Section 6-18-2401 - Legislative findingsThe General Assembly finds that:
(1) It is the responsibility of each school district in Arkansas to ensure the safety of all students and school personnel;(2) It is the responsibility of each school district in Arkansas to ensure that every student in Arkansas is safe and protected from being unnecessarily or inappropriately restrained;(3) Safe, effective, evidence-based strategies should be the basis for protocols in public schools and educational settings to support every student who displays challenging behavior in a public school or educational setting;(4) Providing school personnel with training that is focused on evidence-based positive behavioral support, de-escalation techniques, and physical restraint prevention can reduce the incidence of injury, trauma, and death;(5) The effective implementation of school-wide positive behavioral support is linked to greater academic achievement, significantly fewer disciplinary problems, increased instruction time, and the perception of a safer teaching environment by school personnel;(6) Positive behavioral support involves school-wide approaches that result in: (A) Positive classroom and school climates;(B) Prosocial student and school personnel interactions;(C) Teaching a student academic, social, emotional, behavioral engagement, and achievement skills; and(D) Reinforcing the academic, social, emotional, behavioral engagement, and achievement skills of a student;(7) The use of effective positive behavioral support in public schools and educational settings can prevent an emergency situation that requires the use of physical restraint on a student; and(8) Every effort should be made to:(A) Prevent the need for secluding a student or using a physical restraint on a student;(B) Ensure that behavioral intervention is consistent with the right of a student to be free from abuse and treated with dignity;(C) Avoid the use of physical restraint on a student to the greatest extent possible without endangering the safety of other students and school personnel;(D) Avoid the use of a physical restraint on a student except in a situation where the behavior of the student poses an imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others;(E) Discontinue the use of a physical restraint on a student as soon as the imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others dissipates; and(F) Refrain from using chemical restraint or mechanical restraint in a public school or educational setting.Added by Act 2021, No. 1084,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.