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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1626 By: Goodwin
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Trust; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 2621 and 2623, which relate to
administration of the Trust; modifying provisions
related to award of scholarships ; modifying
qualifying income limit; modifying provisions related
to number of scholarships; modifying organization for
verification; modifying parties involved in
administration; providing an effecti ve date; and
declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2621, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2621. There is hereby created the Tulsa Reconciliation
Education and Scholarship Program. The purpose of the program is to
provide a scholarship award to residents of the Tulsa School
District, which was greatly impacted both socially and econ omically
by the civil unrest that occurred in the City of Tulsa during 1921.
Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, or as soon thereafter as
practicable, and subject to the availability of funds, the pr ogram
shall each year make scholarships available to as many as feasible
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up to three hundred scholarships to qualified residents of the Tulsa
School District, and to qualified residents of any other common
school district of the state who are direct lineal descendants as
defined in subsection C of Section 2623 of this title and who meet
the criteria set forth in Sections 2623 and 2624 of this title, and
who are intending to pursue st udies at an institution of higher
education in The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a
private institution of higher education, or who are intending to
pursue studies in a postsecondary career technology education
program. The scholarship shall be an amount of not more than the
equivalent of the average amount of resident tuition for which an
eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Educatio n and Scholarship Program
participant enrolled at an institution in The Oklahoma State System
of Higher Education or a postsecondary career technology education
program, whichever is applicable, is obligated to pay. The
scholarship shall be paid as provid ed for in Section 2625 of this
title. The further purpose of this program is to establish and
maintain a variety of educational support services whereby residents
who qualify for the program will be prepared for success in
postsecondary endeavors.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2623, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2623. A. Subject to the availability of funds, the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may annually award a
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maximum of three hundred full -time-equivalent scholarships for the
Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program to residents
of the Tulsa School District.
B. To qualify for a scholarship, an applicant shall satisfy the
following criteria:
1. The family income of the applica nt from taxable sources is
not more than Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00) One Hundred
Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per year. The Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form may be used to
verify family income;
2. The applicant attend ed a Tulsa public school where seventy-
five percent (75%) or more of the students enrolled in the school
qualify for the free and reduced lunch program; and
3. The applicant resides in a census block area within the
Tulsa School District where thirty perc ent (30%) or more of the
residents are at or below the poverty level established by the
United States Bureau of th e Census.
C. The Regents may consider as a and the selection process
shall factor in first, when determining the order of preference of
the applicant or applicants, whether an applicant is a direct lineal
descendant of a direct lineal descendant of a person who resided in
the Greenwood Area i n the City of Tulsa between April 30, 1921, and
June 1, 1921. If the Regents use descent as a preference factor, it
shall be applied to all applicants r egardless of race. The
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applicants shall be required to present verifiable documentation of
their lineage. The Oklahoma Historical Society An organization or
individual engaged in genealogy and research of descendants and
history of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1 921 race massacre and Greenwood
area shall verify the authenticity and accuracy of the documentation
submitted by an applica nt and shall establish confirm the boundaries
of the Greenwood Area. Verifiable documentation shall include, but
not be limited to the following:
1. Family records including family Bibles, vital records,
correspondence, memoirs, journals, diaries, unrecorded dee ds,
diplomas, certificates, or testimonial s;
2. Public records including censuses, government records,
military records, pensions, land bounty records, passport
applications, passenger lists, original grants, naturalization or
immigration records, records of entry, or state, province, or local
records; or
3. Institutional records including church records, cemetery
records and inscriptions, education institutions, insurance rec ords,
or societies and fraternal organizations.
D. The Regents shall promulgate rules establishing the
application requirements for the progr am and the system for
evaluating applications based on the preference factors. The
application form shall include a small outlined box graphic,
followed by language, "Mark the box, if you are a direct lineal
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descendant of a person greatly impacted socially and economical ly
during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre who re sided in the Greenwood
area of Tulsa, Oklahoma between April 30, 1921 and June 1, 1921. "
E. Applicants shall also meet the eligibility criteria
established in Section 2624 of this title.
F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall also
be authorized to annually award scholarships for the Tulsa
Reconciliation Education a nd Scholarship Program to two students at
each of the high schools in the Tulsa School District for the
purpose of preservin g awareness of the history and meaning of the
civil unrest that occurred in Tulsa in 1921. The following
provisions shall apply to the scholarship provided in this
subsection:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this
section, eligibility for the scholarships awarded pursuant to this
subsection shall be:
a. enrollment in the appropriate high school,
b. family income of the applicant from taxable sources
not to exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00)
One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per
year,
c. the awards made pursuant to this subsection shall be
as specified in subsection C of this section,
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d. satisfaction of the criteria specified in Sect ion 2624
of this title, and
d. e. any other relevant criteria determined by the Ok lahoma
State Regents for Higher Education;
2. The State Regents shall involve the administration of the Tulsa
School District and a Community Advisory Committee in the selection
process. The Community Advisory Committee shall be comprised of
seven members appointed by the Oklahoma Chancellor for Higher
Education. The Community Advisory Committee shall combine seven
members comprised of the following list :
a. One - President of Langston University or Designee ,
b. One - Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools or
Designee,
c. Two - Members of the Oklahoma Legislature representing
the Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, O klahoma or
their Designee/s,
d. Two - Descendants of socially and economically,
adversely impacted persons who resided in the
Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, Ok lahoma between
April 30,1921 and June 1, 1921,
e. One - Citizen with ties to the historic Greenwood
community who may be engaged in faith based,
education, social, business or advocacy work.
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The President of Langston University, or Desi gnee, shall be
responsible for coordinating the advisory committee and shall submit
to the Chancellor for Higher Education a list of proposed committee
members for review and approval ;
3. The award shall b e limited to a one-year full-time-
equivalent period. Following successful comple tion of such award,
recipients who meet the criteria provided in subsection B of this
section shall be eligible to apply and be considered for continued
participation in the f ull Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
Scholarship Program. Any student subseque ntly awarded such
scholarship shall have the duration of the scholarship provided
pursuant to this subsection deducted from the lim its set in
subsection D of Section 2625 of t his title;
4. The award may only be funded with state funds appropriated
to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund and
income therefrom, and shall be made subject to the availability of
such funds; and
5. The awards made pursuant t o this subsection shall be
included within the maximum number of scholarships spe cified in
subsection A of this section.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
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 after its passage and approval.
59-1-6829 MJ 01/17/23