent's child from 12
136+the class or other public school activity. 13
137+ (C) However, a parent shall not remove the parent's child 14
138+temporarily from a class or public school activity to: 15
139+ (i) Avoid the administration of a test to the 16
140+parent's child; or 17
141+ (ii) Prevent the parent's child from taking a 18
142+subject for the duration of the academic semester; 19
143+ (4)(A) Gain access to a meeting of the following, except in 20
144+cases of an executive session: 21
145+ (i) The public school district board of directors of 22
146+the public school district in which the parent's child is enrolled; or 23
147+ (ii) The governing body of the open -enrollment 24
148+public charter school in which the parent's child is enrolled. 25
149+ (B) A public school district board of directors shall hold 26
150+each public meeting within the boundaries of the public school district as 27
151+required by law, except in cases in which it holds a joint meeting with 28
152+another: 29
153+ (i) Public school district board of directors; or 30
154+ (ii) Governmental entity if the boundaries of the 31
155+governmental entity are in whole or in part within the boundaries of the 32
156+public school district. 33
157+ 34
158+ 6-18-2505. Public school district and open-enrollment public charter 35
159+school responsibilities. 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
160+
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163+
164+ The duties of public school district boards of directors and governin g 1
165+bodies of open-enrollment public charter schools under this subchapter shall 2
166+include the requirement to: 3
167+ (1) Make available annually by October 1 for review by parents 4
168+all of the following that are reasonably available: 5
169+ (A) Teaching materials; 6
170+ (B) Required textbooks; 7
171+ (C) Course syllabi; 8
172+ (D) Lesson plans; and 9
173+ (E) Required tests scheduled for the school year; 10
174+ (2)(A) Adopt procedures for notifying a student's parent within 11
175+twenty-four (24) hours if there is a change in the student's services or 12
176+monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or 13
177+well-being and the public school district's or open-enrollment public charter 14
178+school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for 15
179+the student. 16
180+ (B) Procedures adopted under subdivision (2)(A) of this 17
181+section shall reinforce the fundamental right of a parent to make decisions 18
182+regarding the upbringing and control of the parent's child by requiring 19
183+public school district and open-enrollment public charter school personnel 20
184+to: 21
185+ (i) Encourage a student to discuss issues relating 22
186+to the student's well -being with the student's parent; or 23
187+ (ii) Facilitate discussion of the student's well -24
188+being with the student's parent. 25
189+ (C) Procedures adopt ed under subdivision (2)(A) of this 26
190+section shall not prohibit a parent from accessing any of the education and 27
191+health records pertaining to the parent's child that are created, maintained, 28
192+or used by the public school district or open-enrollment public ch arter 29
193+school in which the parent's child is enrolled; 30
154194 (3)(A) Not adopt procedures or student support forms that: 31
155195 (i) Prohibit public school district or open-32
156196 enrollment public charter school personnel from notifying the parent of a 33
157197 student regarding: 34
158198 (a) The student's mental, emotional, or 35
159-physical health or well -being; or 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
199+physical health or well -being; or 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
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162202
163203
164204 (b) A change in related services or monitoring 1
165205 as it pertains to the student; or 2
166206 (ii) Encourage a student to withhold information 3
167207 from the student's parent as it p ertains to the student's mental, emotional, 4
168208 or physical health or well -being or a change in related services or 5
169209 monitoring as it pertains to the student. 6
170210 (B)(i) Public school district and open-enrollment public 7
171211 charter school personnel shall not discou rage or prohibit parental 8
172212 notification of and involvement in critical decisions that affect a parent's 9
173213 child's mental, emotional, or physical health or well -being. 10
174214 (ii) However, a public school district or open-11
175215 enrollment public charter school may adopt procedures that permit public 12
176216 school personnel to withhold parental notification of information described 13
177217 under subdivision (3)(B)(i) of this section if a reasonably prudent person 14
178218 would believe that the disclosure of information would result in abuse, 15
179-abandonment, or neglect of a child or if disclosure is prohibited by law ; and 16
219+abandonment, or neglect of a child; and 16
180220 (4)(A) Ensure that classroom instruction provided by public 17
181221 school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity: 18
182222 (i) Shall not occur in kindergarten through grade 19
183-five (K-5), as provided by Acts 2023, No. 237 ; and 20
223+five (K-5); and 20
184224 (ii) Is age-appropriate and developmentally 21
185225 appropriate for students in grades six through twelve (6 -12). 22
186226 (B) However, nothing in this section shall be construed as 23
187227 requiring public school personnel, a public school district, or an open-24
188228 enrollment public charter school to provide classroom instruction on sexual 25
189229 orientation or gender identity to students in grades six through twelve (6 -26
190230 12). 27
191231 28
192232 6-18-2506. Rules. 29
193- (a) The Division of Elementary and S econdary Education shall 30
194-promulgate rules necessary to implement this subchapter. 31
195- (b) When adopting the initial rules to implement this 32
233+ The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall promulgate 30
234+rules necessary to implement this subchapter. 31
235+ (1) When adopting the initial rules to implement this 32
196236 subchapter, the final rules shall be filed with the Secretary of State for 33
197-adoption under 25-15-204(f). 34
237+adoption under § 25-15-204(f): 34
238+ (A) On or before January 1, 2024; or 35
239+ (B) If approval under § 10 -3-309 has not occurred by 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 HB1738
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243+
244+January 1, 2024, as soon as practicable after approval under § 10 -3-309. 1
245+ (2) The division shall file the proposed rules with the 2
246+Legislative Council under § 10 -3-309(c) sufficiently in advance of January 1, 3
247+2024, so that the Legislative Council may consider the rule for approval 4
248+before January 1, 2024. 5
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