As used in this part:

1. (1) “Acted upon” means that the State Board of Education has taken an action to address an ethics complaint by revoking, suspending, or imposing another sanction upon an educator’s license;

2. (2)

   1. (A) An “authorized ethics complaint investigation” is an ethics complaint that has been:

      1. (i) Validated by an investigator of the Professional Licensure Standards Board as being submitted by an identifiable person; and
      2. (ii) Authorized for investigation based upon reasonable belief by the ethics subcommittee that if the allegation is true it would constitute a violation of the Code of Ethics as set forth in this part, committed by an Arkansas educator.
   2. (B) The ethics subcommittee shall authorize investigation of an ethics complaint that it determines is credible (Arkansas Code § 6-17-428);
3. (3) “AELS” means the Arkansas Educator Licensure System;
4. (4) “Code of Ethics” means the code of ethics for Arkansas educators established by the Professional Licensure Standards Board under Arkansas Code § 6-17-422;

5. (5)

   1. (A) “Dispositions” are the values, commitments, and professional ethics that:

      1. (i) Influence behaviors toward:

         1. (a) (a) Students;
         2. (b) (b) Families;
      2. (c) (c) Colleagues; and
      3. (d) (d) Communities; and
      4. (ii) Contribute to student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth.

   2. (B) Dispositions are guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as:

      1. (i) Caring;
      2. (ii) Fairness;
      3. (iii) Honesty;
      4. (iv) Responsibility; and
      5. (v) Social justice;
6. (6) “Division” means the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education;

7. (7) “Educator” means a:

   1. (A) Person holding a valid educator’s license issued by the State Board of Education, even if the license expires during the pendency of the ethics complaint process;
   2. (B) Person employed under a waiver from licensure;
   3. (C) Preservice teacher, including a person holding an aspiring teacher permit;
   4. (D) Person employed under an emergency teaching permit; or
   5. (E) Person who is a registered volunteer who will be working with students in an athletic coaching capacity or is in the process of obtaining a coaching certificate through the Arkansas Activities Association and is assisting with students in a coaching capacity in a public school athletic program;
8. (8) “Educational setting” means any public school, open enrollment public charter school, virtual public school, or education service cooperative in Arkansas serving students in any of grades prekindergarten through twelve (preK-12);
9. (9) “Educator’s license” means a teaching license, an administrator’s license, a lifetime teaching license, an ancillary license, a provisional license, or any other license or permit issued by the State Board of Education;

10. (10)

    1. (A) “Ethics complaint” means an allegation of violation form that:

       1. (i) States alleged facts that, if true, would constitute an ethics violation of the Code of Ethics;
       2. (ii) Is signed under penalty of perjury by the person filing the ethics complaint;
       3. (iii) Is validated by a Professional Licensure Standards Board investigator; and
       4. (iv) Is authorized for investigation by the ethics subcommittee.
    2. (B) An ethics complaint may also be a finding made in an audit report forwarded to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education by the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee under Arkansas Code § 6-17-426;

11. (11)

    1. (A) “Ethics hearing subcommittee” means the subcommittee appointed by the Professional Licensure Standards Board to conduct evidentiary hearings under these rules.
    2. (B) The ethics hearing subcommittee is composed of six (6) members, three (3) of whom may be appointed by the Professional Licensure Standards Board based on educational experience.
    3. (C) One (1) of the members shall be appointed to represent nonlicensed teachers;

12. (12)

    1. (A) “Ethics subcommittee” means the subcommittee established by the Professional Licensure Standards Board to:

       1. (i) Receive and investigate ethics complaints; and
       2. (ii) Enforce the Code of Ethics through recommendations to the State Board of Education.
    2. (B) The ethics subcommittee is composed of five (5) members with proportionate representation as the Professional Licensure Standards Board of public school teachers and administrators plus one (1) member from any other category of representation on the Professional Licensure Standards Board;

13. (13)

    1. (A) “Ethics violation” is an act or omission on the part of an educator when the educator knew or reasonably should have known that such acts or omissions were in violation of the Code of Ethics as set forth in this part.

    2. (B) An ethics violation does not include:

       1. (i) A reasonable mistake made in good faith;
       2. (ii) Acts or omissions undertaken in accordance with the reasonable instructions of a supervisor; or
       3. (iii) An act or omission under circumstances in which the educator had a reasonable belief that failure to follow the instructions of a supervisor would result in an adverse job action against the educator;
14. (14) “Filed” means an allegation of violation form, a motion, or other document has been stamped by Professional Licensure Standards Board staff with a date acknowledging when the document arrived at the offices of the Professional Licensure Standards Board staff;

15. (15) “Hearing officer” means an impartial Arkansas licensed attorney who serves in a quasi-judicial role, i.e.:

    1. (A) Opening the hearing;
    2. (B) Introducing the parties;
    3. (C) Swearing witnesses; and
    4. (D) Ruling on objections;
16. (16) “Impairment” means the state of being mentally or physically diminished, weakened, or damaged with respect to performing the educator’s professional duties;

17. (17)

    1. (A) “Level 1 Public Notification of Ethics Violation” is a public notification that a nonlicensed educator has violated the Code of Ethics in a manner equivalent to a violation that warrants a written reprimand.
    2. (B) The purpose of a Level 1 Public Notification of Ethics Violation is to publicly admonish the nonlicensed educator;

18. (18)

    1. (A) “Level 2 Public Notification of Ethics Violation” is a public notification that a nonlicensed educator has violated the Code of Ethics in a manner equivalent to a violation that warrants the probation of a license.

