Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
*TNL369* 04-07-2023 11:47:56 TNL369
State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1738 3
4
By: Representative McAlindon 5
By: Senator G. Stubblefield 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE PARENTS' BILL OF RIG HTS; AND FOR 9
OTHER PURPOSES. 10
11
12
Subtitle 13
TO CREATE THE PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS. 14
15
16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 17
18
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, is amended to add an 19
additional subchapter to read as follows: 20
Subchapter 25 — Parents' Bill of Rights 21
22
6-18-2501. Title. 23
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Parents' Bill 24
of Rights". 25
26
6-18-2502. Legislative findings. 27
The General Assembly finds that: 28
(1) This act shall require public school district boards of 29
directors and governing bodies of open -enrollment public charter schools to 30
adopt procedures that comport with certain prov isions of law regarding the 31
notification of a student's parent of specified information; 32
(2) Procedures for notification of a student's parent must 33
reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the 34
upbringing and control of thei r children in a specified manner; and 35
(3) This act shall also prohibit public school personnel from 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
2 04-07-2023 11:47:56 TNL369
discouraging or prohibiting parental notification and involvement in critical 1
decisions that affect students' mental, emotional, or physical well-being. 2
3
6-18-2503. Definitions. 4
As used in this subchapter: 5
(1)(A) "Parent" means an individual standing in parental 6
relation to a student, including: 7
(i) The biological or adoptive parent of a student; 8
(ii) A student's legal guardian; and 9
(iii) A person standing in loco parentis to a 10
student. 11
(B) "Parent" shall not include an individual: 12
(i) As to whom the parent -child relationship has 13
been terminated; and 14
(ii) Not entitled to possession of or access to a 15
child under a court ord er; and 16
(2)(A) "Sex" means the physical condition of being male or 17
female based on genetics and physiology. 18
(B) A public school district or open-enrollment public 19
charter school may rely upon a public school student's sex as identified on 20
his or her original birth certificate issued at or near the time of his or 21
her birth. 22
23
6-18-2504. Parental rights. 24
A parent shall be entitled to: 25
(1) Access all information that directly relates to his or her 26
child, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 27
1232g, from the public school in which his or her child is enrolled; 28
(2) Review, upon request, all of the following that are used in 29
a classroom to which the parent's child is assigned, including while the 30
parent's child is par ticipating in virtual or remote learning, in conjunction 31
with the right to challenge instructional materials under § 6 -16-155: 32
(A) Teaching materials; 33
(B) Instructional materials; 34
(C) Required textbooks; 35
(D) Course syllabi; 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
3 04-07-2023 11:47:56 TNL369
(E) Lesson plans; and 1
(F) Other teaching aids; 2
(3)(A) Remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or 3
other public school activity if the class or other public school activity 4
conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs. 5
(B) A parent who removes a child temporarily from a class 6
or other public school activity under subdivision (3)(A) of this section 7
shall present or deliver to the teacher of the parent's child a written 8
statement that authorizes the temporary removal of the parent's child f rom 9
the class or other public school activity. 10
(C) However, a parent shall not remove the parent's child 11
temporarily from a class or public school activity to: 12
(i) Avoid the administration of a test to the 13
parent's child; or 14
(ii) Prevent the parent's child from taking a 15
subject for the duration of the academic semester; 16
(4)(A) Gain access to a meeting of the following, except in 17
cases of an executive session or when prohibited by law or court order : 18
(i) The public school district board of directors of 19
the public school district in which the parent's child is enrolled; or 20
(ii) The governing body of the open -enrollment 21
public charter school in which the parent's child is enrolled. 22
(B) A public school district board of directors shall hold 23
each public meeting within the boundaries of the public school district as 24
required by law, except in cases in which it holds a joint meeting with 25
another: 26
(i) Public school district board of directors; or 27
(ii) Governmental entity if the boundaries of the 28
governmental entity are in whole or in part within the boundaries of the 29
public school district. 30
31
6-18-2505. Public school district and open-enrollment public charter 32
school responsibilities. 33
The duties of public school district boards of directors and governing 34
bodies of open-enrollment public charter schools under this subchapter shall 35
include the requirement to: 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
4 04-07-2023 11:47:56 TNL369
(1) Make available for review by parents, upon request, all of 1
the following that are reasonably available: 2
(A) Teaching materials; 3
(B) Required textbooks; 4
(C) Course syllabi; 5
(D) Lesson plans; and 6
(E) Required tests scheduled for the school year; 7
(2)(A) Adopt procedures for notifying a student's parent within 8
twenty-four (24) hours, or the timeframe otherwise specified by state or 9
federal law, if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring 10
related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well -being 11
and the public school district's or open-enrollment public char ter school's 12
ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the 13
student. 14
(B) Procedures adopted under subdivision (2)(A) of this 15
section shall reinforce the fundamental right of a parent to make decisions 16
regarding the upbringing and control of the parent's child by requiring 17
public school district and open-enrollment public charter school personnel 18
to: 19
(i) Encourage a student to discuss issues relating 20
to the student's well -being with the student's parent; or 21
(ii) Facilitate discussion of the student's well -22
being with the student's parent. 23
(C) Procedures adopted under subdivision (2)(A) of this 24
section shall not prohibit a parent from accessing any of the education and 25
health records pertaining to the parent's child that are created, maintained, 26
or used by the public school district or open-enrollment public charter 27
school in which the parent's child is enrolled and that the parent is 28
entitled to access under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 29
U.S.C. § 1232g, or other state or federal law ; 30
(3)(A) Not adopt procedures or student support forms that: 31
(i) Prohibit public school district or open-32
enrollment public charter school personnel from notifying the parent of a 33
student regarding: 34
(a) The student's mental, emotional, or 35
physical health or well -being; or 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/23 H4/7/23 HB1738
5 04-07-2023 11:47:56 TNL369
(b) A change in related services or monitoring 1
as it pertains to the student; or 2
(ii) Encourage a student to withhold information 3
from the student's parent as it pertains to the s tudent's mental, emotional, 4
or physical health or well -being or a change in related services or 5
monitoring as it pertains to the student. 6
(B)(i) Public school district and open-enrollment public 7
charter school personnel shall not discourage or prohibit parental 8
notification of and involvement in critical decisions that affect a parent's 9
child's mental, emotional, or physical health or well -being. 10
(ii) However, a public school district or open-11
enrollment public charter school may adopt procedures th at permit public 12
school personnel to withhold parental notification of information described 13
under subdivision (3)(B)(i) of this section if a reasonably prudent person 14
would believe that the disclosure of information would result in abuse, 15
abandonment, or neglect of a child or if disclosure is prohibited by law ; and 16
(4)(A) Ensure that classroom instruction provided by public 17
school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity: 18
(i) Shall not occur in kindergarten through grade 19
five (K-5), as provided by Acts 2023, No. 237 ; and 20
(ii) Is age-appropriate and developmentally 21
appropriate for students in grades six through twelve (6 -12). 22
(B) However, nothing in this section shall be construed as 23
requiring public school personn el, a public school district, or an open -24
enrollment public charter school to provide classroom instruction on sexual 25
orientation or gender identity to students in grades six through twelve (6 -26
12). 27
28
6-18-2506. Rules. 29
(a) The Division of Elementary and S econdary Education shall 30
promulgate rules necessary to implement this subchapter. 31
(b) When adopting the initial rules to implement this 32
subchapter, the final rules shall be filed with the Secretary of State for 33
adoption under 25-15-204(f). 34
35
/s/McAlindon 36