Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB634 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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3	3	State of Arkansas 1
4	4	95th General Assembly A Bill 2
5	5	Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 634 3
6	6	4
7	7	By: Senators M. Johnson, B. Johnson, A. Clark 5
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9	9	7
10	10	For An Act To Be Entitled 8
11	11	AN ACT TO CREATE THE DIVISION OF INTERSCHOLASTIC 9
12	12	ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND 10
13	13	SECONDARY EDUCATION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
14	14	12
15	15	13
16	16	Subtitle 14
17	17	TO CREATE THE DIVISION OF 15
18	18	INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE 16
19	19	DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 17
20	20	EDUCATION. 18
21	21	19
22	22	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 20
23	23	21
24	24	SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter 1, is amended 22
25	25	to add an additional section to read as follows: 23
26	26	6-18-116. Division of Interscholastic Activities — Definitions — 24
27	27	Creation — Duties. 25
28	28	(a) To promote the value of student participation in interscholastic 26
29	29	activities and to provide fair and impartial oversight of interscholastic 27
30	30	activities at schools in the State of Arkansas, the General Assembly finds 28
31	31	that a Division of Interscholastic Activities should be established under the 29
32	32	direct operational control of the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary 30
33	33	Education. 31
34	34	(b) As used in this section: 32
35	35	(1) "Interscholastic activity" means a school activity not 33
36	36	included in a regular curriculum, including without limitation sports and 34
37	37	special interest clubs or groups, in which students in grades six through 35
38	38	twelve (6-12) participate and compete; and 36 SB634
39	39
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41	41	(2) "School" means: 1
42	42	(A) A public school; 2
43	43	(B) An open-enrollment public charter school; or 3
44	44	(C) A private school. 4
45	45	(c) There is created a Division of Interscholastic Activities within 5
46	46	the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. 6
47	47	(d)(1) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall 7
48	48	select an individual to serve as the Assistant Commissioner of the Division 8
49	49	of Interscholastic Activities, who shall serve at the pleasure of the 9
50	50	Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. 10
51	51	(2) The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education may 11
52	52	reassign as necessary Division of Elementary and Secondary Education staff to 12
53	53	the Division of Interscholastic Activities sufficient to fulfill the Division 13
54	54	of Interscholastic Activities's monitoring and reporting obligations. 14
55	55	(e)(1) The person selected as Assistant Commissioner of the Division 15
56	56	of Interscholastic Activities shall: 16
57	57	(A) Be a person of good moral character and qualified 17
58	58	technically and by experience to direct the work of the Division of 18
59	59	Interscholastic Activities; 19
60	60	(B) Hold a master's degree or an equivalent degree from an 20
61	61	accredited institution; and 21
62	62	(C) Have at least ten (10) years of experience in an 22
63	63	administrative, supervisory, or management position. 23
64	64	(2) No person who is related within the fourth degree of 24
65	65	consanguinity or affinity to a member of the State Board of Education or to 25
66	66	the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education shall be eligible to 26
67	67	serve as the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Interscholastic 27
68	68	Activities. 28
69	69	(f) With guidance and approval from the Commissioner of Elementary and 29
70	70	Secondary Education, the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of 30
71	71	Interscholastic Activities shall be responsible for hiring all employees of 31
72	72	the Division of Interscholastic Activities. 32
73	73	(g) The Division of Interscholastic Activities shall have the 33
74	74	following responsibilities: 34
75	75	(1) To monitor schools for compliance with the following as it 35
76	76	relates to interscholastic activities: 36 SB634
77	77
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79	79	(A) State rules and federal regulations; 1
80	80	(B) Legislative acts; and 2
81	81	(C) All rules as established by the state board; 3
82	82	(2) To promote the educational values inherent in 4
83	83	interscholastic activities that contribute to the accepted aims of education 5
84	84	while avoiding interference with the educational goals of a school; 6
85	85	(3) To ensure that interscholastic activities remain an integral 7
86	86	part of an education program; 8
87	87	(4) To promote an understanding that participation in 9
88	88	interscholastic activities is a privilege for students who meet certain 10
89	89	criteria established by the state board; 11
90	90	(5) To foster a cooperative spirit of good sportsmanship on the 12
91	91	part of school representatives, school patrons, and students; 13
92	92	(6) To support opportunities for students to experience the 14
93	93	benefits that are derived from teamwork, developing a sense of fair play, and 15
94	94	accomplishment; 16
95	95	(7) To promote an understanding and appreciation that rules, 17
96	96	consistently applied, create order and discipline; 18
97	97	(8) To provide standard and consistent interpretations of the 19
98	98	rules as adopted by the state board; 20
99	99	(9) To conduct championship events according to the procedures 21
100	100	adopted by the state board in a thorough and impartial manner; 22
101	101	(10) To prevent exploitation of youth by special interest 23
102	102	groups; 24
103	103	(11) To develop standards of officiating and adjudicating 25
104	104	interscholastic activities in order to ensure greater statewide consistency 26
105	105	and quality; and 27
106	106	(12) To consider the distances required for traveling when 28
107	107	scheduling competitions between schools. 29
108	108	(h)(1) Each public school and open -enrollment public charter school 30
109	109	shall be subject to the oversight of interscholastic activities by the 31
110	110	Division of Interscholastic Activities. 32
111	111	(2) A private school may choose to be subject to the oversight 33
112	112	of its interscholastic activities by the Division of Interscholastic 34
113	113	Activities. 35
114	114	(i) The Division of Interscholastic Activities shall not discriminate 36 SB634
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117	117	against an individual on the basis of gender, national origin, race, 1
118	118	ethnicity, religion, or disability. 2
119	119	(j) By June 1 of each year, the Division of Interscholastic Activities 3
120	120	shall provide an annual report on its regulation of interscholastic 4
121	121	activities for the previous school year to the House Committee on Education 5
122	122	and the Senate Committee on Education. 6
123	123	(k) The state board shall promulgate rules to administer this section. 7
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