15-04-2025
Bill to place audio recording devices in Arkansas school locker rooms headed to governor's desk
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bill to place audio recording devices in Arkansas school locker rooms is headed to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' desk.
was first introduced by State Rep. Keith Brooks (R-District 78) on March 20 after learning of a bullying incident at Quitman Schools.
Mothers allege mishandling of bullying in Quitman school locker room
Under the bill, also known as Eli's Laws, all public and open-enrollment charter school districts would be required to install audio recording devices in all locker rooms by the 2027-2028 school year.
The recordings would be held for a minimum of 90 days, but no longer than a year, and could be used in the event allegations are made about bullying or any sexual or physical harassment.
'Our primary objective in this committee and as a legislative body when it comes to educating our students is to ensure their safety number one and to ensure that the student's needs are put before everyone else's,' Brooks said. 'If leadership within a school district is not doing that, I want them to know and hear very clearly that we will ensure that that is done.'
Working 4 You covered the allegations of bullying inside the Quitman locker room first in November of 2024.
At the time, former Quitman School parents Angie Edwards and Stephanie White accused district staff of mishandling allegations of bullying in the football locker room.
Edwards and White claim their 7th-grade boys were harassed for months, and nothing was done to stop it.
'Our kids went in day after day knowing what was waiting on them on the other side of the door,' White said during an interview in November. 'The abuse consisted of being bull-whipped, sometimes with the whip and sometimes with just the stick of the whip. They were shot at close range with BB guns and told to run from one side of the campus to the other.'
DeWitt student alleges classmate made racist comments after painting face black
In a House Committee meeting, State Rep. Brooks called the situation at Quitman 'Beyond Awful' and 'There really are no words to describe it.'
Eli's law passed through the full House on April 8. It passed through the full Senate on April 9.
Opponents of the bill say they have concerns with students' privacy and the cost of the devices.
The bill states that school districts, 'May use available state funding to implement the requirements, including, without limitation, funds set aside by the General Assembly for school safety.'
State Rep. Brooks says there are also several grants available to districts to help pay for the device.
Texas family files $1.5M lawsuit after students put peanuts in allergic teen's locker
Sanders is scheduled to sign HB1866 into law Thursday, April 17, at 10 a.m.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
