An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3038 By: Boles, Ranson, Sterling,
and Stark of the House
and
Pemberton and Dossett
(J.J.) of the Senate
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 8-101.2 and 8-113, which relate to student
transfers; authorizing automatic transfers for
certain students; permitting school district to give
preference for sibling transfers; allowing certain
student to transfer regardless of capacity; directing
certain school district to grant preference for
children of employees; and declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT: Schools
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 8-101.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 8-101.2 A. Except as provided in subsection B of this
section, on and after January 1, 2022, the transfer of a student
from the district in which the student resides to another school
district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is entitled
to pursue shall be granted at any time in the year unless the n umber
of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school
site within a school district. If the capacity of a grade level for
each school site within a school district is insufficient to enrol l
all eligible students, the school district sha ll select transfer
students in the order in which the district received the student
transfer applications . The capacity of a schoo l district shall be
determined by the school district board of education base d on its ENR. H. B. NO. 3038 Page 2
policy adopted pursuant to subsection B of this section. A student
may be granted a one -year transfer and may automatically continue to
attend the school each school yea r to which the student transferred
with the approval of the receiving district. At th e end of each
school year, a school dis trict may deny continued transfer of the
student for the reasons outlined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsec tion
B of this section. A ny brother or sister of a student who transfers
may attend the school district to whic h the student transferred as
long as the school district has capacity, if the school district
policy gives preference to sibling transfers regar dless of capacity,
and the brother or sister of the transferred student does not meet a
basis for denial as outl ined in paragraphs 1 an d 2 of subsection B
of this section. Any child in the custody of the Depar tment of
Human Services in foster care who is living in the home of a st udent
who transfers may attend the school district to which the student
transferred. Except for a child in t he custody of the Department of
Human Services in foster care, a transfer s tudent shall not transfer
more than two (2) ti mes per school year to one or more school
districts in which the student does not reside, provided that the
student may always reenroll at any time in his or her school
district of residence. At the discretion of the receiving dis trict,
a student who has attend ed a school district as a resident student
for at least three (3) years prior to becoming eligible to appl y as
a transfer student may be allowed to transfer to the sch ool district
regardless of capacity.
If the grade a student is entitled to pursue is not offered in
the district where the student resides, the transfer shall be
automatically approved.
B. Each school district board of education shal l adopt a policy
to determine the number of transfer students the school dist rict has
the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site
within a school district no later than January 1, 2022. The poli cy
may include:
1. The acts and reasons outlined in Section 24 -101.3 of this
title as a basis for denial of a transfe r; and
2. A history of absences as a basis fo r denial of a transfer.
For the purposes of this section, "history of absences" means ten or
more absences in one semester that are not excused for the re asons
provided for in subsection B of Section 10 -105 of this title or due
to illness.
ENR. H. B. NO. 3038 Page 3
The policy shall be publicly posted on the school district
website.
C. By the first day of January, Ap ril, July and October, the
school district board of education shall establish the number of
transfer students the school d istrict has the capacity to accept in
each grade level for each school site within a school district.
D. After establishing the numb er of transfer students the
school district has the capacity to acce pt in each grade level for
each school site within a sc hool district, the board of education
shall:
1. Publish in a prominent place on the school district website
the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school
site within a school di strict which the school district has the
capacity to accept; and
2. Report to the State Department o f Education the number of
transfer students for each grade level for each school site within a
school district which the school distr ict has the capacity t o
accept.
E. If a transfer request is denied by the sc hool district, the
parent of the student may a ppeal the denial within ten (10) days of
notification of the denial to the receiving school district board of
education. The receivi ng school district board of education shall
consider the appeal at its next r egularly scheduled board meeting.
If the receiving school district board of education denies the
appeal, the parent of the studen t may appeal the denial within ten
(10) days of notification of the app eal denial to the State Board of
Education. The parent shall submit to the State Board of Education
and the superintendent of the receiving school a notice of appeal on
a form prescribed by the State Board of Education. The appeal s hall
be considered by the State Board of Education at its next regularly
scheduled meeting, where the parent and a represen tative from the
receiving school district may address the Board. The State Board of
Education shall promulgate rules to establish th e appeals process
authorized by this subsection.
F. Each school district boa rd of education shall submit to the
State Department of Education the number of student transfers
approved and denied and whether each denial was based on capacity,
acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this title or a
history of absences as pro vided for in paragraph 2 of subsection B ENR. H. B. NO. 3038 Page 4
of this section. The State Department of Education shall publish
the data on its websit e and make the data available to the Office of
Educational Quality and A ccountability.
G. Each year, the Office of Educational Quality and
Accountability shall randomly sel ect ten percent (10%) of the school
districts in the state and conduct an audit of each district's
approved and denied transfers base d on the provisions of the
policies adopted by the respective school district board of
education. If the Office finds inac curate reporting of capacity
levels by a school district, the Office shall set the capacity for
the school district.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 8 -113, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 8-113. A student shall be allowed to transfer to a
school district in which the parent or legal guardi an of the student
is employed as a teacher, as define d in Section 1-116 of this title
by the district, if the school district policy on student transfers
grants preference for children of employees, regardless of school
district capacity.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the pre servation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act s hall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage an d approval.
ENR. H. B. NO. 3038 Page 5
Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of February,
2022.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 28th day of April, 2022.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Offi ce of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clo ck _______ M.
By: _________________________________