Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 6 - EDUCATION (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-87-104) › Subtitle 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-5-1204) › Chapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-1-706) › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-1-108) › Section 6-1-108 - Given Name Act - Protection against compelled speech

(a)
This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Given Name Act".
(b)
The General Assembly finds that:
(1)
Faculty members, teachers, and employees of public schools and state-supported institutions of higher education do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at work;
(2)
Protecting the right to free speech for faculty members, teachers, and employees promotes three (3) important interests, which include:
(A)
Students' interests in receiving informed opinions on matters of public concern;
(B)
Faculty members', teachers', and employees' rights to disseminate their own opinions; and
(C)
The public's interest in exposing our children and future leaders to different viewpoints; and
(3)
The selection and use of pronouns in classrooms, on campuses, and elsewhere is a matter of free speech and academic freedom because it communicates a message on a matter of public concern and shapes classroom discussions and debates, and is not merely an administrative or ministerial act by faculty members, teachers, and employees of public schools and state-supported institutions of higher education.
(c)
As used in this section, "school" includes:
(1)
A public school or school district;
(2)
An open-enrollment public charter school; and
(3)
A state-supported institution of higher education.
(d)
A faculty member, teacher, or other employee of a school, regardless of the scope of his or her official duties:
(1)
Shall not address an unemancipated minor or student with a:
(A)
Pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the unemancipated minor's or student's biological sex unless the faculty member, teacher, or other employee of a school has the written permission of the unemancipated minor's or student's parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the unemancipated minor or student if the unemancipated minor or student is under eighteen (18) years of age; or
(B)
Name other than the name listed on the unemancipated minor's or student's birth certificate, or a derivative of the name listed on the unemancipated minor's or student's birth certificate, without the written permission of the unemancipated minor's or student's parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to the unemancipated minor or student if the unemancipated minor or student is under eighteen (18) years of age; and
(2)
Notwithstanding subdivision (d)(1) of this section, shall not be subject to adverse employment action for declining to address a person using a:
(A)
Name other than the name listed on the person's birth certificate; or
(B)
Pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the person's biological sex.
(e)
A student shall not be subject to any disciplinary action for declining to address a person using a:
(A)
Name other than the name listed on the person's birth certificate; or
(B)
Pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the person's biological sex.
(f)
A person who is harmed by a violation of this section may bring a cause of action for:
(1)
Injunctive relief;
(2)
Monetary damages;
(3)
Reasonable attorney's fees and costs; and
(4)
Any other appropriate relief.
Added by Act 2023, No. 542,§ 1, eff. 8/1/2023.