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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 5 9th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1450 By: Provenzano
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to teachers; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 3-121, which relates to funds appropriated to
the State Board of Education; deleting statutory
reference; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3 -129.11,
which relates to the School District Empowerment
Program; deleting statutory reference; amending 70
O.S. 2021, Sections 6-101.11 and 6-101.16, which
relate to teacher evaluations; striking provision
providing for release of certain data; deleting
statutory reference; deleting individual ized program
of professional development requirement; amending 70
O.S. 2021, Sections 6-101.21, 6-101.23, and 6-101.24,
which relate to the Teacher Due Process Act of 1990;
striking statutory reference; deleting reference to
certain evaluation provisions; removing statutory
citation; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.31,
which relates to teacher evaluation ratings; deleting
statutory reference; repealing 70 O.S. 2021, Section
6-101.10, which relates to school district evaluation
policies; and providing an effective d ate.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-121, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 3-121. A portion of the funds appropriated to the State
Board of Education for the Administrative and Support Functions of
the State Department of Education shall be expended for:
1. The cost involved in administering, scoring, reporting and
other incidental duties necessary to accomplish the provis ions of
the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act;
2. Preschool deaf education programs operated by the State
Department of Education; and
3. Conducting training workshops for administrative personnel
pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 -101.10 of this title.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3 -129.11, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 3-129.11 A. There is hereby established the School
District Empowerment Program which shall be administered by the
State Board of Education. The purpose of the program is to empower
locally elected school board members to govern school districts and
make decisions based on the needs of their students and
circumstances.
B. 1. Subject to the provisions of this section, a school
district shall be allowed to submit a request to the State Board of
Education for an exemption from all statutory requirements and State
Board of Education rules from which charter schools are exempt, a s
provided for in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act. Any request for
exemption shall include a plan which outlines the goals sought to be
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achieved at a minimum, include including the educational and fiscal
benefits and the anticipated impacts or outcomes the plan wi ll have
in the district.
2. Within ninety (90) days after receiving the request and
plan, the State Board shall approve or disapprove the request. If
the State Board does not approve the request , it shall provide to
the school district a written explanat ion of the basis for its
decision. The school district may resubmit an amended request at
any time after the denial. The request shall be approved by the
State Board before implementation by the school district. An
approved request and plan shall be for no longer than three (3)
years. Prior to the beginning of the third year, the school
district may apply for renewal of the approved reque st and plan.
The school district shall be required to su bmit an annual report and
the State Board shall annually ass ess the academic achievement and
fiscal status of the school district.
C. Nothing in this section shall prevent a school district
board of education from choosing to follow any or all state laws,
rules or regulations from which a charter school is exempt. A
school district which has been granted approval by the State Board
for exemption as set forth in subsection B of this section shall
have the option to adopt policies to implement any requireme nt for
the school district that is consistent with any statu tory
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requirement or mandate or State Board rule, but a participating
school district shall comply with the following requirements:
1. Students who reside in the school district shall be entitled
to attend school in the district as set forth in Section 1 -114 of
this title;
2. School districts shall comply with the requirements of the
minimum salary schedule for teachers as set forth in Section 18-
114.12 18-114.14 of this title;
3. Employees of school districts shall continue to participate
as members of the Teachers ' Retirement System of Oklahoma as set
forth in Section 17-101 et seq. of this title;
4. School districts shall comply with the requirement to
provide a health insurance plan for schoo l district employees as set
forth in Section 5-117.5 of this title and to estab lish or make
available to school district employees a cafeteria plan as set forth
in Section 26-104 of this title;
5. School districts sha ll require any person employed by the
school district to file with the district board a current Oklahoma
criminal history record check from the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation as well as a national criminal history record check as
defined in Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Sta tutes. Each
district shall adopt a policy regarding criminal history record
checks as set forth in Section 5 -142 of this title;
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6. School districts shall comply with the requirement
requirements to evaluate teachers and to train personnel designated
to conduct personnel evaluations as set forth in Sections 6-101.10
and Section 6-101.11 of this title, the dismissal and due process
procedures for administrators as set forth in Sections 6 -101.13
through 6-101.15 of this title and the due pro cess procedures for
teachers as set forth in Sections 6 -101.21 through 6-101.26 of this
