Policy Guidance:
Everything that is new in the policies is underlined in red. The portions that are to be removed from the policies are struck through and are in blue.
Policies Changed or added:
1.14—MEETING AGENDA – An unnecessary “but may” was deleted from the fifth paragraph. As part of standardization, the cross reference was moved above the legal references.
1.16 —DUTIES OF BOARD DISBURSING OFFICER – The list of duties was updated to include those for electronic transactions.
1.17—NEPATISM – Act 846 amended A.C.A. § 6-24-105 to increase the amount required to trigger Commissioner review for contracts, but did not change the amount for na initial employment contract of family members. This update is to fix that mistaken change.
1.19—BOARD MEMBER LENGTH OF TERM and HOLDOVERS – Footnote 3 was deleted from the policy due to the release of the Attorney General Opinion 2015-112, which was added to the legal references. These changes do not require board action.
3.6—LICENSED PERSONNEL EMPLOYEE TRAINING – Several places were updated to fix a grammatical error, the language on PD for college courses and coaches was updated to more closely track the PD rules, and the reference to emergency drills was updated to include the Panic Button Alert System.
3.8—LICENSED PERSONNEL SICK LEAVE - OPTION A – Footnote 1 was updated to change the reference from Act 1180 to A.C.A. § 6-17-1206. This change does not require PPC or board action.
3.8—LICENSED PERSONNEL SICK LEAVE - OPTION B – Footnote 1 was updated to change the reference from Act 1180 to A.C.A. § 6-17-1206. This change does not require PPC or Board action.
3.9—LICENSED PERSONNEL SICK LEAVE BANK – The language on spousal sharing was updated to expressly apply to any married couple rather than only to a husband and wife pair.
3.11—LICENSED PERSONNEL PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LEAVE – A couple of the footnotes were updated for clarification. These changes do not require PPC or board action.
3.13—LICENSED PERSONNEL PUBLIC OFFICE – A note was added that this policy is similar to Policy 8.9. This change does not require PPC or board action.
3.19—LICENSED PERSONNEL EMPLOYMENT – The list of prohibited discrimination categories was updated to include additional categories recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The legal references were updated as well.
3.31—DRUG FREE WORKPLACE - LICENSED PERSONNEL - The cost of the drug test when the injury requires medical attention was changed from the district’s expense to the worker’s compensation carriers expense.
3.32—LICENSED PERSONNEL FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE – Many changes were made to this policy in order to standardize language as well as to try to remove ambiguity based on phone calls received. The footnotes were updated to reference the new form numbers for the Department of Labor forms.
3.38—LICENSED PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITIES GOVERNING BULLYING – This policy was updated to state that employees are to be held at least to the same standards as students when interacting with students.
3.44—LICENSED PERSONNEL WORKPLACE INJURIES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION - The cost of the drug test when the injury requires medical attention was changed from the district’s expense to the worker’s compensation carriers expense and a grammar error in the 4th paragraph was fixed.
3.48—LICENSED PERSONNEL WEAPONS ON CAMPUS – Footnote 3 was amended to change a reference from Act 746 to A.C.A. § 5-73-120. This change does not require PPC or board action.
3.52—WRITTEN CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN PROCUREMENT WITH FEDERAL FUNDS IN THE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM – The title and language were updated to clarify that the same restrictions apply to all Federal grants and not only the Child Nutrition programs.
3.54—VOLUNTARY TEACHING DURING PLANNING PERIOD OR OF MORE THAN THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER DAY – This policy was updated to try and clarify that a teacher may enter into a contract to teach more than one hundred fifty (150) students but that the students do not have to be taught during the teacher’s planning period. A note was added to explain the process for having the Standards violation flag removed and footnote 1 was updated to clarify the formula for determining the per student amount.
3.54F—VOLUNTARY TEACHING INSTEAD OF PREPARATORY PERIOD AND/OR EXTRA DAILY STUDENTS CONTRACT – We have created a model contract to accompany the policy required by Act 993 of 2015.
4.4—STUDENT TRANSFERS – Footnote 3 was updated to remove reference to the policy language being new and the Legal References were updated. This change does not require board action.
