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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1035 By: Rosecrants
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 10-105, which relates to student attendance;
including exceptions for mental health counseling and
occupational therapy appointments ; providing for
certification of absence by certain professional;
updating language; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 10 -105, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 10-105. A. It shall be unlawful for a parent,
guardian, or other person having custody of a child who is over the
age of five (5) years, and under the age of eighteen (18) years, to
neglect or refuse to cause or compel such child to attend and comply
with the rules of some public, private or other school, unless other
means of education are provided for the full term the schools of the
district are in session or the child is excused as provided in this
section. One-half (1/2) day of kindergarten shall be required of
all children five (5) years of age or older unless the child is
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excused from kindergarten attendance as provided in this s ection. A
child who is five (5) years of age shall be excused from
kindergarten attendance until the next school year after the child
is six (6) years of age if a parent, guardian, or other person
having custody of the child notifies the superintendent of the
district where the child is a resident by certified mail prior to
enrollment in kindergarten, or at any time during the first school
year that the child is required to attend kindergarten pursuant to
this section, of election to withhold the child fro m kindergarten
until the next school year after the child is six (6) years of age.
A kindergarten program shall be directed toward developmentally
appropriate objectives for such children. The program shall require
that any teacher employed on and after January 1, 1993, to teach a
kindergarten program within the public school system shall be
certified in early childhood education. All teachers hired to teach
a kindergarten program within the public school system prior to
January 1, 1993, shall be require d to obtain certification in early
childhood education on or before the 1996 -97 school year in order to
continue to teach a kindergarten program.
B. It shall be unlawful for any child who is over the age of
twelve (12) years and under the age of eighteen (18) years, and who
has not finished four (4) years of high school work, to neglect or
refuse to attend and comply with the rules of some public, private
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or other school, or receive an education by other means for the full
term the schools of the district are in session.
Provided, that this section shall not apply:
1. If any child is prevented from attending school by reason of
mental or physical disability, including mental health counsel ing
and occupational therapy appointments, to be determined by the b oard
of education of the district upon a certificate of the school
physician or, public health physician, counselor or occupational
therapist, or, if no such physician, counselor or occupational
therapist is available, a duly licensed and practicing physic ian,
counselor or occupational therapist;
2. If any child is excused from attendance at school, due to an
emergency, by the principal teacher of the school in which such
child is enrolled, at the request of the parent, gu ardian, custodian
or other person having control custody of such child;
3. If any child who has attained his or her sixteenth birthday
is excused from attending school by written, joint agreement
between:
a. the school administrator of the school district where
the child attends school, a nd
b. the parent, guardian or custodian of the child.
Provided, further, that no child shall be excused from
attending school by such joint agreement between a
school administrator and the parent, guardian or
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custodian of the chi ld unless and until it has been
determined that such action is for the best interest
of the child and/or the community, and that s aid child
shall thereafter be under the supervision of the
parent, guardian or custodian until the child has
reached the age of eighteen (18) years;
4. If any child is excused from attending school for the
purpose of observing religious holy days if befor e the absence, the
parent, guardian, or other person having custody or control of the
student child submits a written request for the exc used absence.
The school district shall excuse a student child pursuant to this
subsection for the days on which the religious holy days are
observed and for the days on which the student child must travel to
and from the site where the student child will observe the holy
days; or
5. If any child is excused from attending school for the
purpose of participating in a military funeral honors ceremony u pon
approval of the school principal .
C. It shall be the duty of the attendance officer to enforce
the provisions of this section. In the prosecution of a parent,
guardian, or other person having custody or control of a child for
violation of any provision of this section, it shall be an
affirmative defense that the parent, guardian, or other person
having custody of the ch ild has made substantial and reasonable
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efforts to comply with the compulsory attendance requirements of
this section but is unable to cause the child to attend school. If
the court determines the affirmative defense is valid, it shall
dismiss the complaint against the parent, guardian, or other person
having custody of the child and shall notify the school attendance
officer who shall refer the c hild to the district attorney for the
county in which the child resides for the filing of a Child in Need
of Supervision petition against the child pursuant to the Oklahoma
Juvenile Code.
D. Any parent, guardian, custodian, child or other person
violating any of the provisions of this section, upon conviction,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishe d as follows:
1. For the first offense, a fine of not less than Twenty -five
Dollars ($25.00) nor more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00), or
imprisonment for not more than five (5) days, or both such fine and
imprisonment;
2. For the second offense, a fine of n ot less than Fifty
Dollars ($50.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), or
imprisonment for not more than ten (10) days, or both such fi ne and
imprisonment; and
3. For the third or subsequent offense, a fine of not less than
One Hundred Dollars ( $100.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty
Dollars ($250.00), or imprisonment for not more than fifteen (15)
days, or both such fine and imprisonme nt.
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Each day the child remains out of school after the an oral and
documented or written warning has been given to the parent,
guardian, custodian, child or other person or the child has been
ordered to school by the juvenile court shall constitute a separate
offense.
E. At the trial of any person charged with violating the
provisions of this section, the attendan ce records of the child or
ward may be presented in court by any authorized employee of the
school district.
F. The court may order the parent, g uardian, or other person
having custody of the child to perform community service in lieu of
the fine set forth in this section. The court may require that all
or part of the community service be performed for a public school
district.
G. The court may order as a condition of a deferred sentence or
as a condition of sentence upon conviction of the parent, guardi an,
or other person having custody of the child any conditions as the
court considers necessary to obtain compliance with school
attendance requirements. The conditions may include, but are not
limited to, the following:
1. Verifying attendance of the ch ild with the school;
2. Attending meetings with school officials;
3. Taking the child to school;
4. Taking the child to the bus stop;
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5. Attending school with the child;
6. Undergoing an evaluation for drug, alcohol, or other
substance abuse and follo wing the recommendations of the evaluator;
and
7. Taking the child for drug, alcohol, or other substance abuse
evaluation and following the recom mendations of the evaluator,
unless excused by the court.
SECTION 2. This act shall become ef fective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5668 EK 01/02/23