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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
SENATE BILL 1170 By: Standridge
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to scholarships; creating the
Religious Freedom Scholarship Program Act; providing
short title; creating the Religious Freedom
Scholarship Program; providing purpose; allowing
certain parents and legal guardians to request a
Religious Freedom Scholarship; providing eligibility
criteria for students; establi shing requirements for
scholarship award; requiring school districts to
provide certain noti fication about the Religious
Freedom Scholarship Program; requiring certain
parents and legal guardians to assume certain
financial responsibility; providing for notificatio n
if certain acceptance is pending space availability;
establishing eligibility criteria for private schools
to participate in the Religious Freedom Scholarship
Program; establishing compliance parameters for
Religious Freedom Scholarship Program participants;
providing for calculation of payment of Religious
Freedom Scholarships; directing the State
Superintendent to suspend participation of a private
school under certain circumstances; providing for
notification; allowi ng 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 pr ivate schools; providing
for codification; providing an effecti ve date; and
declaring an emergency.
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-110 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 "Religious
Freedom Scholarship Program Act ".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-111 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, r eads as follows:
A. There is hereby created the Religious Freedom Scholarship
Program to provide a scholarship to a n eligible private school of
choice for students who have concerns related to their free exercise
of religion as provided for in subs ection B of this section.
Scholarships shall 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 scho ol district in
this state may exercise their parental option and request to have a
Religious Freedom Scholarship awarded for the student to enroll in
and attend a private school in accordance with this sect ion. A
student shall be deemed eligible if :
1. The parent or legal guard ian of the student objects to
instruction or curriculum provided by the school district that he or
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she believes is in opposition to his or her closely held religious
beliefs; or
2. The parent or legal guardian of the student objects to
instruction or curriculum provided by the school district that he or
she believes promotes anti-religious sentiment and is in opposition
to his or her closely held religious beliefs.
C. The parent or legal guardian of a public school student may
exercise their parental option and request to have a Religious
Freedom 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 the
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 program 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 comm unication directly to the State
Department of Education in a manner that creates a written or
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electronic record of the request and the date of r eceipt of the
request. The State Department of Education shall notify the school
district upon receipt of the r equest. For purposes of continuity of
educational choice, the Religious Freedom 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 Religious Freedom Scholarship Program
information made available from the State Department of Education
through a toll-free telephone number or website.
E. Upon acceptance of a Religious Freedom 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 Religious Freedom
Scholarship and the student is accepted by the private s chool
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 sch ool year when a
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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.
G. To be eligible to participate i n the Religious Freedom
Scholarship Program, a private school shall notify the State
Department of Education of its intent to parti cipate. The notice
shall specify the grade levels and serv ices that the private school
has available for students who are pa rticipating in the program.
The State Department of Education shall approve a private sc hool as
eligible to participate in the Religious Freedom 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 numbe r of
students anticipated with e xpected revenues from tuition and other
sources that may be reasonably expected. In lieu of a statemen t, 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;
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3. Will be academicall y accountable to the parent or legal
guardian of the student for meeting the educational needs of the
student;
4. Employs or contracts with teachers wh o hold baccalaureate or
higher degrees, have at least three (3) years of teaching experience
in public or private schools or have special skills, knowledge or
expertise that, in the judgment of the school administra tion,
qualifies them to provide instructi on 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. Religious Freedom 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 sectio n
and apply for the admission of the stud ent,
b. the parent or legal guardian of the student shall
request the Religious Freedom Scholarship no later
than December 1 of the school year during which the
scholarship is requested,
c. any student participating in the Religious Freedom
Scholarship Program shall attend throughout the school
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year, unless excused by the school for illness or
other good cause, and shall comply fully wit h the code
of conduct for the school,
d. the parent or legal guardian of the stud ent shall
fully comply with the parental involvement
requirements of the private school, unless excused by
the school for illness or o ther good cause, and
e. upon issuance of a Religious Freedom Scholarship
warrant, the parent or legal guardian to whom the
warrant for tuition is made shall restri ctively
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 assoc iated with the priva te
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 forfe it the scholarship.
2. A Religious Freedom Scholarship Program participant who
fails to comply with this subsect ion forfeits the scholarship.
I. Provisions governing payment of a Religious Freedom
Scholarship shall be as follows:
1. The State Departme nt of Education shal l calculate the total
cost of all scholarships for a ll eligible students in this state .
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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 paym ents;
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
Religious Freedom Scholarship Program;
3. The amount of the scholarship shall be the amount 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 scholars hip amount, which may be
retained by the State Department of Education 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 schoo l year;
4. The State Department of Education shall notify th e 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
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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 m ade by the
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 end orse the warrant to
the private school for deposit into the a ccount of the private
school;
5. The State Department of Education shall not be responsible
for any additional costs associated with the education servic es
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 s chools with information about the program ;
7. The State Department of Education shall require an annu al,
notarized, sworn compliance statement by participating private
schools certifying compliance with state laws and shall retain all
records received fro m a participating private school; and
8. The State Department of Education shall cross-check the list
of participating scholarship students with the public school
enrollments prior to each scholarship payment to avoid duplication.
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J. 1. The State Superi ntendent of Public Instruction shall
deny, suspend, or revoke the participation of a private school in
the Religious Freedom Scholarship Program if it is determined that
the private school has failed to comply with the provisions of this
section. However, in instances in which the noncompliance is
correctable within a reasonable amount of time and in whic h 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 sus pend or revoke
participation in the Religious Freedom Scholarship Program.
2. If the Superintendent intends to deny, suspend , or revoke
the participation of a private school in the Religious Freedom
Scholarship Program, the State Depart ment 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 studen ts granted a Religious Freedom Scholarship
who are attending the private school. The notification shall
include the reasons for the proposed action and notice of the
timelines and proced ures set forth in this subsection.
3. The private school that is adversely affect ed 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
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an administrative hearing pursu ant to the Administrative Procedures
Act.
4. Upon receipt of a request for a he aring, the State Board of
Education shall commence a hearing within sixty (60) days after the
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 Religious
Freedom 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 the 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
Religious Freedom Scholarship Program.
L. The inclusion of private schools 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 requirements 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
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declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
58-2-2322 EB 1/4/2022 2:29:51 PM