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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
SENATE BILL 1135 By: Standridge
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to scholarships; creating the
Wellness Scholarship Program Act; providing short
title; creating the Wellness Scholarship Program;
providing purpose; allowing certain parents and legal
guardians to request a Wellness Scholarship;
providing eligibility criteria for students;
establishing requirements for scholarship award;
requiring school districts to provide certain
notification about the Wellness Scholarship Program;
requiring certain parents and legal guardians to
assume certain financial responsibility; providing
for notification if certain acceptance is pending
space availability; establishing eligibility criteria
for private schools to participate in the Wellness
Scholarship Program; establishing compliance
parameters for Wellness Scholarship Program
participants; providing for calculation of payment of
Wellness Scholarships; directing the State
Superintendent to suspend participation of a private
school under certain circumstances; providing for
notification; allowing request of administrative
hearing; providing for action by t he State Board of
Education; providing immunity from liability for
certain entities based on the use or award of certain
funds; prohibiting the expansion of certain
regulatory authority over private schools; providing
for codification; providing an effecti ve date; and
declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24 -100.9 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in num bering, reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Wellness
Scholarship Program Act ”.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24 -100.10 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, r eads as follows:
A. There is hereby created the Wellness Scholarship Program to
provide a scholarship to an eligible private school of choice for
students who have health-related concerns as provided for in
subsection B of this section. Scholarships s hall be awarded
beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
B. Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, the parent or
legal guardian of a student enrolled in a public school district in
this state may exercise their parental option and request to have a
Wellness Scholarship awarded for the student to enroll in and attend
a private school in accordance with this section. A stud ent shall
be deemed eligible if :
1. The parent or legal guard ian of the student objects to a
requirement adopted by the school district board of educati on or by
school district administration to require a vaccination or a vaccine
passport as a condition of enroll ment and attendance; or
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2. The parent or leg al guardian of the student objects to a
requirement adopted by the school district board of educatio n or by
school district administration to require the wearing of a mask or
other face covering as a condition of attendance .
C. The parent or legal guardian of a public school student may
exercise their parental option and request to have a Wellness
Scholarship awarded for the student to enroll in and attend a
private school in accordance with this section, and the scholarship
shall be awarded if:
1. The student has spent the prior year in attendance at a
public school in this state. For purposes of this section, “prior
school year in attendance ” means that the student was enrolled in
and reported by a school district for funding purposes during th e
preceding school year; and
2. The parent or legal guardian has obtained acceptance for
admission of the student to a private school and has notified the
State Department of Education of the request for a scholarship.
Requests to participate in the prog ram made after December 1 shall
be granted, but funding for scholarships requested after Dec ember 1
shall not be available until the beginning of the next school year.
The request shall be through a communication directly to the State
Department of Educat ion in a manner that creates a written or
electronic record of the request and the date of r eceipt of the
request. The State Department of Education shall notify the school
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district upon receipt of the request. For purposes of continuity of
educational choice, the Wellness Scholarship shall remain in force
until the student returns to a public school, graduates from high
school, or reaches the age of twenty -one (21), whichever comes
first. At any time, the parent or legal guardian o f the student may
remove the student from the private school and place the student in
another private school or pla ce the student in a public school.
D. School districts shall notify the parent or legal guardian
of all enrolled students about Wellness Scholarship Program
information made available from the State Department of Education
through a toll-free telephone number or website.
E. Upon acceptance of a Wellness Scholarship, the parent or
legal guardian of a student shall assume full financial
responsibility for the education of the student including but not
limited to transportation to and from the private school .
F. If the parent or legal guardian requests a Wellness
Scholarship and the student is accepted by the private school
pending the availability of a sp ace for the student, the parent or
legal guardian of the student shall notify the State Department of
Education before entering the private school and before December 1
to be eligible for the scholarship during the school year when a
space becomes availabl e in the private school. If notification is
made after December 1, payment of the scholarship shall not begin
until the following school year.
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G. To be eligible to participate in the Wellness Scholarship
Program, a private school shall notify the State Depar tment of
Education of its intent to participate. The notice shall specify
the grade levels and serv ices that the private school has available
for students who are participating in the program. The State
Department of Education shall approve a private sch ool as eligible
to participate in the Wellness Scholarship Program upon
determination that the priva te school:
1. Demonstrates fiscal soundness by having been in ope ration
for one (1) school year or providing the State D epartment of
Education with a written statement prepared by a certified public
accountant confirming that the private school seeking to participate
is insured and the owner or owners have sufficient ca pital or credit
to operate the school for the upcoming year by serving the number of
students anticipated with expected revenues from tuition and other
sources that may be reasonably expected. In lieu of a statement, a
surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal to the
scholarship funds for any quart er may be filed with the Department;
2. Meets state and local health and safet y laws and codes;
3. Will be academically accountable to the parent or legal
guardian of the student for meeting the educational needs of the
student;
4. Employs or contracts with teachers who hold baccalaureate or
higher degrees, have at least three (3) years of teaching experience
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in public or private schools, or have special skills, knowledge , or
expertise that, in the judgment of the school administration,
qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught;
5. Complies with all state laws relatin g to general regulation
of private schools; and
6. Adheres to the tenets of its published disci plinary
procedures prior to the expulsion of an eligible student.
