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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 943 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to students; creating the Oklahoma
Parent Empowerment Act for Kids ; providing short
title; providing legislative intent; defining terms;
creating the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for Kids
Program; providing for administration; providing
method of application; directing publication of
application; requiring procedures to app rove
applications within certain time period; provi ding
for contents of parent agreement; providing certain
construction; requiring renewal of OK PEAK Accounts
on annual basis; allowing closure of accounts under
certain circumstances; requiring notificatio n within
certain time period of certain student re -enrolling
in certain school; providing for suspension of
deposits into account; providing for remittance of
unused funds; providing for calculation of State Aid
amount; requiring transfer of certain calcul ated
amount on a monthly basis; prohibiting certain
provider from sharing, refunding, or rebating an
amount with a parent or certain student; prohibiting
personal deposits into certain account; prohibiting
certain funds from being considered income; provid ing
for accrual of account funds; requiring certain
agency to maintain list of certain providers;
requiring certain agency to provide certain
information to certain parents; requiring notice to
be provided to parents of certain children; allowing
certain agency to contract with certain firm or
organization; allowing withholding of certain
percentage of funds to administer program; requiring
the establishment of certain payment system;
requiring implementation of certain system to share
information about edu cation service providers;
providing for partial pay ment to an education service
provider; authorizing certain auditing; providing for
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the removal of certain parent or student from
eligibility under certain circumstances; providing
for appeal; allowing refe rral for certain
investigation; allowing for paymen ts to cease to
certain providers under certain circumstances;
providing for appeal; allowing acceptance of gifts
and grants for certain purposes; providing for
promulgation of rules; providing process for
approving education service providers; directing
provision of certain student records in accordance
with certain act; providing certain construction;
directing certain decrease in state funding upon
certain finding of noncompliance; creating cause of
action for certain noncompliance; creating the OK
PEAK Account Revolving Fund; specifying sources of
fund; providing for expenditures; providing purpose
of fund; providing for establishment of burden in
certain legal proceeding; providing immunity from
liability for certain actions; allowing certain
parents to intervene in certain legal proceeding;
providing for severability; providing for
codification; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -100 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. This act shall be known and may b e cited as the “Oklahoma
Parent Empowerment Act for Kids”.
B. It is the intent of the Legislature that parents, legal
guardians, and others with legal authority over children in this
state be able to access educational services that meet the needs of
their individual children by directing State Aid for wh ich each
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child is eligible to the education provider of their choice. The
Legislature affirms that parents and legal guardians are best suited
to make decisions to help children in this state reach their full
potential and achieve a brighter future.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -101 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for K ids:
1. “Agency” means the Office of the State Treasurer;
2. “Curriculum” means a complete course of study for a
particular content area or grade level;
3. “Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for Kids Acco unt” or “OK
PEAK Account” means the account in whic h funds are deposited by the
Agency to pay for qualifying education expenses for an OK PEAK
student;
4. “Education service provider ” means a person, business,
public school district, public charter school , magnet school,
institution within The Oklahoma St ate System of Higher Education, or
organization that receives payments from a parent directing an OK
PEAK Account to provide educational goods and/or services to OK PEAK
students;
5. “Eligible student” means:
a. a resident of this state who lives in a county with a
population of more than ten thousand (10,000) or whose
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parent works in a county with a population of more
than ten thousand (10,000) according to the latest
Federal Decennial Census, and who is eligible to
enroll in a public school in this state, or
b. a resident of this state who lives in a county with a
population of less than ten thousand (10,000)
according to the latest Federal Decennial Census and
who is eligible to enroll in a public school in this
state that has been determined by a report ing agency
to be a trigger district ;
6. “OK PEAK student” means an eligible student approved for
participation in the OK PEAK Account Program;
7. “Parent” means a biological or adoptive parent, legal
guardian, custodian, or other person with legal author ity to act on
behalf of an eligible student;
8. “Qualified expense” means the following services provided by
an education service provider:
a. tuition and/or fees at a private school accredited or
in the process of obtaining accreditation by the State
Board of Education or another accrediting associatio n
approved by the State Board of Education,
b. tuition and/or fees for non -public online learning
programs,
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c. tutoring services provided by an individual o r a
tutoring facility,
d. services contracted for a nd provided by a public
school district, public c harter school, or magnet
school including but not limited to classes and
extracurricular activities and programs,
e. textbooks, curriculum, or other instruc tional
materials including but not limited to suppl emental
materials or associated online instructio n required by
an education service provider,
f. computer hardware or other technological devices,
educational software, and applications that are used
to meet an OK PEAK student’s curriculum needs,
g. tuition and/or fees for a curriculum or program, along
with related instruments, supplies, accessories, and
materials, that provides instruction in drama, music,
speech and debate, agriculture, or other similar
activities,
h. school uniforms,
i. fees for nationally standardized assessments including
but not limited to assessments used to determine
college admission and advanced placement examinations
as well as tuition and/or fees for tutoring or
preparatory courses for the assessments,
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j. tuition and/or fees for summer education programs and
