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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR ENGROSSED
HOUSE BILL 1035 By: Rosecrants, Pae, and
Provenzano of the House
and
Pemberton of the Senate
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
[ schools - student attendance - exceptions for
mental health counseling and occupational therapy
appointments - certification of absence - 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 p arent,
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 the 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
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be required of all children five (5) years of age or older unless
the child is excused from kindergarten attendance as provided in
this section. 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 r equired 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, to be determined by th e board of
education of the district upon a certificate of the school physician
or public health physician, or, if no such physician is available, a
duly licensed and practicing physic ian;
2. If any child is excused from attendance at school, due to an
emergency, by the principal teacher of the school in which such the
child is enrolled, at the req uest of the parent, gu ardian,
custodian, or other person having control custody of such the 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 wher e
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 the joint agreement between a
school administrator and the parent, guardian, or
custodian of the child unless and until it has been
determined that such the action is for the best
interest of the child and/or the community, and that
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said the 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 religi ous 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 p rincipal; or
6. If any child is excused from attending school for the
purpose of receiving mental health counseling or occupational
therapy if before the absence, the parent, guardian, or other person
having custody of the child submits a written request for the
excused absence. The school district shall excuse the child
pursuant to this subsection upon receipt of documentation from the
mental health or occupational therapy provider evidencing the
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child’s absence due to participation in mental health counseling or
occupational therapy.
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 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
child has made substantial and reasonable efforts to comply with the
compulsory attendance requireme nts 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 complai nt against
the parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child
and shall notify the school attendance officer who shall refer the
child to the district attorney for the county in which th e child
resides for the filing of a Child in Need of Su pervision petition
against the child pursuant to the Oklahoma Juvenile Code.
D. Any parent, guard ian, 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 a nd
imprisonment;
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2. For the second offense, a fine of not 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 subsequen t 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 fift een (15)
days, or both such fine and imprisonme nt.
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 wi th 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 f or 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,
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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;
5. Attending school with the child;
6. Undergoing an evaluat ion 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 su bstance abuse
evaluation and following the recom mendations of the evaluator,
unless excused by the co urt.
SECTION 2. This act shall become ef fective November 1, 2023.
59-1-2076 EB 4/4/2023 12:47:45 PM