H. 1. Wellness Scholarship Program participants shall comply
with the following:
a. the parent or legal guardian of the student shall
select the private school from those approved for
eligibility pursuant to subsection F of this section
and apply for the admission of the student,
b. the parent or legal guardian of the student shall
request the Wellness Scholarship no later than
December 1 of the school year during which the
scholarship is requested,
c. any student participating in the Wellness Scholarship
Program shall attend throughout the school year,
unless excused by the school for illness or oth er good
cause, and shall comply fully wit h the code of conduct
for the school,
d. the parent or legal guardian of the student shall
fully comply with the parental involvement
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requirements of the private school, unless excused by
the school for illness or o ther good cause, and
e. upon issuance of a Wellness Scholarship warrant, the
parent or legal guardian to whom the warrant for
tuition is made shall restrictively endorse the
warrant to the private school for deposit into the
account of the private school. The parent or legal
guardian of the stud ent may not designate any entity
or individual associated with the private school as
the attorney in fact for the parent or legal guardian
to endorse a warrant. A parent or legal guardian of a
student who fails to comply with this subparagraph
shall forfeit the scholarship.
2. A Wellness Scholarship Program participant who fails to
comply with this subsection forfeits the scholarship.
I. Provisions governing payment of a Wellness Scholarship shall
be as follows:
1. The State Department of Education shal l calculate the total
cost of all scholarships for a ll eligible students in this state .
The State Department of Education shall then reserve or retain from
the total amount appropriated to the State Board of Educat ion for
State Aid purposes and any other revenue available for allocation
for State Aid purposes the total cost for all scholarship payments ;
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2. The maximum scholarship granted for an eligible student
shall be a calculated amount equivalent to the total S tate Aid
factors for the applicable schoo l year multiplied by the grade
weight generated by t he student for the applicable school year. The
maximum scholarship amount shall be calculated by the State Board of
Education for each year the student is partici pating in the Wellness
Scholarship Program;
3. The amount of the scholarship shall be the am ount calculated
in paragraph 2 of this subsection or the amount of tuition and fees
for the private school, whichever is less, minus up to two and one -
half percent (2 1/2%) of the scholarship amount, which may be
retained by the State Department of Educati on as a fee for
administrative services rendered. The amount of the scholarship
shall be prorated to reflect the number of days remaining in the
current school year, if the scholarship is granted after the
beginning of the school year;
4. The State Department of Education shall notify the private
school of the amount of the scholarship within ten (10) days after
receiving the request for a scholarship, when the to tal State Aid
factors have been determined for the current fiscal year. The
initial payment shall be made after the Department verifies
admission acceptance and enrollment of the student. Quarterly
payments shall be made upon verification of continued en rollment and
attendance at the private school. Payment shall be made by the
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Department with an individual warrant made payable to the parent or
legal guardian of the student and mailed by the Department to the
private school that the parent or legal guard ian chooses. The
parent or legal guardian shall restrictively endorse the warrant to
the private school for deposit into the account of the private
school;
5. The State Department of Education shall not be responsible
for any additional costs associated with the education services
incurred by the private school for the student including the cost of
teachers, equipment, and materials;
6. The State Department of Education shall establish a toll -
free telephone number or website that provides parents or lega l
guardians and private schools with information about the program;
7. The State Department o f Education shall require an annual,
notarized, sworn compliance statement by participating private
schools certifying compliance with state laws and shall retain all
records received from a participating private school; and
8. The State Department of Edu cation shall cross-check the list
of participating scholarship students with the public school
enrollments prior to each scholarship payment to avoid duplication.
J. 1. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
deny, suspend, or revoke the participation of a private school in
the Wellness Scholarship Program if it is determined that the
private school has failed to comply with the provisions of this
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section. However, in instances in which the noncompliance is
correctable within a reasonable amount of time and in which the
health, safety, or welfare of the students is not threatened, the
Superintendent may issue a notice of noncompliance which shall
provide the private school with a time frame within which to provide
evidence of compliance prior to taking action to suspend or revoke
participation in the Wellness Scholarship Program.
2. If the Superintendent intends to deny, suspend , or revoke
the participation of a private school in the Wellness Scholarship
Program, the State Department of Education shall notify the private
school of the proposed action in writing by certified mail and
regular mail to the private school ’s address of record with the
Department. The Department shall also notify the parents or legal
guardians of students granted a Wellness Scholarship who are
attending the private school. The notification shall include the
reasons for the proposed action and notice of the timelines and
procedures set forth in this subsection.
3. The private school that is adversely affected by the
proposed action shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt of the
notice of proposed action to file with the Department a request for
an administrative hearing pursu ant to the Administrative Procedures
Act.
4. Upon receipt of a request for a hearing, the State Board of
Education shall commence a hearing within sixty (60) days after the
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receipt of the formal written request and enter an order within
thirty (30) days after the hearing.
5. The Board may immed iately suspend payment of Wellness
Scholarship funds if it is determined that there is probable cause
to believe that there is an imminent threat to the health, safety ,
or welfare of the students or fraudulent activi ty on the part of the
private school.
K. No liability shall arise on the part of th e state, the State
Board of Education, the State Department of Education , or a school
district based on the award or use of funds provided through the
Wellness Scholarship Program.
L. The inclusion of private scho ols within options available to
public school students in Oklahoma shall not expand the regulatory
authority of the state or any school district to impose any
additional regulation of private schools beyond those re asonably
necessary to enforce the require ments expressly set forth in this
section.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2022.
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health , or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
58-2-2600 EB 12/10/2021 11:20:25 AM