title;
7. School districts shall comply with the requirement to make
payroll deductions for either or both professional organization dues
and political contributions u pon the request of an employee as set
forth in Section 5-139 of this title;
8. School districts shall comply with the dismissal and due
process procedures for education support employees as set forth in
Sections 6-101.40 through 6-101.47 of this title;
9. School districts shall employ as teachers, counselors,
librarians, school nurses, superintendents, principa ls, supervisors
or any other instructional, supervisory or administrative employee
only those persons who are certified by the State Board of Educa tion
in accordance with the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Ac t, except for
persons exempt from the certificatio n requirements as otherwise
provided by law;
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10. School districts shall provide for negotiations between
school employees and school districts as set forth in Sections 509.1
through 509.11 of this title;
11. School districts shall be required to offer an d students
enrolled in the school district shall be required to complete the
curriculum requirements as set forth in Section 11 -103.6 of this
title;
12. Students enrolled in the school district shall be re quired
to demonstrate mastery of the state academi c content standards as
set forth in Section 1210.523 of this title ; and
13. Members of the school district board of education shall be
required to satisfy the instruction and continuing education
requirements as set forth in Sections 5 -110, 5-110.1 and 5-110.2 of
this title.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.11, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101.11 Whenever any evaluation is made of a teacher
or administrator, a true copy of the evaluation shall be presented
to the person evaluated, who shall acknowledg e the written
evaluation by signing the original. Within two (2) weeks after the
evaluation, the person evaluat ed may respond and said response shall
be made part of the record. Except by order of a court of competent
jurisdiction, evaluation documents a nd the responses thereto shall
be available only to the evaluated person, the board of education,
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the administrative staff making the evaluation, the board and
administrative staff of any school to which such evaluated person
applies for employment and suc h other persons as are specified by
the teacher in writing and shall be subject to disclosure at any
hearing involving a teacher or administrator 's dismissal or
nonrenewal from employment. Data collected pursuant to Section 6 -
101.10 shall be available to authorized representatives of the State
Department of Education and its contracting designees who must be
contractually bound to the Department to maintain confidentiality of
all information received from the Department when such evaluation
data is used by the Department for data collection/analysis purposes
under the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evalua tion
System, and such other persons as are specified by the teacher in
writing and shall be subject to disclosure at any hearing involving
a teacher or administrator's dismissal or nonrenewal from
employment.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-101.16, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101.16 A. By December 15, 2011, the Stat e Board of
Education shall adopt a new statewide system of evaluation to be
known as the Oklahoma Teache r and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation
System (TLE). The Board shall work coope ratively with school
districts to incorporate the components of the TLE i n all school
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districts by the 2017 -2018 school year as provided for in Section 6 -
101.10 of this title .
B. The TLE shall include the followin g components:
1. Annual evaluations that provide feedback to improve student
learning and outcomes, except as prov ided for in subsection C of
this section;
2. A five-tier district evaluation rating system as follows:
a. superior,
b. highly effective,
c. effective,
d. needs improvement, and
e. ineffective;
3. An evidence-based qualitative assessment tool for the
teacher qualitative portion of the TLE that will include observable
and measurable characteristics of person nel and classroom practices
that are correlated to student performance success, including, but
not limited to:
a. organizational and classroom managemen t skills,
b. ability to provide effective instruction,
c. focus on continuous improvement and profession al
growth,
d. interpersonal skills, a nd
e. leadership skills;
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4. An evidence-based qualitative assessment tool for the leader
qualitative portion of th e TLE that will include observable and
measurable characteristics of personnel and site management
practices that are correlated to student p erformance success,
including, but not lim ited to:
a. organizational and school management, including
retention and development of effective teachers and
dismissal of ineffective teachers,
b. instructional leadership,
c. professional growth and responsibil ity,
d. interpersonal skills,
e. leadership skills, and
f. stakeholder perceptions;
5. An individualized program o f professional development for
all teachers and administrators as adopted by the school district
board of education as set forth in subsectio n B of Section 6-101.10
of this title;
6. For districts choosing to use, at their own expense,
quantitative measures of teachers and leaders as part of the
district evaluation rating, such measures shall include a mini mum of
one reliable, research -based measure as approved by the State Board
of Education pursuant to subsection D of this section; and
7. 6. For all district evaluations, student performance,
including performance on the statewide criterion -referenced tests if
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available, shall be discussed wi th the teacher and may be one of the
considerations for the teacher 's district evaluation rating.
