Arkansas

The published process

Placement during a dispute

"Except as provided below under the heading PROCEDURES WHEN DISCIPLINING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, once a due process complaint is sent to the other party, during the resolution process time period, and while waiting for the decision of any impartial due process hearing or court proceeding, unless you and the State or school district agree otherwise, your child must remain in his or her current educational placement." — Procedural Safeguards Notice, §300.518, retrieved Aug 25, 2026

Independent evaluation at public expense

"You have the right to an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense if you disagree with an evaluation of your child obtained by your school district, subject to the following conditions:" "If you request an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense, your school district must, without unnecessary delay, either: (a) File a due process complaint to request a hearing to show that its evaluation of your child is appropriate; or (b) Provide an independent educational evaluation at public expense, unless the school district demonstrates in a hearing that the evaluation of your child that you obtained did not meet the school district’s criteria." — Procedural Safeguards Notice, §300.502

Who may be present, and what record is made

"Any party to a due process hearing (including a hearing relating to disciplinary procedures) has the right to: 1. Be accompanied and advised by a lawyer and/or persons with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of children with disabilities; 2. Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and require the attendance of witnesses; 3. Prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at least five business days before the hearing; 4. Obtain a written, or, at your option, electronic, word-for-word record of the hearing; and 5. Obtain written, or, at your option, electronic findings of fact and decisions." Parents specifically "must be given the right to: 1. Have your child present; 2. Open the hearing to the public; and 3. Have the record of the hearing, the findings of fact and decisions provided to you at no cost." — Procedural Safeguards Notice, Hearing Rights, §300.512. Recording of IEP Team meetings, as distinct from due process hearings, is not stated in the sources reviewed (the notice, the Dispute Resolution overview, State Complaints, and Mediation/IEP Facilitation pages, and the Dispute Resolution Parent Guide were searched); district policies may address it.

The three rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state’s own published documents, or record that a question is not answered in them.

Timelines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated. From the Arkansas Department of Education Procedural Safeguards Notice except where noted.

On state complaints: "The complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than one year prior to the date that the complaint is received as described under the heading Adoption of State Complaint Procedures." "Each State Educational Agency must include in its State complaint procedures a time limit of 60 calendar days after a complaint is filed" to investigate and issue a written decision. The department’s procedures must "Permit an extension of the 60 calendar-day time limit only if: (a) exceptional circumstances exist with respect to a particular State complaint; or (b) the parent and the school district or other public agency involved voluntarily agree to extend the time to resolve the matter through mediation or alternative means of dispute resolution, if available in the State." (Filing a Complaint, §300.153; Minimum State Complaint Procedures, §300.152)

On requesting a due process hearing: "The due process complaint must allege a violation that happened not more than two years before you or the school district knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint." (Filing a Due Process Complaint, §300.507)

On the resolution process: "Within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of your due process complaint, and before the due process hearing begins, the school district must convene a meeting with you and the relevant member or members of the individualized education program (IEP)" Team who have specific knowledge of the facts identified in the complaint. (Resolution Process, §300.510)

On the hearing decision: "The State Educational Agency must ensure that not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration of the 30-calendar-day period for resolution meetings or, as described under the sub-heading Adjustments to the 30-calendar-day resolution period, not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration of the adjusted time period: 1. A final decision is reached in the hearing; and 2. A copy of the decision is mailed to each of the parties." (Timelines and Convenience of Hearings and Reviews, §300.515)

On appeal: "The party (you or the school district) bringing the action shall have 90 calendar days from the date of the decision of the hearing officer to file a civil action." — the federal default, matching Alaska’s window and longer than Alabama’s (30 days) or Arizona’s (35 days). (Civil Actions, §300.516)

On discipline: "school personnel may, for not more than 10 school days in a row, remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from his or her current placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting (which must be determined by the child's individualized education program (IEP) Team), another setting, or suspension." "Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct" (except a removal of 10 school days or less that is not a change of placement), the school district, parent, and IEP Team must conduct a manifestation determination. "Whether or not the behavior was a manifestation of the child’s disability, school personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting (determined by the child’s IEP Team) for up to 45 school days," if the child carries a weapon, knowingly possesses or sells illegal drugs or a controlled substance, or has inflicted serious bodily injury. For an expedited hearing, "The State Educational Agency or school district must arrange for an expedited due process hearing, which must occur within 20 school days of the date the hearing is requested and must result in a determination within 10 school days after the hearing." Unless waived or replaced by mediation, "a resolution meeting must occur within seven calendar days of receiving notice of the due process complaint. The hearing may proceed unless the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties within 15 calendar days of receipt of the due process complaint." (Authority of School Personnel, §300.530; discipline appeal provisions, §300.532)

What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.

Change log

Aug 25, 2026 · Page created (pilot). Captured first-party: the Arkansas Department of Education Procedural Safeguards Notice (PDF text, full document retrieved), the Dispute Resolution overview page, the State Complaints page, the Mediation/IEP Facilitation page, the Dispute Resolution Parent Guide (PDF, March 2022), the Parent Resources page, and the Special Education page’s footer contact block. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) the Procedural Safeguards Notice carries no revision or approval date anywhere on its face, matching Alaska; this capture reflects the version live at the URL on the retrieval date; (2) unlike Alabama’s, Alaska’s, and Arizona’s notices, Arkansas’s notice text largely retains the generic OSEP template phrase "State Educational Agency" rather than substituting the state’s own agency name throughout its section bodies; (3) the Dispute Resolution Section’s own fax number differs between two of the state’s pages — 501-682-4313 on the Dispute Resolution overview page versus 501-683-4496 on the State Complaints page — for the same office and the same named administrator, Rick Porter; recorded as published, neither reconciled; (4) the Center for Exceptional Families’ published address differs between the Parent Resources page (a street address) and the Dispute Resolution Parent Guide (a PO box, different zip code); recorded as published, neither reconciled; (5) recording of IEP Team meetings, as distinct from due process hearings, is not addressed in the sources reviewed; (6) the Dispute Resolution Parent Guide was hand-transcribed from an inline fetch rather than a saved file, so its apostrophe typography is normalized to straight quotes throughout this packet rather than verified byte-for-byte against the original PDF. Capture pending: the State Complaint form; the four Request for Hearing forms; the Due Process Hearing Procedures document and Independent Hearing Officer Procedural Guide; the Spanish-language notice; and the Mediation Project Brochure and Mediation Process document. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-25. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.