Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 01 - Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services
Rule 005.01.18-012 - Rules Governing Instructional Materials
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 005.01.18-012
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
1.00 REGULATORY AUTHORITY
1.01 These rules shall be known as the
Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Instructional
Materials.
1.02 These rules are
enacted pursuant to the Arkansas State Board of Education's authority under
Ark. Code Ann. §§
6-11-105,
6-21-401 et seq.,
25-15-201 et seq., and Act 929 of
2017.
2.00 PURPOSE
The purpose of these rules is to set forth requirements related to the purchase, distribution and use of instructional materials.
3.00 DEFINITIONS
3.01 "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
Education.
3.02 "Instructional
materials" means:
3.02.1 Traditional books,
textbooks, and trade books in printed and bound form;
3.02.2 Activity-oriented programs that may
include:
3.02.1
Manipulatives;
3.02.2 Hand-held
calculators; or
3.02.3 Other
hands-on material; and
3.02.3
Technology-based materials that require the use of electronic equipment in
order to be used in the learning process.
3.03 "School" or "School District" as those
terms are used in these rules, shall include open-enrollment public charter
schools.
3.04 "State Board" means
the Arkansas State Board of Education.
4.00 GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
4.01 Pursuant
to Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-404, the State Board of
Education may:
4.01.1 Require reports from
school districts on the use and distribution of instructional materials;
and
4.01.2 Do whatever else may be
necessary for the general welfare of the public school instructional materials
system in order to acquire the items at the lowest possible cost.
4.02 The powers enumerated in
section 4.00 of these rules and in Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-404 are cumulative and not
restrictive.
5.00 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
5.01 Each school district shall select an
instructional materials selection committee.
5.01.2 A majority of its members shall be
licensed personnel, which shall include classroom teachers.
5.02 Public school districts shall
provide instructional materials, including the availability of any equipment
needed to access the instructional materials, for all pupils attending the
public schools of this state in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12),
inclusive, in all subjects taught in those grades, without cost to the
pupils.
5.03 School districts may
select their own instructional materials, including the equipment needed to
access the instructional materials.
5.04 Any materials purchased with state funds
shall be consistent with course content standards and curriculum
frameworks.
5.05 The Department of
Education shall monitor to ensure that all school districts in the State of
Arkansas comply with Section 5.00 of these rules and with Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-403. The primary method of
compliance shall be through a school district's Statement of Assurance filed
with the Department of Education pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
6-15-202.
5.05.1 The Department of Education shall
report in the annual school performance report a school district that fails to
provide instructional materials including the availability of any equipment
needed to access the instructional materials or any school district that
charges any student a fee for use of or access to any instructional
materials.
5.05.2 The State Board
of Education shall report to the members of the House Committee on Education
and Senate Committee on Education annually any school district out of
compliance with Section 5.00 of these rules and with Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-403 by November 1 of each
year.
5.06 As used in
this subsection, "person" means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, or
an association.
5.06.1 A person who operates
in this state shall not charge a school district a price for instructional
materials that exceeds the lowest contracted price currently bid in another
state on the same product.
5.06.2 A
person shall sell instructional materials at the same price to all school
districts in the state and must guarantee the price for the remainder of the
school year.
6.00 CONDITIONS FOR OFFERING TEXTBOOKS FOR ADOPTION, SALE OR EXCHANGE
6.01
All publishers doing business in the State of Arkansas shall maintain one (1)
or more book depositories at the publisher's expense in this
state.
7.00 ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES FOR PUBLISHER'S FAILURE TO COMPLY
7.01 The State Board is authorized to assess
any publisher any amount of damages to the State of Arkansas for failure to
comply with the terms of Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-401 et seq. or any published
regulation of the State Board, provided that the publisher has been given a
hearing before the State Board regarding the assessment of damages.
7.02 If a publisher fails to reimburse the
State of Arkansas within six (6) months after notice of assessment has been
served on the publisher, the state board may prohibit the publisher from
selling instructional materials in Arkansas for a maximum period of five (5)
years from the date that damages are assessed pursuant to Section 7.00 of these
rules.
7.03 The following
procedures shall apply to a situation involving a publisher's alleged failure
to comply with the terms of Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-401 et seq. or any published
regulation of the State Board:
7.03.1 The
Commissioner of Education shall provide written notice, via certified mail,
return receipt requested, to the publisher. The written notice shall include
specific allegations of precisely how the publisher failed to comply with the
terms of Ark. Code Ann. §
6-20-401 et seq. or any published
regulation of the State Board. The written notice shall also include a
recommendation from the Commissioner of Education concerning the assessment of
damages for the publisher's failure to comply.