C. Career teachers receiving a district evaluation rating of
"superior" or "highly effective" under the TLE may be evalu ated once
every three (3) years.
D. By December 1, 2015, the Teacher and Leade r Effectiveness
Commission shall recommend to the State Board of Educatio n multiple
reliable, research-based measures to provide a quantitative
evaluation component for teachers . The State Board of Education
shall approve and publish a list of approved me asures by February 1,
2016.
E. A school district with an average daily a ttendance of more
than thirty-five thousand (35,000) which has incorporated
quantitative components of t he TLE into its evaluation system of
teachers and administrators prior to the 2 015-2016 school year may
continue using its evaluation system, as defined by the school
district's written policies, notwithstanding the provisions of this
section and regardles s of the State Board of Education 's adoption of
quantitative components pursuan t to this section.
F. The State Department of Education shall provide to the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Oklahoma
Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability timely
electronic data linked to teachers and leaders derived f rom the TLE
for purposes of providing a basis for the development of
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accountability and quality improvements of the teacher preparation
system. The data shall be provided in a manner and at such times as
agreed upon between the Department, the State Regen ts and the
Commission.
G. For purposes of this section, "leader" means a principal,
assistant principal or any other school administrator who is
responsible for supervising cla ssroom teachers.
H. The State Depart ment of Education shall keep all data
collected pursuant to the TLE and records of annual evaluations
received pursuant to this section confidential. Records created
pursuant to this section which identify, in any way, a current or
former public employee shall not be subject to disclosure under t he
Oklahoma Open Records Act. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to prohibit disclosure otherwise required by this section;
provided, however, any provisions requiri ng disclosure of TLE
records shall be construed narrowly and all individually i dentifying
information shall be removed from such records to the fullest extent
possible.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.21, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101.21 A. The State Board of Education shall
promulgate standards of performance and conduct for teachers. A
copy of such standards, any amendments to such standards and any
standards adopted by the board of education of the school district
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shall be provided by the board of education of each school district
to each teacher on or before April 10 of each year.
B. The State Board of Education shall include the statutory
grounds for dismissal and nonreemployment of career teachers within
this standards documen t.
C. Standards which may be adopted by the board of education of
a school district shall not conflict with state or federal law or
standards promulgated by the State Board o f Education.
D. In determining whether or not the professional performance
of a teacher is adequate, the standards adopted by the State Board
of Education shall be considered. Consideration may be given to any
written standards of performance which have been adopted by any
other education-oriented organization or agency. Professiona l
performance or conduct of a teacher which is in compliance with
standards adopted by the State Board of Education or the local board
of education pursuant to Section 71 of t his act shall not be
considered in support of any dismissal or nonreemployment ac tion
against the teacher.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.23, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101.23 A. The dismissal, suspension and
nonreemployment provisions of the Teacher Due Process Act of 1990
shall not apply to:
1. Substitute teachers ;
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2. Adult education teachers; and
3. Teachers who are emp loyed on temporary contracts.
B. The dismissal and suspension provisions of the Teacher Due
Process Act of 1990 shall apply to teachers who are employed on
temporary contracts for a complete scho ol year and to teachers who
are employed in positions fully funded by federal or private
categorical grants, except that such teachers shall be employed only
for the duration of the temporary contract or the grant.
