Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S4/3/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 451
4
5 By: Senator Hester
6 By: Representatives R. Scott Richardson, D. Garner, Lundstrum
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH; TO REQUIRE
10 THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND THE DEPARTMENT
11 OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
12 PROGRAMS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE EDUCATION
13 OF STUDENTS PLACED IN JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES;
14 TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN
19 SERVICES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
20 TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
21 PROGRAMS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING
22 THE EDUCATION OF CERTAIN STUDENTS; AND
23 TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
24
25 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
26
27 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter 1, is amended
28 to add an additional section to read as follows:
29 6-18-116. Behavioral health programs.
30 (a) No later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Human Services,
31 as the Medicaid agency, in consultation with the Department of Education
32 shall establish regional behavioral health programs to assist public school
33 districts and open-enrollment public charter schools with locating the
34 appropriate services for a student who demonstrates a behavior that is
35 substantially likely to cause injury to the student, other students, or
36 staff.
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1 (b) A behavioral health program shall:
2 (1) Respond to a request from a public school district or an
3 open-enrollment public charter school within forty-eight (48) hours of
4 notification of the request; and
5 (2) Work with a referring public school district or open-
6 enrollment public charter school and the family of a student referred under
7 this section to develop a behavioral health management plan for a student who
8 demonstrates behavior that is substantially likely to cause injury to the
9 student, other students, or staff.
10 (c) A behavioral health management plan developed under subdivision
11 (c)(2) of this section shall include without limitation:
12 (1) The appropriate services for a student referred under this
13 section and his or her family; and
14 (2) A plan for transitioning a student referred under this
15 section back to his or her public school district or open-enrollment public
16 charter school when the student is no longer demonstrating a behavior that is
17 substantially likely to cause injury to the student, other students, or
18 staff.
19 (d) By January 1, 2026, the Department of Human Services shall:
20 (1) Develop behavior health programs to adequately meet the
21 needs of Arkansas students; and
22 (2)(A) Collaborate with the Department of Education to identify
23 regional alternative learning environments to repurpose the locations to be
24 utilized for a behavior health program.
25 (B) If an alternative learning environment is not
26 available in a region, the Department of Human Services and Department of
27 Education shall identify a location within the region to be utilized for a
28 behavior health program.
29 (e) The Department of Human Services and the Department of Education
30 shall develop appropriate funding sources for students referred to a behavior
31 health program under this section and who do not have the ability to pay for
32 care.
33 (f) A behavior health program shall:
34 (1) Provide the necessary treatment for a student who
35 demonstrates a behavior that is substantially likely to cause injury to the
36 student, other students, or staff; and
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1 (2) A program does not establish exclusionary policies for
2 admittance or removal that directly relate to the:
3 (A) Level of services needed by a student referred under
4 this section;
5 (B) Level of danger posed by a student referred under this
6 section;
7 (C) Level of intellectual functioning of a student
8 referred under this section; or
9 (D) Disability status of a student referred under this
10 section.
11 (g) The Department of Education shall provide funding for the
12 education of students in approved residential or inpatient facilities in
13 accordance with � 6-20-107.
14
15 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 6-18-202(a)(2), concerning the definition
16 of "reside" as it pertains to age and residency requirements for attending
17 public schools, is amended to read as follows:
18 (2)(A) "Reside" means to be physically present and to maintain a
19 permanent place of abode for an average of no less than four (4) calendar
20 days and nights per week for a primary purpose other than school attendance.
21 (B) "Reside" does not include an out-of-state student
22 placed in a residential facility in Arkansas;
23
24 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 6-20-104 is amended to read as follows:
25 6-20-104. Reimbursement for educational services provided in juvenile
26 detention facilities -- Definition.
27 (a)(1) As used in this section, "juvenile detention facility" means
28 any facility operated by a political subdivision of the state for the
29 temporary care of juveniles alleged to be delinquent, or adjudicated
30 delinquent, who require secure custody in a physically restricting facility.
31 (2) Under � 9-27-330(a)(11), such a juvenile detention facility
32 must shall provide educational and other rehabilitative services to
33 adjudicated delinquents who may be ordered by the court to remain in the
34 juvenile detention facility for an indeterminate period not to exceed ninety
35 (90) days.
36 (b)(1) Upon disposition by the juvenile court that an adjudicated
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1 juvenile shall stay in a juvenile detention facility for any period of time,
2 the facility shall notify the juvenile's resident school district of his or
3 her whereabouts and within five (5) days after the juvenile is released shall
4 certify the detention dates to the district.
5 (2) The school district where the facility is located and the
6 juvenile detention facility shall jointly be responsible for providing
7 educational services to students placed in the juvenile detention facility
8 and shall complete an application for funding to be based on the approved
9 student capacity of the facility and shall submit the application to the
10 Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
11 (3) If the amount of state funds due cannot be agreed upon by
12 the juvenile detention facility and the school district where the facility is
13 located, an appeal shall be made to the division. All decisions rendered
14 shall be final.
15 (3)(A) A juvenile detention facility may partner with a public
16 school district, an open-enrollment public charter school, or a private
17 educational provider to provide educational services.
18 (B) An agreement for educational services under
19 subdivision (b)(3)(A) of this section shall be outlined in a memorandum of
20 understanding and included in the application for funding submitted under
21 subdivision (b)(2) of this section.
22 (4) The division shall monitor educational services provided
23 under this section.
