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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 12, 2022
AS AMENDED
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2991 By: West (Rick), Kerbs,
Crosswhite Hader, and Boles
of the House
and
Allen of the Senate
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1-111, which relates to school days;
requiring students be given excused absences for
participating in approved 4-H activities; subjecting
excused absences to certain policies; directing 4-H
educator to provide proof of participation upon
request; requiring student be given opportunity to
make up missed schoolwork; prohibiting class grades
from being adversely affect ed; providing exception
for certain absences; and providing an effective
date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 7 0 O.S. 2021, Section 1-111, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-111. A. Except as otherwise provided for by law, a
school day shall consist of not less than s ix (6) hours devoted to
school activities. A district board of education may elect to
extend the length of one (1) or more school days to more than six
(6) hours and reduce the number of school days as long as the total
amount of classroom instruction tim e is not less than one thousand
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eighty (1,080) hours per year as required pursuant to Section 1-109
of this title.
B. A school day for nursery, early childhood educati on,
kindergarten, and alternative education pro grams shall be as
otherwise defined by la w or as defined by the State Board of
Education. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, not
more than one (1) school day shall be counted for attendance
purposes in any twenty-four-hour period. Two (2) school days, each
consisting of not le ss than six (6) hours, may be counted for
attendance purposes in any twenty-four-hour period only if one of
the school days is for the purpose of parent -teacher conferences
held as provided for in Section 1 -109 of this title.
C. Students Except as provided in subsection D of thi s section,
students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled may
be considered as being in attendance if the reason for such absence
is to participate in scheduled school activ ities under the direction
and supervision of a regular member o f the faculty or to participa te
in an online course approved by the district board of education.
The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to provide for the
implementation of supplementa l online courses which shall include,
but not be limited to, pr ovisions addressing the follo wing:
1. Criteria for student admissions eligibility;
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2. A student admission process administered t hrough the
district of residence, which provides the ability fo r the student to
enroll in individual courses;
3. A process by which students are not denie d the opportunity
to enroll in educationally appropriate courses by school districts.
For the purposes of this section, "educationally appropriate" means
any instruction that is not substantially a repeat of a course or
portion of a course that the studen t has successfully completed,
regardless of the grade of the student, and regardless of whether a
course is similar to or identical to the instruction that is
currently offered in the school district;
4. Creation of a system w hich provides ongoing enrollm ent
access for students throughout the school year;
5. A grace period of fifteen (15) calendar days from the first
day of an online course for student withdrawal f rom an online course
without academic penalty;
6. Mastery of competencies for course comple tion rather than
Carnegie units;
7. Student participation in extracurricular activities in
accordance with school district eligibility rules and policies and
any rules and policies of a private organization or association
which provides the coordination, supervision, and regulation of the
interscholastic activities and contests of schools;
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8. Parent authorization for release of state test results to
online course providers, on a form developed by the State Department
of Education; and
9. A review process to identify and certify online course
providers and a uniform payment processing system.
D. Except as provided in p aragraph 3 of this subsection,
students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled
shall be given an excused absence if the reason for such absence is
to participate in scheduled 4-H activities or programs as approved
by the county 4-H educator. The number of excused absences allowed
pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to a school district
board of education’s attendanc e policy.
1. Upon request from a school principal or attendance officer,
a 4-H educator shall provide documentation as proof of student
participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.
2. Students shall be given the opportunity to make up any
schoolwork missed while they are participating in activities or
programs sponsored by 4-H. Students shall not ha ve their class
grades adversely affected for lack of attendance or participation
due to their participation in activities or programs sponsored by 4-
H.
3. A school principal or his or her designee shall not credit a
student who participates in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H
with an excused absence if the participation occurs during:
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a. the schedule established by the State Board of
Education for the administration of statewide student
assessments, or
b. any period of time for which t he student has been
disciplined, suspended, or expelled, if the terms of
punishment would preclude the student from
participating in an educational field trip or
extracurricular activity.
E. Each district board of education shall adopt policies and
procedures that conform to rules for online courses as adopted by
the State Board. Such policies shall include criteria for approval
of the course, the approp riateness of the course for a particular
student, authorization for full-time students to enroll in online
courses, and establishing fees or charges. No district shall be
liable for payment o f any fees or charges for any online course for
a student who has not complied with the district's policies and
procedures. School districts shall not deny students the
opportunity to enroll in educationally appropriate courses and sha ll
provide an admissions process which includes input from the student,
the parent or guardian of the student, and school faculty.
E. F. Districts shall require students enrolled in online
courses to participate in the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act.
Students participating in online courses from a remote site will be
responsible for providing their own equipment and Internet acce ss,
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unless the district chooses to provide the equipment. Credit may
not be granted for such courses except upon approval of the State
Board of Education and the district board of education.
F. G. Districts may provide students with opportunities for
blended instruction. "Blended instruction" shall mean a combination
of brick-and-mortar learning and virtual learning environments that
includes elements of a student's control over place, pace and path
of learning. A student in blended instruction may work on virtual
courses at home or at school in a blended flex lab but shall
participate in at least one unit or set of competencies as defined
by Section 11-103.6 of this title at a physical school building in a
traditional classroom setting which is the academi c equivalent of
one (1) hour per day for each instructional day in the school year
as defined by Section 1-109 of this title.
G. H. The school day for kindergarten may consist of six (6)
hours devoted to schoo l activities.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
April 12, 2022 - DO PASS AS AMENDED