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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 1626 By: Goodwin
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38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
41	41	and Scholarship Trust; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
42	42	Sections 2621 and 2623, which relate to
43	43	administration of the Trust; modifying provisions
44	44	related to award of scholarships ; modifying
45	45	qualifying income limit; modifying provisions related
46	46	to number of scholarships; modifying organization for
47	47	verification; modifying parties involved in
48	48	administration; providing an effecti ve date; and
49	49	declaring an emergency.
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54	54	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
55	55	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2621, is
56	56	amended to read as follows:
57	57	Section 2621. There is hereby created the Tulsa Reconciliation
58	58	Education and Scholarship Program. The purpose of the program is to
59	59	provide a scholarship award to residents of the Tulsa School
60	60	District, which was greatly impacted both socially and econ omically
61	61	by the civil unrest that occurred in the City of Tulsa during 1921.
62	62	Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, or as soon thereafter as
63	63	practicable, and subject to the availability of funds, the pr ogram
64	64	shall each year make scholarships available to as many as feasible
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91	91	up to three hundred scholarships to qualified residents of the Tulsa
92	92	School District, and to qualified residents of any other common
93	93	school district of the state who are direct lineal descendants as
94	94	defined in subsection C of Section 2623 of this title and who meet
95	95	the criteria set forth in Sections 2623 and 2624 of this title, and
96	96	who are intending to pursue st udies at an institution of higher
97	97	education in The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a
98	98	private institution of higher education, or who are intending to
99	99	pursue studies in a postsecondary career technology education
100	100	program. The scholarship shall be an amount of not more than the
101	101	equivalent of the average amount of resident tuition for which an
102	102	eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Educatio n and Scholarship Program
103	103	participant enrolled at an institution in The Oklahoma State System
104	104	of Higher Education or a postsecondary career technology education
105	105	program, whichever is applicable, is obligated to pay. The
106	106	scholarship shall be paid as provid ed for in Section 2625 of this
107	107	title. The further purpose of this program is to establish and
108	108	maintain a variety of educational support services whereby residents
109	109	who qualify for the program will be prepared for success in
110	110	postsecondary endeavors.
111	111	SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2623, is
112	112	amended to read as follows:
113	113	Section 2623. A. Subject to the availability of funds, the
114	114	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may annually award a
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141	141	maximum of three hundred full -time-equivalent scholarships for the
142	142	Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program to residents
143	143	of the Tulsa School District.
144	144	B. To qualify for a scholarship, an applicant shall satisfy the
145	145	following criteria:
146	146	1. The family income of the applica nt from taxable sources is
147	147	not more than Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00) One Hundred
148	148	Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per year. The Free
149	149	Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form may be used to
150	150	verify family income;
151	151	2. The applicant attend ed a Tulsa public school where seventy-
152	152	five percent (75%) or more of the students enrolled in the school
153	153	qualify for the free and reduced lunch program; and
154	154	3. The applicant resides in a census block area within the
155	155	Tulsa School District where thirty perc ent (30%) or more of the
156	156	residents are at or below the poverty level established by the
157	157	United States Bureau of th e Census.
158	158	C. The Regents may consider as a and the selection process
159	159	shall factor in first, when determining the order of preference of
160	160	the applicant or applicants, whether an applicant is a direct lineal
161	161	descendant of a direct lineal descendant of a person who resided in
162	162	the Greenwood Area i n the City of Tulsa between April 30, 1921, and
163	163	June 1, 1921. If the Regents use descent as a preference factor, it
164	164	shall be applied to all applicants r egardless of race. The
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191	191	applicants shall be required to present verifiable documentation of
192	192	their lineage. The Oklahoma Historical Society An organization or
193	193	individual engaged in genealogy and research of descendants and
194	194	history of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1 921 race massacre and Greenwood
195	195	area shall verify the authenticity and accuracy of the documentation
196	196	submitted by an applica nt and shall establish confirm the boundaries
197	197	of the Greenwood Area. Verifiable documentation shall include, but
198	198	not be limited to the following:
199	199	1. Family records including family Bibles, vital records,
200	200	correspondence, memoirs, journals, diaries, unrecorded dee ds,
201	201	diplomas, certificates, or testimonial s;
202	202	2. Public records including censuses, government records,
203	203	military records, pensions, land bounty records, passport
204	204	applications, passenger lists, original grants, naturalization or
205	205	immigration records, records of entry, or state, province, or local
206	206	records; or
207	207	3. Institutional records including church records, cemetery
208	208	records and inscriptions, education institutions, insurance rec ords,
209	209	or societies and fraternal organizations.
