Senate Education advances student due‑process changes, isolated‑school pathway and other bills; four‑day week proposal fails

The Senate Education Committee considered a large slate of bills covering student disciplinary rules, rural isolated schools, school choice coursework, behavioral health for students with severe behavior, and a plan to unify administration for the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind. Several measures were adopted as amended and one high‑profile proposal to lock in limits on four‑day school calendars failed after debate.

Committee action mattered for multiple districts and programs. The committee voted to advance: (a) Senate Bill 618, trimming the appeal window under the Arkansas Student Due Process and Protection Act and reiterating notice and counsel rights for students at state campuses; (b) Senate Bill 619, as amended, to create a statutory pathway for certain isolated schools to detach and form isolated school districts while preserving specified state funding and a process for transfer of facilities and debt; (c) Senate Bill 604, amendments to the Course Choice program clarifying provider definitions, payment timing and a per‑course cap tied to foundation funding (reported as a per‑course percentage); (d) Senate Bill 451, requiring coordination between the Division of Human Services and the Department of Education to develop regional behavioral health programs and crisis response pathways for students who present a substantial risk of injury; (e) House Bill 1810 (by the House sponsor), to unify administrative oversight of the two state special‑education residential campuses (the schools for the deaf and the blind) and to move related appointment language; and several smaller or technical funding bills. The committee defeated a bill that would have codified current 4‑day calendar rules and limited future state oversight of four‑day schedules.

What the committee approved

Senate Bill 618 — student due process: Senator Missy Irvin (District 24) presented the bill to amend the Arkansas Student Due Process and Protection Act to shorten the period within which a student must file an appeal after being notified as the subject of a campus investigation. Irvin told the committee the change reduces the current 25‑day deadline to seven days so appeals and investigations will conclude more quickly and not roll into subsequent academic terms. The bill retains — and Irvin emphasized it in discussion — the requirement that institutions advise students in writing at the initiation of an investigation that they may seek legal representation. Committee members asked about hearing length (Irvin estimated investigations and hearings can last several months) and whether written notice will include allegations and rules; witnesses from the University of Arkansas System (Melissa Rust) and campus liaisons confirmed campuses already maintain written procedures to notify students of allegations and of representation rights. The committee approved SB 618.

Senate Bill 619 — isolated schools/district formation (major discussion and amendment): Senator Irvin also presented SB 619 with an amendment that reworks how small, geographically isolated K–12 campuses can detach from receiving districts and form an isolated school district. The bill grew from long testimony by rural constituents and local leaders who said some formerly‑annexed small schools still operate essentially as independent campuses (examples cited included Timbo and Rural Special) and that a statutory pathway is needed for those schools to regain local fiscal control and preserve community schools. Mountain View School District superintendent Mark Rush, local parents and…