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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 222 By: Standridge
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to scholarships; creating the Hope
Scholarship Program Act; providing short title;
creating the Hope Scholarship Prog ram; providing
purpose; allowing certain parents and legal guardians
to request a Hope Scholarship; providing eligibility
criteria for students; establishing requir ements for
scholarship award; requiring s chool districts to
provide certain notification abo ut the Hope
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 Hope Scholarship Program;
establishing compliance parameters for Hope
Scholarship Program participants; providing for
calculation of payment of Hope Scholarships;
directing the State Superintendent to suspend
participation of a priva te school under certain
circumstances; providing for notification; allowing
request of administrative hearing; providing for
action by the 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 effective 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 “Hope
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 Ho pe Scholarship Program to
provide a scholarship to an eligible private school of choice for
students who have experienced bullying incidents as provided for in
subsection B of this section. Scholarships s hall be awarded
beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
B. Beginning with the 2022-2023 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
Hope 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 he or she has been the victim of harassment,
intimidation or bullying as defined in Section 24 -100.3 of Title 70
of the Oklahoma Statutes a minimum of thre e (3) times within a
school year for which the parent or legal guardian has written
documentation with confirmation from a licensed mental health
professional or physician.
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C. The parent or legal guardian of a public school student may
exercise their parental option and request to have a Hope
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 schol arships requested after December 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 Education in a manne r that creates a written or
electronic record of th e request and the date of receipt of the
request. The State Department of Education shall notify the school
district upon receipt of the request. For purposes of continuity of
educational choice, the Hop e 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
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any time, the parent or legal guardian o f the student may remove the
student from the private school and place the student in anothe r
private school or place the student in a public school.
D. School districts shall notify the parent or legal guardian
of all enrolled students about Hope Scholar ship Program information
made available from the State Department of Education through a
toll-free telephone number or website.
E. Upon acceptance of a Hope Scholarship, the parent or legal
guardian of a student shall assume full financial responsibility for
the education of the student, includi ng but not limited to
transportation to and from th e private school.
F. If the parent or legal guardian requests a Hope 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 Depa rtment 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 scholarsh ip shall not begin
until the following school year.
G. To be eligible to participate in the Hope Scholarship
Program, a private school shall notify the State Depar tment of
Education of its intent to parti cipate. The notice shall specify
the grade levels and services that the private school has available
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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 Hop e Scholarship Program upon determination
that the private school:
1. Meets the accreditation requirements set by the State Board
of Education or another accrediting association approved by the
Board;
2. Demonstrates fiscal soundness by having been in ope ration
for one (1) school year or providing the Sta te Department 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 upcom ing 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 statemen t, a
surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal to the
scholarship funds for any q uarter may be filed with the Department;
3. Complies with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
U.S.C., Section 2000d;
4. Meets state and local health and safet y laws and codes;
5. Will be academicall y accountable to the parent or legal
guardian of the student for meeting the educational needs of the
student;
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6. Employs or contracts with teachers who 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 administration,
qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught;
7. Complies with all state laws relatin g to general regulation
of private schools; and
8. Adheres to the tenets of its published d isciplinary
procedures prior to the expulsion of an eligible student.
H. 1. Hope 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 Hope Scholarship no later than December 1
of the school year during which the scholarship is
requested,
c. any student participating in the Hope Scholarship
Program shall attend throughout the school year,
unless excused by the school for illness or other good
cause, and shall comply fully with the cod e of conduct
for the school,
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d. the parent or legal guardian of the student shall
fully comply with the parental involvement
requirements of the private school, unless excused by
the school for illness or other good cause, and
e. upon issuance of a Hope Sc holarship 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 o r legal
guardian of the student may not d esignate any entity
or individual associated with t he 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 t his subparagraph
shall forfeit the schola rship.
2. A Hope Scholarship Program participant w ho fails to comply
with this subsection forfeits the scholarship.
I. Provisions governing payment of a Hope Scholarship shall be
as follows:
1. The State Departme nt of Education shall calculate the total
cost of all scholarships for all 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 Education for
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State Aid purposes and any other revenue available for allocation
for State Aid purposes the total cost f or all scholarship payments ;
2. The maximum scholarship granted for an eligible student
shall be a calculated amount equivalent to the total State Aid
factors for the applicable school year multiplied by the grade
weight generated by the student for the a pplicable school year. The
maximum scholarship amount shall be calculated by the State Board of
Education for each year the student is participating in the Hope
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 the private
school of the amount of the scholarship within ten (10) days after
receiving the request for a scholarship, when the total 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
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payments shall be made upon verification of continued enrollment and
attendance at the private school. Payment shall be m ade by the
Department with an individual warrant ma de payable to the parent or
legal guardian of the student and mailed by the Department to the
private school that the parent or legal guardian chooses. The
parent or legal guardian shall restrictively end orse 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 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 legal
guardians and private s chools with information about the program ;
7. The State Department of Education shall requi re an annual,
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.
J. 1. The State Superi ntendent of Public Instruction shall
deny, suspend or revoke the participation of a private school in the
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Hope 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 which th e 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 eviden ce of compliance prior to
taking action to suspend or revoke participation in the Hope
Scholarship Program.
2. If the Superintendent intends to deny, suspend or revoke the
participation of a private school in the H ope Scholarship Program,
the State Department of Education shall notify the private school o f
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 Hope 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 affect ed by the
proposed action shall have fifteen (15) d ays from receipt of the
notice of proposed action to file with the Department a request for
an administrative hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedures
Act.
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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 Hope
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 activity 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 Depa rtment of Education or a school
district based on the award or use of funds provided through the
Hope Scholarship Program.
L. The inclusion of private schools with in 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 reasonably
necessary to enforce the requirements ex pressly set forth in this
section.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effecti ve July 1, 2021.
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 thi s act shall take effect and
be in full force from and af ter its passage and approval.
58-1-193 EB 1/4/2021 9:50:53 AM