005.01.15 Ark. Code R. 001

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 10, October, 2024

Rule 005.01.15-001 - Rules Governing Required Training for School Board Members

1.00 REGULATORY AUTHORITY

1.01 The State Board of Education promulgates this Rule pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-13-629, 6-11-105, and Act 568 of 2015.

1.02 This Rule shall be known as the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Rules Governing Required Training for School Board Members

2.00 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Rule is to outline the type and amount of training required for new and continuing local school board members.

3.00 DEFINITIONS

3.01 "Annual School Performance Report" means the report required to be published by the ADE for each school district annually under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-1402.

3.02 "Comprehensive School Improvement Plan" means the plan that each local school district must prepare annually under the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public School and School Districts Section 7.04.1.

3.03 "Publish" means to provide information to a local newspaper of general circulation and to arrange for placement of the information, including payment of all relevant fees.

4.00 TRAINING HOURS REQUIRED

4.01 A member of a local school district board of directors who has served on the board of directors for twelve (12) or more consecutive months shall obtain no less than six (6) hours of training and instruction by December 31 of each calendar year.

4.02 A member of a school district board of directors elected for an initial or non-continuous term shall obtain no less than nine (9) hours of training and instruction by December 31 of the calendar year following the year in which the member is elected.

4.02.1 The training or instruction under Section 4.02 of this Rule shall be accomplished within the first fifteen (15) months of service on the board of directors.

4.03 Hours of training and instruction obtained in excess of the minimum requirements each year may accumulate and be carried forward through December 31 of the third calendar year following the year in which the hours were obtained.

5.00 TRAINING CONTENT

5.01 The training and instruction required under this Rule shall include topics relevant to school laws, school operations, and the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the members of the board of directors, including without limitation:

5.01.1 Legal requirements, including without limitation:

5.01.1.1 The following items listed or required by the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-1-101:

5.01.1.1.1 Audit management letter

5.01.1.1.2 Ethical guidelines

5.01.1.1.3 School elections

5.01.1.1.4 Management of schools

5.01.1.1.5 Revolving loan funds

5.01.1.1.6 School district finances

5.01.1.1.7 School district school bonds

5.01.1.1.8 Teachers and employees

5.01.1.1.9 Teachers' salaries

5.01.1.1.10 Deposit and investments of funds

5.01.1.1.11 Improvement contracts

5.01.1.2 Other financial laws or regulations designated by the Arkansas Department of Education;

5.01.2 Role differentiation;

5.01.3 Financial management, including without limitation how to read and interpret an audit report;

5.01.1.3 The training or instruction on how to read and interpret an audit report shall be conducted by a person who:

5.01.1.3.1 Is licensed to practice accounting by the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy and has prior experience conducting school district financial audit.

5.01.1.3.2 The instructor of the audit training must not be an employee of the Division of Legislative Audit unless the training is conducted for the boards of directors of multiple school districts.

5.01.1.3.3 The instructor must not be the person conducting the annual audit or other financial audit of the school district unless the training or instruction is presented in a large group setting sponsored by a statewide or regional organization that is attended by multiple school districts.

5.01.1.4 Training or instruction shall be conducted under the consultation or supervision of an individual who qualifies under Section 5.01.1.3 of these rules as part of a program that is provided:

5.01.1.4.1 By an institution of higher education located in Arkansas;

5.01.1.4.2 From instruction sponsored or approved by the Department of Education; or

5.01.1.4.3 By an in-service training conducted by or through the Arkansas School Boards Association.

5.01.1.5 The audit training or instruction may be presented by electronic means, in person, or both.

5.01.4 Improving student achievement.

6.00 TRAINING PROVIDERS

6.01 This instruction may be provided to board members by an institution of higher learning in this state, by programs sponsored or approved by the ADE, or by an in-service training program conducted by or through the Arkansas School Boards Association

6.02 Any instruction directly provided to board members by either an institution of higher learning in this state, the ADE, or the Arkansas School Boards Association, which instruction meets the training content requirements of Section 5.00 of this Rule, shall not require pre-approval by the ADE.

6.03 At least thirty (30) days before a training program meeting the content requirements of section 5.00 of this Rule is offered to members of a local school district's board of directors, the provider shall provide a detailed description of the entire program including staff qualifications to the ADE.

6.04 The ADE shall promptly review the content of the program for compliance with any and all applicable statues and department rules to determine if any or all of the program content shall be deemed to provide training and instruction credit and shall establish the time period the training and instruction provider is approved to offer the program.

6.05 Upon notification by the ADE of approval of the program (or a part or parts thereof) for training and instruction credit, the provider may enroll participants in the program and offer the program for training and instruction credit for the set time period.

6.06 The provider shall be responsible for the preparation and dissemination of proof of completion of the program (or parts thereof) to all attendees. All such proof, or copies thereof, shall be submitted by the board member attendees to the superintendent of the district whose board they serve.

7.00 RECORDS OF TRAINING

7.01 A school district shall maintain a record of hours of training and instruction for board members, which may be in the form of an attested, cumulative annual report from the training providers and which shall be subject to verification and inspection during the school district's annual audit

7.02 A statement of the hours of training and instruction obtained by each board member in the preceding year shall be:

7.02.1 Part of the school district's comprehensive school improvement plan and goals;

7.02.2 Published in the same way that other components of the comprehensive school improvement plan and goals are required to be; and

7.02.3 Made a part of the annual school performance report required under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-1402.

8.00 AUTHORIZATION TO REIMBURSE FOR RELATED EXPENSES

8.01 Local school district boards of directors are authorized to pay a reasonable per diem and other necessary expenses from funds belonging to the school district and to reimburse school board directors for expenses incurred in attending in-service workshops, conferences, and other courses of training and instruction required in completing the training and instruction as required under this Rule.

9.00 ENFORCEMENT

9.01 A school district shall demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this Rule in addition to complying with the provisions of Section 7.00 of this Rule by causing its superintendent to file a written statement of assurance with the ADE pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-202.

9.02 A school district which fails to comply with the provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-629 and the procedural requirements articulated in this Rule shall be subject to being placed in probationary status pursuant to Section 24.18 of the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts.

Exhibit A

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005.01.15 Ark. Code R. 001

11/20/2015