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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 2570 By: Caldwell (Chad)
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2011,
Section 1-109, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter
490, O.S.L. 2019 (70 O.S . Supp. 2020, Section 1 -109),
which relates to school year and instruction
requirements; establishing minimum requirements for
schools to offer in-person classroom instruction ;
requiring transition to charter school; exempting
transition for forfeiture of certain funding;
authorizing a moratorium upon certain order or joint
resolution; providing for renewal of moratorium; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1 -109, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 490, O.S.L. 2019 (70 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 1-109), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-109. A. For all public schools in Oklahoma, school
shall actually be in session an d classroom instruction offered:
1. For not less than one hundred eighty (180) days; or
2. For not less than one thousand eighty (1,080) hours each
school year, if a district board of education adopts a school -hours
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policy and notifies the State Board of Education prior to October 15
of the applicable school year; or
3. Beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year, for not less than
one thousand eighty (1,080) hours with a minimum of one hundred
sixty-five (165) days of instruction each school year, if a dis trict
board of education adopts a school -hours policy and notifies the
State Board of Education prior to October 15 of the applicable
school year; or
4. Beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year, for not less than
one thousand eighty (1,080) hours each sch ool year, if a district
board of education adopts a school -hours policy, notifies the State
Board of Education prior to October 15 of the applicable school year
and meets the requirements established by the State Board of
Education pursuant to subsection H I of this section.
B. A school district may not count more than thirty (30) hours
each school year that are used for attendance of professional
meetings toward the one hundred eighty (180) days or one thousand
eighty (1,080) hours of classroom instructio n time required in
subsection A of this section.
C. Teachers off contract with an employing district shall not
be required by the employing school district to attend professional
meetings unless the teacher is paid additional compensation for the
additional time. Teachers may be paid additional compensation for
attending professional meetings in excess of their contract term.
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Subject to district board of education policy or collective
bargaining agreement, additional paid professional days may be
granted for individual teachers to attend or participate in
professional meetings, staff development training, or National Board
certification portfolio development as provided for in Section 6 -
204.2 of this title.
D. A school district may authorize parent -teacher conferences
to be held during a regular school day. If authorized by the school
district, parent-teacher conferences shall be counted as classroom
instruction time for no more than six (6) hours per semester, for a
total of twelve (12) hours per school year.
E. A school district may maintain school for less than a full
school year only when conditions beyond the control of school
authorities make the maintenance of the term impossible and the
State Board of Education has been apprised and has expressed
concurrence in writing.
F. Beginning with the 2022 -2023 school year, school districts
shall provide the option of in-person classroom instruction at least
four (4) days per week for at least eighty -five percent (85%) of the
school year.
1. A school district which fails to meet the minimum
requirements of this subsection, except as provided in paragraph 2
of this subsection, shall transition to a charter school. If the
school district refuses to transition to a charter school, the
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school district shall f orfeit a percentage of its State Aid and any
other state-appropriated revenue in the amount of the difference
between eighty-five percent (85%) and the actual percentage of the
school year in which the school district offered in -person classroom
instruction at least four (4) days per week.
2. A school district which fails to meet the minimum
requirements of this subsection may be granted a moratorium upon an
order signed by the Governor and the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction or upon a joint res olution passed by a majority vote of
both chambers of the Legislature. The moratorium shall be for one
(1) year but may be renewed annually through an order or joint
resolution as provided in this paragraph.
G. The State Board of Education shall establis h criteria for an
extended-day schedule for schools subject to paragraph 1 of
subsection A of this section. The criteria shall:
1. Prescribe a lengthened school day within limits determined
not to be detrimental to quality instruction;
2. Ensure that the schedule is equivalent in annual hours of
instruction to the one -hundred-eighty-day school year specified in
paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section; and
3. Be consistent with the provisions of this section and
Sections 1-111 and 1-112 of this title, but may result in fewer
annual days of instruction.
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G. H. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection F G of this
section, a school district board of education subject to paragraph 1
of subsection A of this section may adopt and implement an extended -
day schedule subject to the following requirements:
1. The annual number of hours of instruction shall equal or
exceed one thousand eighty (1,080) hours, which is the equivalent of
one hundred eighty (180) days of instruction as specified in
subsection A of this section for six (6) hours each day as specified
in Section 1-111 of this title;
2. The annual number of days of instruction shall equal or
exceed one hundred eighty (180) days as specified in subsection A of
this section;
3. The schedule adopted s hall be consistent with the provisions
of Sections 1-111 and 1-112 of this title, except that for not more
than one (1) day per week, a school day shall consist of not less
than five (5) hours devoted to academic instruction in a regular
classroom setting;
4. The district shall hold a public hearing prior to the
adoption of an extended -day schedule authorized pursuant to this
subsection; and
5. The district shall document the impact on student
achievement as determined by the academic performance data sco re and
any other relevant factors that are a result of implementation of an
extended-day schedule authorized pursuant to this subsection and
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provide an annual report to the State Board of Education of the
results. If improvement in student achievement can not be documented
in the report, the district board of education shall revoke
authorization as provided by this subsection. If the district does
not revoke authorization after student achievement is not documented
in the report, the State Board of Educati on may deny accreditation
of any school in violation of this subsection.
H. I. Beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year, a school
district board of education may adopt a school -hours policy as
provided for by paragraph 4 of subsection A of this section on ly if
it meets or exceeds the minimum guidelines for student performance
and school district cost savings established by the State Board of
Education. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules,
subject to approval by the Legislature, establishin g the minimum
guidelines for student performance and school district cost savings.
I. J. If subject to paragraph 2 of subsection A of this
section, a district board of education or designee may elect to
close a school during the school day for inclement w eather purposes.
In such an event, the number of hours incurred in classroom
instruction time prior to school closure shall be counted toward the
one thousand eighty (1,080) hours per year requirement.
J. K. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting
the right of an employing school district to require teachers as
defined in Section 6 -101.3 of this title to work in excess of the
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one thousand eighty (1,080) hours required for student instruction.
In addition, nothing in this section shall be construed to affect
the Fair Labor Standards Act status of any school district employee.
K. L. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit the
Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School for the Deaf
from adopting an alternative school -hours policy if the Oklahoma
School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School for the Deaf notifies
and receives approval from the State Board of Education prior to
October 15 of the applicable school year.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effectiv e November 1, 2021.
58-1-5903 EK 01/20/21