An act TO ALLOW A RESIDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PERMIT 10 A PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE IN AN 11 INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITY AT THE RESIDENT SCHOOL 12 DISTRICT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, the official text

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.

1 State of Arkansas          As Engrossed: S3/6/25
2 95th General Assembly
                                  A Bill

3 Regular Session, 2025                                            SENATE BILL 303

4

5 By: Senator Dees

6 By: Representative Torres

7

8                            For An Act To Be Entitled

9             AN ACT TO ALLOW A RESIDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PERMIT

10            A PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE IN AN

11            INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITY AT THE RESIDENT SCHOOL

12            DISTRICT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS; AND FOR OTHER

13            PURPOSES.

14

15

16                                Subtitle

17                       TO ALLOW A RESIDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT TO

18                       PERMIT A PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT TO

19                       PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERSCHOLASTIC

20                       ACTIVITY AT THE RESIDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

21                       UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.

22

23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

24

25  SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter 2, is amended

26 to add an additional section to read as follows:

27  6-18-237. Participation of private school students in interscholastic

28 activities at public schools -- Definitions.

29  (a) As used in this section:

30            (1) "Athletic activity" means a varsity sport or another

31 competitive sports-related contest, game, event, or exhibition that involves

32 an individual student or teams of students either among schools within a

33 resident school district or between schools outside of the resident school

34 district;

35            (2) "Interscholastic activity" means an activity between schools

36 subject to rules of the Arkansas Activities Association that is:

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    As Engrossed: S3/6/25                                                    SB303

1                  (A) Outside the regular curriculum of a public school

2 district, including without limitation an athletic activity, a fine arts

3 program, or a special interest club or group; and

4                  (B) Taught by an individual with a minimum of a high

5 school diploma;

6        (3) "Parent" means a parent, legal guardian, or person standing

7 in loco parentis to a child;

8        (4) "Private school" means a nonpublic elementary or secondary

9 school that is:

10                 (A) A registered nonprofit; and

11                 (B) Accredited or licensed by an accrediting association

12 recognized by the State Board of Education;

13       (5) "Resident school" means:

14                 (A) A public school to which a student would be assigned

15 by the student's resident school district; or

16                 (B) An open-enrollment public charter school with a campus

17 located within the student's resident school district; and

18       (6) "Resident school district" means a public school district in

19 which a private school student's parent resides as determined under � 6-18-

20 202.

21       (b) A resident school district or an open-enrollment public charter

22 school may permit a private school student to pursue participation in an

23 interscholastic activity at the resident school if the private school in

24 which the student is enrolled does not have the interscholastic activity in

25 which the private school student seeks to participate approved by the

26 Arkansas Activities Association.

27       (c) A private school student who participates in an interscholastic

28 activity that does not occur during a designated class period at his or her

29 resident school shall be enrolled in a nonacademic class period in his or her

30 resident school that coincides with the interscholastic activity that does

31 not occur during a designated class period in which the private school

32 student participates in order for the resident school district to receive an

33 amount equal to one-sixth (1/6) of the state foundation funding amount

34 provided under � 6-20-2305 for the duration of the private school student's

35 enrollment in the resident school district.

36

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