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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Le gislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1452 By: Provenzano
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to teachers; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 6-101, which relates to teacher contracts;
requiring teacher contrac t length to be duration of
the current fiscal year; mandating teacher contract
length for ensuing year to be duration of the ensuing
year; establishing contract leng th for teachers who
are not certified; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-101. A. Except as provided in subsection E of thi s
section, no person sha ll be permitted to teach in any school
district of the state without a written contract, for the duration
of the current fiscal year, except as provided herein for substitute
teachers and except tea chers of classes in adult education. Except
as provided in subsection J o f this section, the board of education
of each school district, wherein school is expected to be conducted
for the ensuing year, shall employ and contract in writing , for the
duration of the current fiscal year, with qualified teachers for and
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in the name of the district. One copy of the contract shall be
filed with the clerk of the board of education and one copy shall be
retained by the teacher.
B. Except as otherwise provided by subsections J and K of this
section and any other law, no board of educati on shall have
authority to enter into any written c ontract with a teacher w ho does
not hold an Oklahoma criminal his tory record check as required by
Section 6-190 of this title and who does not hold a valid
certificate issued or recognized by the Stat e Board of Education
authorizing the teacher to teach the grades or subject matter for
which the teacher is employed . Any board of education paying or
authorizing the payment of the salary of a ny teacher not holding a
certificate, as required herein, shall be adjudged to be guilty of a
fraudulent expenditure of public funds and members voting for such
payment shall be held jointly responsible for the return of the
amount of any public monies thu s expended, upon suit brought by the
district attorney or by any interested citizen in the district where
such funds have been expended.
C. It shall be the duty of the superinte ndent of schools under
whose supervision teachers have been contracted to teac h to certify
to the treasurer of the co ntracting district the names of the
teachers holding valid certificates an d student teachers with whom
contracts have been made and the nam es of substitute teachers
employed in accordance with law. The treasurer shal l not register
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any warrant issued in pa yment of salary to any teacher whose name is
not included in such list and shall be liable on the official bond
for the treasurer for the a mount of any warrant registered in
violation of the provisions of this section .
D. Whenever any person shall enter i nto a contract with any
school district in Oklahoma to teach in such schoo l district the
contract shall be binding on the teacher and on th e board of
education until the t eacher legally has been discharged from the
teaching position or released by the boar d of education from the
contract. Except as provided in Section 5 -106A of this title, until
such teacher has been thus discharged or relea sed, the teacher shall
not have authority to enter into a contract with any ot her board of
education in Oklahoma for the same time covered by the original
contract. If upon written complaint by the board of educati on in a
district any teacher is reported to have failed to obey the terms of
the contract previously made and to have e ntered into a contract
with another board of education without having been released from
the former contract exce pt as provided in Sectio n 5-106A of this
title, the teacher, upon being found guilty of such char ge at a
hearing held before the State Board of Education, shall have such
teacher's certificate suspended for the remainder of the term for
which the contract was made.
E. A board of education shall have authority to enter into
written contracts with teac hers for the ensuing fiscal year prior to
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the beginning of such year. The contract length for an ensuing
fiscal year shall be for the duration of the ensuing fiscal year.
If, prior to the first Monday in June, a board of education has not
entered into a writt en contract with a regul arly employed teacher or
notified the teacher in writing by registered or certified mail that
a recommendation has been made not to reemploy the teacher for t he
ensuing fiscal year, and if, by fifteen (15) days after the first
Monday in June, such teacher has not notified the board of education
in writing by registered or certi fied mail that such teacher does
not desire to be reemployed in such school district for the ensuing
year, such teacher shall be considered as employed on a co ntinuing
contract basis and on the same salary schedule used for other
teachers in the school dis trict for the ensuing fiscal year, and
such employment and continuing contract shall be binding on the
teacher and on the school district.
F. Whenever a schoo l district is engaged in contract
negotiations with teachers empl oyed by that school district aft er
the school year has begun and the teachers are employed on a
continuing contract b asis, the school district shall, beginning at
the first of the school year , pay the teachers any s tate-mandated
salary increases and salary schedule increases to which eac h teacher
is otherwise entitled.
G. No school district or any member of the board of education
of a district shall be liable for the payment of compensation t o a
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teacher or administr ator under the provisions of any contract for
the ensuing year, if it bec omes necessary to close the school
because of insufficient attendance, disorganizatio n, annexation,
consolidation, or by dispensing with the school according t o law,
provided, such cause is known or action is taken prior to July 1 of
such ensuing year.
H. No school district or any member of a board o f education
shall be liable for the pay ment of compensation to any teacher or
administrator for the unexpired ter m of any contract if the school
building to which the teacher or administrator has been assigned is
destroyed by accident, storm, fire, or othe rwise and it becomes
necessary to close the school because of inability to secure a
suitable building or building s for continuation of sc hool. Teachers
and administrators shall be entitled to pay for any time lost when
school is closed on account of epide mics or otherwise when an order
for such closing has been issued by a health officer authorized by
law to issue the order.
I. A teacher may contract with more than one school di strict
for the same school year as provided in Section 5-106A of this
title.
J. A board of education shall have auth ority to enter into
written contracts for the ensuing fiscal year prior to the beginning
of the year with persons who are not certified to teach by the State
Board of Education as long as the person is actively in the process
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of securing certification. The contract length for an ensuing
fiscal year shall be for the duration of the ensuing fiscal year.
The person shall not be allowed to teach in a classroom until the
person has met or completed all of the requirements for
certification as provided for in Section 6-190 of this title. If
the person has not obtained val id certification by the first day of
the ensuing school year, the contract shall be terminated.
K. A board of education of a school district shall have the
authority to enter i nto written contracts for employm ent for the
ensuing fiscal year with persons w ho are student teachers as defined
in Section 1-116 of this title while such persons are still student
teachers. A student teacher shall not be allowed to teach in a
classroom during the ensuing fiscal year un til meeting or completing
all of the requireme nts for certification as provided for i n Section
6-190 of this title. If the student teacher has not obtained va lid
certification by the first day of the ensuing school year, t he
contract shall be terminated. A board of education of a school
district shall have the authority to commit to paym ent of a stipend
or signing bonus to a student teacher as defined in Secti on 1-116 of
this title while that person is still a student teac her, if that
person has entered i nto a written contract for employment for the
ensuing fiscal year. A board of educat ion shall make any such
student teacher stipend or signing bonus condition al on such person
fulfilling the first year of his or her contract for the ensuing
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fiscal year. Any stipend or signing bonus paid under the terms o f
this subsection shall not be considered compensation fo r purposes of
teacher retirement or the minimum sal ary schedule.
L. A teacher whose certificate was suspended by the State Board
of Education pursuant to Section 3-104 of this title and Sections
314 and 314.1 of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be placed
on suspension pursuant to the provisions of Section 6-101.29 of this
title while proceedings for revocation or other action are pending
before the State Board of Education. The provisions of this
subsection shall not preclude the initiation of due process
procedures in accordance with Section 6 -101.20 et. seq of this
title.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-6109 EK 12/28/22