§ 6-20-2204 - Required training. - Arkansas Statutes

6-20-2204. Required training.

(a) (1) (A) The Department of Education shall establish two (2) tiers of required training.

(B) Both tiers of required training shall apply to public school districts, open-enrollment public charter schools, and education service cooperatives.

(C) (i) At a minimum, two (2) persons per educational entity are required to attend an initial and annual Tier I training:

(a) The school district superintendent or the education service cooperative director or the open-enrollment public charter school director; and

(b) A person whose job responsibilities include preparing the budget or overall accounting responsibility.

(ii) The two (2) persons per educational entity required to attend the initial and annual Tier I training shall each obtain twelve (12) hours of initial training and instruction necessary to demonstrate basic proficiency as determined by the department, including, but not limited to:

(a) School laws of Arkansas;

(b) Laws and rules governing the expenditure of public education funds, fiscal accountability, and school finance;

(c) Ethics; and

(d) Financial accounting and reporting of schools, school districts, open-enrollment public charter schools, and education service cooperative expenditures.

(2) Each year thereafter, the school district superintendent, the education service cooperative executive director, or open-enrollment public charter school director and the person whose job responsibilities include preparing the budget or overall accounting responsibility who have already attended the initial and Tier I training shall obtain by December 31 of each calendar year four (4) hours of annual training and instruction as required by the department in order to maintain basic proficiency in the topics described in subdivision (a)(1) of this section.

(3) (A) The instruction may be provided by an institution of higher education in this state, from instruction sponsored by the department, by an in-service training program conducted by the Arkansas Association of School Business Officials, or from another provider.

(B) To satisfy the training and requirements under this subsection, any provider other than the department shall apply for and receive preapproval by the department as to the form and content of the training and instruction before they are offered as training and instruction to comply with the provisions of this subsection (a).

(4) (A) If a person fails to obtain the required Tier I training by the end of the calendar year and fails to cure the deficiency by March 1 of the following calendar year without filing a request for extension of time as determined from the records of the department, the department shall immediately notify the superintendent of the employing school district, the director of the open-enrollment public charter school, or the executive director of the education service cooperative by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy to the board president.

(B) (i) The superintendent of the school district, the director of the open-enrollment public charter school, or the education service cooperative executive director shall notify the person by certified mail, return receipt requested, and the person shall be unable to continue in his or her position from the date of receipt of notification by the superintendent of the school district, the director of the open-enrollment public charter school, or the education service cooperative executive director.

(ii) Any person receiving notice that he or she shall be unable to continue in his or her position solely because of his or her failure to obtain the required training may request a hearing before the State Board of Education prior to his or her permanent dismissal.

(5) If the person fails to obtain all required training by December 31, this failure shall constitute one (1) citation against the school district or the open-enrollment public charter school as measured by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts issued by the department or an admonishment to the education service cooperative by the department.

(6) If the person is unable to obtain the required training because of military service or illness as verified by a written sworn statement of the person's attending physician, the department shall grant an extension permitting the person additional time to obtain the required training. The issuance of an extension shall not constitute a citation against the school district as measured by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts issued by the department or the education service cooperative and shall not operate to remove the person from his or her job.

(b) (1) Tier II training shall include, but not be limited to, employees who do not make decisions about selecting codes or who have a limited number of codes that they can use.

(2) Tier II training shall be developed by the department in cooperation with representatives from the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, the Arkansas Association of School Business Officials, the Arkansas Education Association, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, and the education service cooperatives.

(3) The training shall be annual and shall be four (4) hours.

(4) School districts shall be responsible for providing the training to these employees.

(5) School district trainers are required to attend Tier I training and annual updates as required by the department under this subsection (b) and subsection (a) of this section.

(c) (1) Each school district, open-enrollment public charter school, or education service cooperative shall maintain files and records indicating all employees who are required to obtain and who have completed Tier II training.

(2) Each school district superintendent, open-enrollment public charter school director, or education service cooperative executive director shall provide the department an assurance statement regarding the completion of Tier II training by the required individuals.

(d) The state board shall modify the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts issued by the department as may be required by this section.

(e) It is the responsibility of the department to receive and maintain records of instructional hours of Tier I training obtained under this section.

(f) The state board is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this section.