    2. (B) The purpose of a Level 2 Public Notification of Ethics Violation is to:

       1. (i) Publicly admonish the nonlicensed educator; and
       2. (ii) Place conditions or requirements on the educator for a specified period of time;

19. (19)

    1. (A) “Level 3 Public Notification of Ethics Violation” is a public notification that a nonlicensed educator has violated the Code of Ethics in a manner equivalent to a violation that warrants the suspension of a license.

    2. (B) The purpose of a Level 3 Public Notification of Ethics Violation is:

       1. (i) To publicly admonish the nonlicensed educator; and

       2. (ii) For a specified period of time, to:

          1. (a) (a) Place conditions or requirements on the nonlicensed educator;
          2. (b) (b) Notify the public that the nonlicensed educator is not recommended for employment or volunteering in an educational setting; and
       3. (c) (c) Notify the public that the nonlicensed educator is not eligible for teaching or testing duties;

20. (20)

    1. (A) “Level 4 Public Notification of Ethics Violation” is a public notification that a nonlicensed educator has violated the Code of Ethics in a manner equivalent to a violation that warrants the revocation of a license.

    2. (B) The purpose of a Level 4 Public Notification of Ethics Violation is to notify the public that the:

       1. (i) Educator is not recommended for employment or volunteering in an educational setting; and
       2. (ii) Nonlicensed educator is not eligible for future licensure;

21. (21)

    1. (A) “Monitoring conditions or restrictions” may include any actions or alternative sanctions allowed under the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq.

    2. (B) Such conditions or restrictions may include but are not limited to requiring that an educator, at the educator’s expense, submit a new criminal background check or submit other requested information such as:

       1. (i) Current employment; or

       2. (ii) Compliance with recommended:

          1. (a) (a) Counseling;
          2. (b) (b) Treatment;
       3. (c) (c) Education; or
       4. (d) (d) Training.
    3. (C) The ethics subcommittee may recommend the length of the monitoring period to the State Board of Education;

22. (22)

    1. (A) “NASDTEC Clearinghouse” means the searchable database administered by the education departments of members of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC).

    2. (B) The NASDTEC Clearinghouse is viewable only by:

       1. (i) Member agencies responsible for educator licensure/certification and discipline; and
       2. (ii) Additional interested education organizations approved by NASDTEC;

23. (23)

    1. (A) “Nonrenewal” means that an expired license will not be renewed.
    2. (B) Nonrenewal may be permanent or temporary.
    3. (C) There is no reinstatement of a license after permanent nonrenewal.
    4. (D) Nonrenewal will apply when an educator’s license expires after the occurrence of the alleged ethics violation;
24. (24) “PLSB” means the Professional Licensure Standards Board;
25. (25) “Prekindergarten” means an early childhood education program that serves students from birth to enrollment in kindergarten;

26. (26)

    1. (A) “Preponderance of the evidence” is the greater weight of the relevant evidence; superior evidentiary weight that, though not sufficient to free the mind wholly from all reasonable doubt, is still sufficient to induce a fair and impartial mind to one (1) side of the issue rather than the other.
    2. (B) It is determined by considering all of the relevant evidence and deciding which evidence is more credible.
    3. (C) A preponderance of the evidence is not necessarily determined by the greater number of witnesses or documents presented.
    4. (D) If, on any allegation against an educator, it cannot be determined whether the allegation is more likely true than not true, the allegation cannot be considered to have been proved;
27. (27) “Preservice teacher” means an unlicensed person who is enrolled as a student in an educator preparation program approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education;

28. (28)

    1. (A) “Private letter of caution” is a nonpunitive communication from the ethics subcommittee to an educator in response to an ethics complaint against the educator.
    2. (B) Private letters of caution may be provided to an educator by the ethics subcommittee of the Professional Licensure Standards Board in lieu of recommending other discipline.
    3. (C) Private letters of caution do not make any factual findings but inform the educator that the conduct alleged in the complaint or its investigation falls within the broad range of the Code of Ethics but that the circumstances and mitigating factors do not warrant disciplinary action.
    4. (D) Private letters of caution remain in the files retained by the Professional Licensure Standards Board staff, but are not placed in an educator’s licensure file at the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

    5. (E)

       1. (i) A private letter of caution:

          1. (a) (a) Is not submitted to the State Board of Education for approval; and
          2. (b) (b) Does not constitute a sanction for the purposes of the Code of Ethics.
       2. (ii) As a result, private letters of caution cannot be the basis for a request for an evidentiary hearing before the ethics subcommittee or the State Board of Education;

29. (29)

    1. (A) “Probation” is the placing of conditions, requirements, or circumstances on the status of an educator’s license issued by the State Board of Education for a period of time established by the State Board of Education.
    2. (B) Generally, an educator whose license is under probation must sufficiently satisfy such conditions, requirements, or circumstances in order to maintain or be reinstated to the original nonprobationary teaching license status.