24 (c) The division shall issue rules for the effective implementation of
25 this section, including:
26 (1) The classification of Classifying juvenile detention centers
27 facilities as approved residential treatment facilities;
28 (2) The designation of the Designating juvenile detention
29 facility and the district where the juvenile detention facility is located
30 facilities as responsible for educating the student students consistent with
31 federal and state laws for any period of time the student is students are
32 being held in the juvenile detention facility; and
33 (3) The designation of Designating the resident district of a
34 student who is being held in a juvenile detention facility as responsible for
35 the timely transfer of a the student's educational records to the district
36 where the juvenile detention facility is located upon notification by the
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1 court of the student's placement in a the juvenile detention facility.
2 (d) The funds appropriated to the division for juvenile detention
3 facilities shall be allocated in accordance with rules promulgated by the
4 State Board of Education.
5
6 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 6-20-107 is amended to read as follows:
7 6-20-107. Educational cost reimbursement prohibition -- Definition.
8 (a) As used in this section, "juvenile" means a person who is eighteen
9 (18) years of age or younger.
10 (b)(1)(a)(1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, a
11 public school district, or an open-enrollment public charter school shall not
12 be liable for any educational costs or other related costs associated with
13 the placement of a juvenile in an out-of-state residential or inpatient
14 facility for any care and treatment, including psychiatric treatment, unless:
15 (A) At the time of placement, the juvenile's physician
16 determines that the out-of-state placement is medically necessary and is the
17 most appropriate placement available;
18 (B) The division authorizes public payment for educational
19 costs based on a determination that the educational program and facilities
20 are appropriate for the juvenile and the division has approved the facility's
21 educational program;
22 (C)(i) Each educational program authorization precedes the
23 placement.
24 (ii) If the educational program is not authorized
25 before placement, the division, public school districts, or open-enrollment
26 public charter schools shall not be responsible for educational or other
27 related costs, nor shall they the division be subject to any order to pay for
28 educational or other related costs; and
29 (D) The out-of-state residential or inpatient facility is
30 located within a state that borders Arkansas.
31 (2) Payment under this subsection shall be:
32 (A) Limited to twenty (20) students at any one (1) time
33 during a calendar year unless:
34 (i) The juvenile under subdivision (b)(1) (a)(1) of
35 this section qualifies as disabled a child with a disability under the
36 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. � 1400 et seq.; and
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1 (ii) Payment is required under the Individuals with
2 Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. � 1400 et seq.; and
3 (B) Subject to the availability of division funding.
4 (c)(b) The division, a public school district, or an open-enrollment
5 public charter school shall not be liable for any educational costs or other
6 related costs associated with the placement of a juvenile in an in-state
7 residential or inpatient facility for any care and treatment, including
8 psychiatric treatment, unless:
9 (1) The division authorizes public payment for educational costs
10 based on a determination that the educational program and facilities are
11 appropriate for the juvenile and the division has approved the facility's
12 educational program; and
13 (2)(A) Each educational program authorization precedes the
14 placement.
15 (B) If the educational program is not authorized before
16 the placement, the division, public school districts, or open-enrollment
17 public charter schools shall not be responsible for education or other
18 related costs, nor shall they the division be subject to any order to pay for
19 educational or other related costs.
20 (d)(c) The liability of the division, a public school district, or an
21 open-enrollment public charter school for the educational costs or other
22 related costs described in subsections (a) and (b) and (c) of this section
23 shall be limited to the lesser of:
24 (1) The reimbursement rate established by the division for a
25 juvenile placed in a residential or inpatient facility; or
26 (2) The normal and customary educational cost reimbursement rate
27 of the state in which a juvenile is placed in an out-of-state residential or
28 inpatient facility as determined by the division.
29 (e)(d) This section shall not apply to a juvenile placed in an
30 Arkansas juvenile detention facility as defined in � 6-20-104.
31 (f)(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require payment
32 by the division, a public school district, or an open-enrollment public
33 charter school for educational costs and other related costs associated with
34 the placement of a juvenile in an out-of-state residential or inpatient
35 facility for any care or treatment, including psychiatric treatment, before
36 April 7, 2005.
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1 (g)(f) The funds appropriated to the division for residential or
2 inpatient facilities shall be:
3 (1) Be allocated in accordance with rules promulgated by the
4 State Board of Education; and
5 (2) Not be used for the provision of education or other related
6 costs for out-of-state students placed in Arkansas residential facilities.
7
8 SECTION 5. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the
9 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the Safe Schools Initiative
10 Act requires public schools to establish behavioral threat assessment teams
11 to address public school safety and security; that behavioral threat
12 assessment teams established by public schools shall follow best practices
13 for team composition and process; that student mental health poses an ongoing
14 crisis and can pose immediate threats in public schools; that public schools
15 are consistently identifying certain students as imminent threats, but day
16 treatment and mental health placements and services are unavailable for
17 students who need these placements and services; and that this act is
18 immediately necessary to ensure that the Department of Human Services and the
19 Department of Education establish regional behavioral health programs in
20 order to address immediate public school safety and security needs.
21 Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately
22 necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall
23 become effective on:
24 (1) The date of its approval by the Governor;
25 (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor,
26 the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the
27 bill; or
28 (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is
29 overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.
30
31 /s/Hester
32
33
34
35
36
7 04-03-2025 15:13:22 TNL309Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.