Arkansas — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- The rules define both terms by length. "“Suspension” means dismissal from school for a period of time that does not exceed ten (10) days." "“Expulsion” means dismissal from school for a period of time that exceeds ten (10) days." (Rules 4.10, 4.06) The ten-day line is also the line of authority: "A school district board may authorize a teacher or an administrator to suspend any student for a maximum of ten (10) school days for violation of the school district's written discipline policies, subject to appeal to the superintendent or his or her designee." (Rules 5.14) Beyond it, "A superintendent may recommend the expulsion of a student for more than ten (10) days for violation of the school district's written discipline policies, subject to appeal to the board of directors and to requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq." (Rules 5.16) Two removals are prohibited outright: "A school district shall not use out-of-school suspension as a discipline measure for truancy; and" "A school district shall not use out-of-school suspension or expulsion for a student in kindergarten through grade five (K-5) except in cases when a student's behavior:" "Poses a physical risk to himself or herself or to others; or" "Causes a serious disruption that cannot be addressed through other means." (Rules 5.13.1, 5.13.2)
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- The route runs inside the district. A teacher's or administrator's suspension is "subject to appeal to the superintendent or his or her designee." (Rules 5.14) "If the superintendent initiates the suspension process, the decision may be appealed to the board of directors." (Rules 5.15) At that forum the rules state how the meeting runs: "A school district board meeting entertaining an appeal shall be conducted in executive session if requested by the parent or guardian of the student provided that after hearing all testimony and debate, the board of directors shall conclude the executive session and reconvene in public session to vote on such appeal." (Rules 5.16.3) The notice that starts it is immediate: "Upon suspension of a student, the school shall immediately contact the student's parent or legal guardian to notify the parent or legal guardian of the suspension." (Rules 5.17)
No state-level appeal forum, hearing officer, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources; that absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Aug 30, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own rules quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Arkansas publishes in rule about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing rule, the lines the state draws, and the decision-makers and appeal route, quoted with dates. The full sections (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, every stated timeline, the district delegation map, and records access) follow as the discipline layer deepens behind its breadth sprint; the change log states exactly what is not yet captured. The notice-and-hearing procedure a parent will meet is written by the district, and the state's rule says so while requiring that it exist: student discipline policies shall "Establish procedures for notice to students and parents of charges, hearings, and other due process proceedings to be applicable in the enforcement and administration of such policies by the school administrator and by the school board of directors;". (Rules 5.04.3) The penalties are likewise the district's to set, with one state-set floor: policies shall "Prescribe minimum and maximum penalties, including without limitation, students’ suspension or expulsion from school, for violations of any of the offenses listed in 5.03 above, and for violations of other practices prohibited by school discipline policies;" and shall "Prescribe expulsion from school for a period of one (1) year for possession of any firearm or other weapon prohibited upon the school campus by law". (Rules 5.04.1, 5.04.2) The agency states where those policies are filed and posted: under Arkansas Code § 6-18-503, districts and open-enrollment charter schools "must file their written discipline policies with the DESE and post them on the public school district’s or open-enrollment charter school's website". Those delegations will anchor the full page's delegation map. For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Arkansas special education page; the expulsion route is stated to be "subject to appeal to the board of directors and to requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq." (Rules 5.16) Confirm applicability with the district and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| DESE Rules Governing Student Discipline and School Safety (005.23-253) | dese.ade.arkansas.gov | rules state "Effective August 22, 2020"; retrieved Aug 30, 2026 |
| DESE, Student Discipline Policies and Handbooks (Compliance Assistance Center) | dese.ade.arkansas.gov | none published; retrieved Aug 30, 2026 |
| Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-18-501 – 6-18-516 (the statutes the rules implement) | not published in full text on the Legislature's own site | capture pending; the finding is recorded in the change log |
| Part 234, Rules Governing Student Discipline and School Safety, in the Code of Arkansas Rules | the state rules repository at codeofarrules.arkansas.gov | the rule view is client-rendered and returned no text to this capture; capture pending |
| District written discipline policies and student handbooks | each district, filed with DESE per Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-503 | never captured; the full page's delegation map will point at them |
Change log
Aug 30, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/arkansas-discipline.json: the DESE Rules Governing Student Discipline and School Safety, and the agency's Student Discipline Policies and Handbooks page. Findings recorded: (1) the Legislature does not publish the Arkansas Code's text on arkleg.state.ar.us — its "Arkansas Code" control opens an external-link dialog to a commercial publisher — so the state's fullest first-party statement of the discipline scheme is the State Board's rule, which recites the code sections it implements; the statutes themselves are listed as capture pending rather than quoted from a non-state host; (2) the state draws its line at ten days and defines both suspension and expulsion by it, and pairs each side of the line with a different appeal forum — the superintendent below it, the board of directors above; (3) two removals are prohibited outright, out-of-school suspension for truancy and out-of-school suspension or expulsion in K-5 except for stated behavior; (4) the notice-and-hearing procedure is assigned to district policy by rule 5.04.3, which requires that districts establish it — a delegation, not an absence, and the entry that will anchor the full page's delegation map; (5) the rules as published number two different definitions 4.06, "Expulsion" and "Harassment"; both are quoted as printed and nothing is reconciled; (6) no state-level appeal forum or parent contact appears in the sources. Capture note: dese.ade.arkansas.gov serves its leaf certificate without the Sectigo intermediate that signs it, so both sources are fetched against a pinned bundle in tools/certs/ rather than the system store; the bundle narrows trust rather than widening it, and verification still happens. The Code of Arkansas Rules view of the same rule is client-rendered and returned no text to this capture; it is listed as pending. Not yet built, pending the deepening pass: sections 01–02 (framework, hoisted rows, timelines), the district delegation map, and records access. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-30. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.