specialized after-school education programs; provided,
however, that such expense does not include before -
school or after-school childcare,
k. tuition, fees, instructional ma terials, and assessment
fees for a curriculum or pr ogram offered by a
technology center school,
l. educational services and therapies including but not
limited to occupational, behavioral, physical, speech -
language, and audiology therapies,
m. tuition and fees for concurrent enrollment at an
institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher
Education,
n. fees for transportation paid to a fee -for-service
provider for the student to travel to and from an
education service provider, or
o. any other qualified expense approved by the Agency ;
9. “Reporting agency” means:
a. the parent’s state representati ve or state senator,
b. the board of education for the resident district of
the parent, as determined by Section 1 -113 of Title 70
of the Oklahoma Statutes,
c. the State Board of Education, or
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d. the county sheriff for the county in which the parent
resides; and
10. “Trigger district” means a school district in this state
where any of the following concepts or activities have been
advocated or tolerated:
a. violations of Section 24 -157 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
b. violations of Section 1-125 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
c. violations of Section 27 -106 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
d. instruction in gender identity and sexual orien tation
including instruction designed to promote ge nder
confusion,
e. possession of books wh ich contain obscene material as
defined by Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma
Statutes,
f. curriculum which is sexual in nature, except as
provided for in Section 11-105.1 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
g. the presence of any school employee or volunteer
engaged in anthropomorphic behavior commonly referred
to as furries,
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h. climate change ideology including, but not limited to,
disparaging the oil and natural gas industry or the
agriculture industry,
i. curriculum promoting social and emotio nal learning,
j. curriculum promoting animal rights activism,
k. instruction that disparages the Second Amendment to
the United States Constitution,
l. ideology that encourages efforts to defund the police,
or
m. curriculum promoting a Marxist ideology inc luding, but
not limited to, violations of Section 1266.4 of Title
21 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
B. There is hereby created the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act
for Kids or OK PEAK Program to be administered by the Ag ency to
provide an OK PEAK Account for qualified expenses to support the
education of OK PEAK students in this state.
C. 1. To apply for an OK PEAK Account, a parent of an eligible
student shall submit a n application to the Agency on a form
prescribed by the Agency and published on its website. The
application may be submitted online or by mail.
2. The Agency shall establish procedures to approve
applications within ten (10) business days after receipt. There
shall be no deadline for submission of appl ications. Applications
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shall be approved if the parent signs an agreement to do all of the
following:
a. use the OK PEAK Account only for qualified expenses to
provide an education for an eligible student in at
least the subjects of reading, English langu age arts,
mathematics, science, and socia l studies,
b. not enroll the eligible student as a full -time student
in a public school district, public charter school, or
magnet school after acceptance of an OK PEAK Account,
c. comply with rules and requirements of the OK PEAK
Account Program established by the Agency, and
d. not accept a scholarship from the Lindsey Nicole Henry
Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program
created by Section 13 -101.2 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes while participatin g in the OK PEAK
Account Program.
3. No student shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national
origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination un der the OK PEAK Account
Program.
D. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require that an OK
PEAK student be enrolled full time or part time in a private school
or a nonpublic online school.
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E. The Agency shall renew OK PEAK Accounts on an annual basis.
An account may be closed if:
1. The parent of an OK PEAK student re-enrolls the student as a
full-time student in a public school, as provided for by subsection
F of this section;
2. The Agency closes the account due to intentional misuse as
provided for in Section 3 of this act; or
3. The OK PEAK student graduates from high school or reaches
the age of twenty-one (21), whichever comes first.
F. The parent of an OK PEAK student shall notify the Agency
within five (5) days of the student re -enrolling in a public school
district, public charter schoo l, or magnet school. Upon receipt of
the notification required by this subsection, the Agency shall
suspend deposits into the student ’s OK PEAK Account. Any unused
funds remaining in the OK PEAK Account at the end of the appl icable
calendar year shall be remitted to the General Revenue Fund.
G. 1. For each eligible student approved to participate in the
OK PEAK Account Program, the Agency shall notify the State
Department of Education and request calcul ation of the amount of
State Aid for which the stud ent is eligible. Within ten (10)
business days of receiving the request, the State Department of
Education shall notify the Agency of the calculated amount, which
shall be equivalent to the total State Ai d factors including pu pil
category weights for the applicable school year multiplied by the
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grade weight generated by the student for the applicable school
year.
2. The State Department of Education on a monthly basis shall
transfer to the Agency for depo sit into the OK PEAK Account
Revolving Fund created pursuant to Section 5 of this act an amount
equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of the total amount necessary to fund
all OK PEAK Accounts requested for the applicable school year.
Within ten (10) business days of a deposit required by this
paragraph, the Office of the State Treasurer shall make funds
available in OK PEAK Accounts.
3. Prior to the monthly deposit required by this subsection,
the Agency shall notify the State Department of Education if changes
to the number of partici pating OK PEAK students will result in a
modification of the monthly deposit amount.
H. An education service provider shall not share, refund, or
rebate any amount of an OK PEAK Account with the parent or OK PEAK
student. A refund or rebate for goods or services purchased with an
OK PEAK Account shall be credited to the OK PEAK Account.