4.11—EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY – The list of protected categories was updated to include all of those protected from bullying in A.C.A. § 6-18-514.
4.12—STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS/EQUAL ACCESS – Footnote 1 was updated to reference the statute instead of the 2015 act that requires expulsion for hazing. This change does not require board action.
4.13—PRIVACY OF STUDENTS’ RECORDS/ DIRECTORY INFORMATION – A note was added to provide an explanation about a form from the juvenile justice system that districts may be seeing in the future as well as a link to a copy of the form. This change does not require board action.
4.22—WEAPONS AND DANGEROUS INSTRUMENTS - A.C.A. § 5-73-133, prohibiting the possession of tasers by minors, was added to the legal references. This update does not require board action.
4.30—SUSPENSION FROM SCHOOL – This update is primarily a formatting update with some list items being broken out into bulleted items, one list was changed from numbers to letters to aid in referencing, and footnote 2 was updated to cite the statute instead of the 2007 act.
4.34—COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND PARASITES – Chicken pox was updated to clarify that it is the same as Varicella, reference to Policy 4.57—IMMUNIZATIONS was added to the paragraph on immunizations, and both the Cross References and the Legal References were updated.
4.37—EMERGENCY DRILLS – Footnote 2 was updated to remove language that the panic button alert system requirement was reliant upon available funding and to remove references to the September 1, 2015 deadline. This change does not require board action.
4.40—HOMELESS STUDENTS – In the definition of a homeless student, “a” was broken down into bullet items to aid in reading.
4.41—PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS OR SCREENINGS – The note was substantially amended to clarify the requirements around an invasive physical examination and to provide information on the requirements for physical examinations for students who participate as athletes in the Arkansas Special Olympics. This change does not require board action.
4.45—SMART CORE CURRICULUM AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLASSES OF 2016 AND 2017 – A paragraph was added to state that the district shall follow the requirements from the Interstate Compact on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children regarding course credits and graduation requirements. AP Computer Science Principles was added to the list of acceptable computer science courses. The legal references were also updated.
4.45.1—SMART CORE CURRICULUM AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLASS OF 2018 – A paragraph was added to state that the district shall follow the requirements from the Interstate Compact on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children regarding course credits and graduation requirements. AP Computer Science Principles was added to the list of acceptable computer science courses. The legal references were also updated.
4.47— POSSESSION AND USE OF CELL PHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES – Updated the language on confiscated devices to make it clear that to search a confiscated device must meet the requirements of a search from Policy 4.32.
4.50—SCHOOL LUNCH SUBSTITUTIONS – The list of individuals who may sign off on a student’s need for food substitutions was updated to include additions required by Commissioner’s Memo FIN-15-122.
4.56—EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES – SECONDARY SCHOOLS – A paragraph was added to include the requirement from the Interstate Compact for the Educational Opportunity for Military Children that military children who meet all other eligibility requirements be allowed to tryout for an extracurricular activity even if the traditional tryouts have passed. The legal references were also updated.
4.56.1—EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES – ELEMENTARY – A paragraph was added to include the requirement from the Interstate Compact for the Educational Opportunity for Military Children that military children who meet all other eligibility requirements be allowed to tryout for an extracurricular activity even if the traditional tryouts have passed. The legal references were also updated.
5.2—PLANNING FOR EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT – References to the Benchmark Assessments were changed to State assessments.
5.4—SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS – This is a new recommended policy, originally released on September 22 and updated on November 2 to remove some confusion and update the legal references.
5.8—USE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS – Footnote 1 was updated to state that the documents are available on the Policy Resources page and footnotes 2 and 5 were updated to fix grammar errors. These changes do not require board action.
5.11—DIGITAL LEARNING COURSES – A reference to rules was changed to the policy in the definition “of highly qualified teacher”, school principal was changed to building principal, and the cross references were updated.
5.15—GRADING – While there were several technical corrections in this update, the primary update was to fix the math formula and correct a math error in the paragraph providing an example on the method for determining the grade of a student who transfers in the middle of a semester.