7.03.2 Within thirty (30) days of receipt of
the written notification from the Commissioner of Education, the publisher
shall respond in writing to the Commissioner of Education, indicating one of
the following:
7.03.2.1 The publisher concurs
with the specific allegations and/or recommended assessment of damages;
or
7.03.2.2 The publisher disputes
the specific allegations and/or recommended assessment and requests an appeal
before the State Board of Education. Such a notice of appeal shall include a
brief statement of the reasons why the Commissioner's specific allegations
and/or recommended assessment of damages should not be adopted.
7.03.4 If the publisher concurs
with the Commissioner's specific allegations and/or recommended assessment of
damages, or fails to respond to the same within thirty (30) days, the
Commissioner shall place his or her recommended assessment of damages on the
consent agenda of the next regularly scheduled State Board of Education meeting
in accordance with the State Board of Education's procedures for the submission
of agenda items.
7.03.5 If the
publisher disputes the Commissioner's specific allegations and/or recommended
assessment of damages, the State Board of Education shall hear the publisher's
appeal within sixty (60) days of receipt of the notice of appeal. Through
mutual agreement, the Commissioner of Education and the publisher may extend
the date of the hearing for an additional thirty (30) days.
7.04 The following procedures
shall apply to a hearing before the State Board of Education:
7.04.1 Each party will have the opportunity
to present an opening statement of no longer than five (5) minutes, beginning
with the representative of the Department of Education. The Chairperson of the
State Board of Education may, only for good cause shown and upon the request of
either party, allow either party additional time to present their opening
statements.
7.04.2 Each party will
be given thirty (30) minutes to present their cases, beginning with the
representative of the Department of Education. The Chairperson of the State
Board of Education may, only for good cause shown and upon the request of
either party, allow either party additional time to present their
cases.
7.04.3 Every witness giving
oral testimony must be sworn under oath by the court reporter and shall be
subject to direct examination, cross examination, and questioning by the State
Board of Education.
7.04.4 For the
purposes of the record, documents offered during the hearing by the Department
of Education shall be clearly marked in sequential, numeric order (1, 2,
3).
7.04.5 For the purposes of the
record, documents offered during the hearing by the publisher shall be clearly
marked in sequential, alphabetic letters (A, B, C).
7.04.6 The Department of Education shall have
the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the
Commissioner's specific allegations and/or recommended assessment of damages be
adopted.
7.04.7 The State Board of
Education may:
7.04.7.1 Adopt the
Commissioner's specific allegations and/or recommended assessment of damages be
adopted;
7.04.7.2 Modify the
Commissioner's recommended assessment of damages; or
7.04.7.3 Grant the appeal of the
publisher.
7.04.8 The
State Board of Education may announce its decision immediately after hearing
all arguments and evidence or may take the matter under advisement. The State
Board of Education shall provide a written decision to the Department of
Education and the publisher within fourteen (14) days of the hearing.
8.00 NOTICE OF ILLEGAL ACTS INVOLVING SCHOOL OFFICIALS PURSUANT TO ARK. CODE ANN. § 6-21-410
8.01 It shall be illegal for the Commissioner
of Education or any other employee connected with the Department of Education,
any member of any selecting committee, or any member of any school board of
directors to accept or receive any money, gift, property, or favor whatsoever
from any person, firm, corporation, or any agent thereof offering for sale any
item pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-401 et seq. or from any person
in any way interested in such sale.
8.01.1
Any person who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to or is found guilty of
violating Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-410(a) shall
be found guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
8.01.2 Any fines collected under Ark. Code
Ann. §
6-21-410(a) shall
be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Public School
Fund.
8.02 It shall be
illegal for any teacher in the public schools of Arkansas or any person
connected with the public school system of Arkansas in any capacity to have any
interest in the profits, proceeds, or sale of any instructional materials used
in the schools of Arkansas under his or her charge or with which he or she is
connected in any official capacity. However, this provision shall not apply nor
have any reference to royalties or fees received by a person from the sale of
instructional materials of which he or she is the author.
8.02.1 Any person who pleads guilty or nolo
contendere to or is found guilty of violating Ark. Code Ann. §
6-21-410(b) shall
be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine of no less than fifty dollars
($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200).
8.02.2 Any fines collected under Ark. Code
Ann. Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21- 410(b) shall be deposited into the State
Treasury to the credit of the Public School Fund.
8.03 It shall be illegal for any person
directly or indirectly to promise or offer to give or cause to be promised,
offered, or given any money, good, bribe, present, reward, or any valuable
thing whatsoever to the Commissioner of Education, his or her assistants, or
any other employee of the Department of Education, the Director of the
Department of Career Education, his or her assistants, or any other employee of
the Department of Career Education, any school board members, teachers, or
other persons with the intent of influencing their decisions on any questions,
matters, causes, or proceedings in the selection of any instructional
materials.
8.03.1 Any person who pleads
guilty or nolo contendere to or is found guilty of violating Ark. Code Ann.
§
6-21-410(c) shall
be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
8.03.2 Any fines collected under Ark. Code
Ann. §
6-21-410(c) shall
be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Public School
Fund.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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