Request for review and certification of the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment with the popular name, “CHANGE THE TERMS OF OFFICE FOR JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, AND CONSTABLES FROM TWO YEARS TO FOUR YEARS.”
Brief Response: Having reviewed the text of your proposed initiated amendment, as well as your proposed popular name and ballot title, I have concluded that I must reject your proposed popular name and ballot title and instruct you to redesign them. Problems in the text of your proposed amendment prevent me from (1) ensuring your ballot title is not misleading or (2) substituting a more appropriate ballot title.
Question: Is the custodian’s decision to release the requested records consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?
Brief Response: In my opinion, the custodian has correctly classified the termination letter, the letter of reprimand, and the investigation file as employee-evaluation or job-performance records. And because the four-part test for release of such records appears to be met, the custodian’s decision to release the records is also consistent with the FOIA. As discussed in the opinion, however, the names of other officers may need to be redacted from the records before release.
Question 1: Does Arkansas law allow a public school to grant the request of a parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis who wishes an enrolled student to attend a course in religious moral instruction taught by an independent entity off campus during the school day?
Brief Response: Yes. Under a plain reading of A.C.A. § 6-18-209(a), school districts have authority to “adopt attendance policies” for their schools. The statute does not limit that authority to any specific types of attendance-related decisions.
Question 2: If the answer to the first question is yes, what limits, if any, would apply to such a policy if adopted by a public school?
Brief Response: As discussed more fully in the opinion, there are at least three limitations a school district should consider in adopting a policy as described in Question 1.
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