6.4—VOLUNTEERS – Because the registered volunteers program requires that volunteers undergo a background check before performing volunteer duties, the background check portion was amended to make this an automatic requirement rather than an option. The footnotes were amended to account for the change as well.
7.5—PURCHASES OF COMMODITIES AND PROCUREMENT – The policy was updated to include the requirement for the adoption of the procedures for micro-purchases with Federal funds and for the procurement process for professional services required for all political subdivisions in A.C.A. § 19-11-801 et seq.
7.10—PUBLIC USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS – The sentence on firearms was amended to include the ability for a concealed carry license holder to have a concealed handgun in a locked vehicle on the school parking lot. Three new footnotes were added and A.C.A. § 5-73-119 was added to the list of legal references.
7.11—USE OF SCHOOL FUNDS FOR NON-SCHOOL RELATED PURPOSES – Language was added to expressly state that a district employee may participate in an outside group event that is renting the school so long as the event is not during school time or the employee takes personal or vacation leave for the time the employee is attending the event.
7.13—MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF DISTRICT PROPERTY – The title for policy 7.5 in the first paragraph following the definitions was updated to match the new policy title.
7.15—RECORD RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION - Act 846 amended A.C.A. § 6-24-105 to increase the amount required to trigger Commissioner review for contracts, but did not change the amount for na initial employment contract of family members. This update is to fix that mistaken change to footnote 1 and does not require board action.
7.19—SERVICE ANIMALS IN DISTRICT FACILITIES – The notes were updated to bring language into alignment with a new Department of Justice document and the legal references were updated to include 28 C.F.R. § 36.302. These changes do not require board approval.
7.22—PRIVATE SPONSORSHIP OF EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS – The footnote numbers in the body of the policy did not match the numbers in the Notes section. This change does not require board approval.
7.24—ADVERTISING ON DISTRICT BUSES – This is a new policy resulting from Act 941 of 2015. The policy contains several different options on allowing the selling of advertizing space on district school buses.
8.5—CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES SICK LEAVE - Option A – Footnote 2 was updated to change the reference from the 2015 act to the statute. This change does not have to go through the PPC or the board.
8.5—CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES SICK LEAVE - Option B – Inserted a missing word in the second paragraph on the second page. Footnote 2 was updated to change the reference from the 2015 act to the statute.
8.6—SICK LEAVE BANK —CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES – The language on spousal sharing was updated to expressly apply to any married couple rather than only to a husband and wife pair.
8.7—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LEAVE – One of the footnotes was updated for clarification. The change does not require PPC or board action.
8.9—PUBLIC OFFICE –CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL – As part of the standardization process, the language stating the policy was similar to Policy 3.13 was updated to match similar language in other policies. This change does not require PPC or board action.
8.11—OVERTIME, COMPTIME, and COMPLYING WITH FLSA – This policy was substantially updated to bring it into compliance with changes to the Federal regulations.
8.13—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL EMPLOYMENT – The list of prohibited discrimination categories was updated to include additional categories recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The legal references were updated as well.
8.23—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE – Many changes were made to this policy in order to standardize language as well as to try to remove ambiguity based on phone calls received. The footnotes were updated to reference the new form numbers for the Department of Labor forms.
8.26—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITIES GOVERNING BULLYING – This policy was updated to state that employees are to be held at least to the same standards as students when interacting with students.
8.28— DRUG FREE WORKPLACE - CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL - The cost of the drug test when the injury requires medical attention was changed from the district’s expense to the worker’s compensation carriers expense.
8.36—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL WORKPLACE INJURIES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION - The cost of the drug test when the injury requires medical attention was changed from the district’s expense to the worker’s compensation carriers expense and a grammar error in the 4th paragraph was fixed.
8.40—CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL WEAPONS ON CAMPUS – Footnote 3 was amended to change a reference from Act 746 to A.C.A. § 5-73-120. This change does not require PPC or board action.
8.41—WRITTEN CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN PROCUREMENT WITH FEDERAL FUNDS IN THE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM – The title and language were updated to clarify that the same restrictions apply to all Federal grants and not only the Child Nutrition programs.