    3. (C) The probation will remain permanently in the:

       1. (i) Division of Elementary and Secondary Education file of the educator; and
       2. (ii) Files retained by the Professional Licensure Standards Board;
30. (30) “Public information” for the purpose of this part is information publicly available from news media or public record;

31. (31)

    1. (A) “Reasonable belief” is a belief based upon knowledge of facts and circumstances that:

       1. (i) Are reasonably trustworthy; and

       2. (ii) Would justify a reasonable person’s belief that:

          1. (a) (a) A violation of the Code of Ethics as set forth in this part has been committed; and
          2. (b) (b) The named educator committed such a violation.
    2. (B) A reasonable belief is not based upon mere suspicion or conjecture;
32. (32) “Relevant evidence” or “material evidence” is evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the matter more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence;

33. (33)

    1. (A) “Revocation” is the invalidation of any educator’s license.

    2. (B) The revocation will remain permanently in the:

       1. (i) Division of Elementary and Secondary Education file of the educator; and
       2. (ii) Files retained by the Professional Licensure Standards Board.
    3. (C) An educator whose license has been revoked may refer to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing Educator Licensure, 6 CAR pt. 180, on the reinstatement of a revoked license;
34. (34) “State Board” means the State Board of Education;

35. (35) “School hiring official” means the person designated by a school who is responsible for hiring or making final recommendations for the hiring of an educator who:

    1. (A) Holds an Arkansas teaching or administrator’s license; or
    2. (B) Will be employed under a waiver granted by the State Board of Education;
36. (36) “School-sponsored activity” is any event or activity sponsored by the school or school system that includes but is not limited to athletic events, booster clubs, parent-teacher organizations, or any activity designed to enhance the school curriculum (i.e., foreign language trips, etc.) whether on school campus or not;

37. (37) “Sexual abuse” has the same meaning as given to the term in Arkansas Code § 12-18-103(20)(D) as it applies to a caretaker, but shall include a victim who is:

    1. (A) Younger than twenty-one (21) years of age; and
    2. (B) Still a student;
38. (38) “Student” is any individual enrolled in any state’s public or private schools from prekindergarten through grade twelve (preK-12);

39. (39)

    1. (A) “Substantiated allegation” means observance of or reasonable cause to believe that a violation of the code of ethics has occurred.
    2. (B) The completion of an investigation is not required in order for an allegation to be a substantiated allegation.
    3. (C) A substantiated allegation may be a preliminary determination made by a public school;

40. (40) “Supervisor” under this part means an administrator authorized by the district or school board to administer professional employee discipline, up to and including recommending:

    1. (A) Termination; or
    2. (B) Nonrenewal;

41. (41)

    1. (A) “Suspension” is the temporary invalidation of any educator’s license for a period of time specified by the State Board of Education.
    2. (B) The suspension will remain permanently in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education file of the educator and in the files retained by the Professional Licensure Standards Board;
42. (42) “Take action” means that, based on a preponderance of the evidence, the ethics subcommittee or ethics hearing subcommittee makes a determination and recommendation based on an ethics complaint;

43. (43)

    1. (A) “Valid educator’s license” means that the educator’s license was current, on probation, or under suspension at the time of an alleged ethics violation.
    2. (B) A valid educator’s license that expires after the occurrence of the alleged ethics violation is still subject to an ethics complaint process relating to the alleged ethics violation;

44. (44) “Waiver from licensure” means a waiver from rules and/or laws governing educator licensure granted under:

    1. (A) The Arkansas Quality Charter Schools Act of 2013, Arkansas Code § 6-23-101 et seq., to a public charter school in the approval of:

       1. (i) Its original charter; or
       2. (ii) An amendment to its charter;
    2. (B) Arkansas Code § 6-15-103, to a school district;
    3. (C) Arkansas Code § 6-15-2801 et seq., concerning the district of innovation program, to a school of innovation; or
    4. (D) Any other educational entity pursuant to Arkansas law; and

45. (45)

    1. (A) “Written reprimand” is a written admonishment from the State Board of Education to the named educator for his or her conduct.

    2. (B) The written reprimand cautions that further unethical conduct:

       1. (i) Will lead to a more severe action; and
       2. (ii) Is associated with a monetary fine of the educator.
    3. (C) The written reprimand will remain permanently in the files retained by the Professional Licensure Standards Board.