C. The evaluation provisions in Sections 6-101.10 and 6-101.11
of this title and in the Teacher Due Process Act of 1990 shall apply
to teachers who are employed on temporary contracts for a complete
school year and to teachers who are employed in positio ns fully
funded by federal or private cate gorical grants, except that such
teachers shall be employed only for the duration of the temporary
contract or the grant.
D. Teachers other than those specificall y excepted in
subsection A of this section who are employed on contracts shall be
afforded all substantive and procedural rights set forth in the
Teacher Due Process Act of 1990 including the dismissal, suspension,
and nonreemployment provisions applicable to probationary or career
teachers as defined in S ection 6-101.3 of this title.
E. D. On and after the effective date of this act any teacher
who has worked a complete school year under a temporary contract in
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a school district shall be granted a year of service credit toward
career status in that distri ct.
F. E. No teacher shall be hired on a temporary contract by a
school district for more than four s emesters or on multiple
temporary contracts by a school district that together are for more
than four semesters, except for a:
1. Teacher hired to replac e a teacher who is on an approved
leave of absence and who is expected to return to employment with
the school district; or
2. Teacher who is a retired member of the Teachers ' Retirement
System of Oklahoma.
G. F. No teacher shall be offered a temporary c ontract with a
school district without a f ull written disclosure at the time a
position is offered by the administration of the school district
which sets forth the terms and conditions of the temporary co ntract.
In the event the school district fails to provide such written
disclosure, the teach er shall be considered as employed on a
continuing contract basis.
H. G. On and after the effective date of this act no teacher
who is employed on a continuing co ntract basis by a school district
shall be reemployed on a temporary contract in that school district.
SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.24, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 6-101.24 A. Upon full implementation of the Oklahoma
Teacher and Leader Effectivene ss Evaluation System (TLE) as set
forth in Section 6-101.10 of this title, when a teacher receives a
rating as measured pursuant to the TLE as set forth in Sectio n 6-
101.16 of this title that may lead to a recommendation for the
dismissal or nonreemploymen t of the teacher or when an administrator
identifies poor performance or conduct that the administrator
believes may lead to a recommendation for the dismissal or
nonreemployment of the teacher, the administrator shall:
1. Admonish the teacher, in writing , and make a reasonable
effort to assist the teacher in correcting the poor performance or
conduct; and
2. Establish a reasonable time for improvement, not to ex ceed
two (2) months, taking into consideration the rating on the
evaluation or the nature and gravity of the performance or conduct.
B. If the teacher does not correct the poor performance or
conduct cited in the admonition within the time specified, the
administrator shall may make a recommendation to the superintendent
of the school district for the dismissal or nonreemployment of the
teacher.
C. Whenever a member of the board of education, superintendent,
or other administrator identifies poor performance or conduct that
may lead to a recommendation for dismissal or nonreemployment of a
teacher within the district, the administrator who ha s
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responsibility for evaluation of the teacher shall be informed, and
that administrator shall comply with the procedure s set forth in
this section. If the administrator fails or refuses to admonish the
teacher within ten (10) days after being so informed by the board,
superintendent, or other administrator, such board, superintendent
or other administrator shall admonish the teacher pursuant to the
provisions of this section.
D. Repeated negligence in perform ance of duty, willful neglect
of duty, incompetency, instructional ineffectiveness or
unsatisfactory teaching performance, for a career teacher, or any
cause related to inadequate teaching performance for a probationary
teacher, shall not be a basis for a recommendation to dismiss or not
reemploy a teacher unless and until the provisions of this section
have been complied with.
SECTION 8. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101.31, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101.31 Upon full implementation of the Oklahoma
Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE) as set
forth in Section 6-101.10 of this title, the primary basis used i n
determining the retention or reassignment of affected te achers and
administrators when a school district implements a reduction -in-
force plan shall be the ratings of the teachers and administrators
as measured pursuant to the TLE as set forth in Section 6-101.16 of
this title.
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SECTION 9. REPEALER 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-101.10, is
hereby repealed.
SECTION 10. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-6104 EK 01/16/23