210	210	D. The Regents shall promulgate rules establishing the
211	211	application requirements for the progr am and the system for
212	212	evaluating applications based on the preference factors. The
213	213	application form shall include a small outlined box graphic,
214	214	followed by language, "Mark the box, if you are a direct lineal
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241	241	descendant of a person greatly impacted socially and economical ly
242	242	during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre who re sided in the Greenwood
243	243	area of Tulsa, Oklahoma between April 30, 1921 and June 1, 1921. "
244	244	E. Applicants shall also meet the eligibility criteria
245	245	established in Section 2624 of this title.
246	246	F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall also
247	247	be authorized to annually award scholarships for the Tulsa
248	248	Reconciliation Education a nd Scholarship Program to two students at
249	249	each of the high schools in the Tulsa School District for the
250	250	purpose of preservin g awareness of the history and meaning of the
251	251	civil unrest that occurred in Tulsa in 1921. The following
252	252	provisions shall apply to the scholarship provided in this
253	253	subsection:
254	254	1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this
255	255	section, eligibility for the scholarships awarded pursuant to this
256	256	subsection shall be:
257	257	a. enrollment in the appropriate high school,
258	258	b. family income of the applicant from taxable sources
259	259	not to exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00)
260	260	One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per
261	261	year,
262	262	c. the awards made pursuant to this subsection shall be
263	263	as specified in subsection C of this section,
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290	290	d. satisfaction of the criteria specified in Sect ion 2624
291	291	of this title, and
292	292	d. e. any other relevant criteria determined by the Ok lahoma
293	293	State Regents for Higher Education;
294	294	2. The State Regents shall involve the administration of the Tulsa
295	295	School District and a Community Advisory Committee in the selection
296	296	process. The Community Advisory Committee shall be comprised of
297	297	seven members appointed by the Oklahoma Chancellor for Higher
298	298	Education. The Community Advisory Committee shall combine seven
299	299	members comprised of the following list :
300	300	a. One - President of Langston University or Designee ,
301	301	b. One - Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools or
302	302	Designee,
303	303	c. Two - Members of the Oklahoma Legislature representing
304	304	the Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, O klahoma or
305	305	their Designee/s,
306	306	d. Two - Descendants of socially and economically,
307	307	adversely impacted persons who resided in the
308	308	Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, Ok lahoma between
309	309	April 30,1921 and June 1, 1921,
310	310	e. One - Citizen with ties to the historic Greenwood
311	311	community who may be engaged in faith based,
312	312	education, social, business or advocacy work.
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339	339	The President of Langston University, or Desi gnee, shall be
340	340	responsible for coordinating the advisory committee and shall submit
341	341	to the Chancellor for Higher Education a list of proposed committee
342	342	members for review and approval ;
343	343	3. The award shall b e limited to a one-year full-time-
344	344	equivalent period. Following successful comple tion of such award,
345	345	recipients who meet the criteria provided in subsection B of this
346	346	section shall be eligible to apply and be considered for continued
347	347	participation in the f ull Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
348	348	Scholarship Program. Any student subseque ntly awarded such
349	349	scholarship shall have the duration of the scholarship provided
350	350	pursuant to this subsection deducted from the lim its set in
351	351	subsection D of Section 2625 of t his title;
352	352	4. The award may only be funded with state funds appropriated
353	353	to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund and
354	354	income therefrom, and shall be made subject to the availability of
355	355	such funds; and
356	356	5. The awards made pursuant t o this subsection shall be
357	357	included within the maximum number of scholarships spe cified in
358	358	subsection A of this section.
359	359	SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
360	360	SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
361	361	of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
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388	388	declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
389	389	be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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391	391	59-1-6829 MJ 01/17/23

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1626 Compare Versions