I. Parents shall be prohibited from making personal deposits
into an OK PEAK Account. However, no parent shall be restricted
from making payments f or educational goods a nd services not covered
by funds in a student’s OK PEAK Account.
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J. Monies received pursuant to the OK PEAK Account Program
shall not constitute taxable income to the parent or OK PEAK
student.
K. Funds deposited into an OK PEAK Account but unused shall
accrue from month to month an d from year to year unless the account
is closed pursuant to the provisions of subsection E of this
section.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -102 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. To implement the provisions of the Oklahoma Parent
Empowerment Act for Kids , the Agency shall maintain and make
publicly available on its websi te an updated list of education
service providers.
B. The Agency shall provide parents of OK PEAK students a
written explanation of qualified expenses for which an OK PEAK
Account may be used, the responsibilities of parents, the duties of
the Agency, and the role of any priva te financial management firm or
other private organization with which the Agency may contract to
administer the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for Kids .
C. The Agency shall provide parents of OK PEAK students with
disabilities notice that participation i n the OK PEAK Account
Program shall have the same effect as a parental revocation of
consent pursuant to 20 U.S.C., Sections 1414(a)(1)(D) and 1414(C) of
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the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and an
explanation of the rights parents of OK PEAK students with
disabilities have under IDEA and any applicable state laws and
regulations.
D. The Agency may contract with a private financial management
firm or other private organization to administer in full or in part
the OK PEAK Account Program.
E. The Agency may withhold f unding from deposits made pursuant
to subsection G of Section 2 of this act to administer the OK PEAK
Account Program in an amount not to exceed five percent (5%)
annually for the first two years after the effective date of thi s
act and three percent (3%) annually thereafter.
F. The Agency shall establish a commercially viable, cost -
effective, and parent -friendly system of payment for services from
OK PEAK Accounts to education service providers by electro nic or
online funds transfer.
1. The system of pay ment established purs uant to this
subsection shall provide maximum flexibility for parents by
facilitating direct payments to education service providers whenever
possible, provide a parent -friendly system for requests for pre -
approval of qualified expense s, and timely reimbur sement for
qualified expenses.
2. The Agency may contract with private entities to develop the
payment system.
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G. The Agency shall implement a commercially viable, cost -
effective, and parent-friendly system for parents to publicly ra te,
review, and share information about education service providers.
H. If an education service provider requires partial payment of
tuition or fees to reserve a place for an OK PEAK student prior to
the start of the school year, the partial payment may b e paid by the
Agency prior to the start of the school year in which the OK PEAK
Account is opened and deducted in equal amounts from monthly
deposits into OK PEAK Accounts. If the parent of an OK PEAK student
chooses not to use the education service provi der, the partial
reservation payment shall be remitted to the Agency within fifteen
(15) business days of notification of the decision and credited to
the OK PEAK student’s OK PEAK Account.
I. The Agency shall have the authority to conduct an audit or
contract for the auditin g of OK PEAK Accounts and shall conduct
random audits of ten percent (10%) of OK PEAK Accounts on an annual
basis.
J. The Agency shall have the authority to remove any parent or
OK PEAK student from eligibility for an OK PEAK Account in the event
of intentional and substantial misuse of OK PEAK Account funds.
1. The Agency shall create procedures to ensure a fair process
to determine whether an intentional and substantial misuse of OK
PEAK Account funds has occurred. If misuse by a p arent is
established but the OK PEAK student is determined to be free from
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personal misconduct, he or she shall be eligible for an OK PEAK
Account in the future if placed with a different parent, guardian,
or other person with legal authority to act on beh alf of the
student.
2. The Agency shall have the authority to refer suspected cases
of intentional and substantial misuse of OK PEAK Account funds to
the Attorney General for investigation if evidence of fraudulent use
of funds is obtained.
3. A parent or OK PEAK student may, pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act, appeal the Agency ’s decision to
remove the parent or student from eligibility for an OK PEAK
Account.
K. The Agency may cease payments to an education service
provider from OK PEAK Accounts if the Agency determines the
education service provider has:
1. Intentionally and substantially misrepresented information
or failed to refund any overpayments in a t imely manner; or
2. Routinely failed to provide OK PEAK students with promised
educational goods or services.
L. The Agency shall create procedures to ensure a fair process
to determine whether an education service provider should be
prohibited from rece iving payments from OK PEAK Accounts.
1. If the Agency prohibits an education servi ce provider from
receiving payments pursuant to this subsection, the Agency shall
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notify parents and OK PEAK students of its decision within ten (10)
days.
2. Education service providers may, pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act, appeal the Agenc y’s decision to
prohibit them from receiving OK PEAK Account payments.
M. The Agency may accept gifts and grants from any source to
support administration of the OK PEAK Account Program, to inform the
public about the OK PEAK Account Program, and to fund additional OK
PEAK Accounts.
N. The Agency may promulgate rules to implement the provisions
of this act, which shall include but not be limited to:
1. Establishing or con tracting for the establishment of an
online anonymous fraud reporting service;
2. Establishing an anonymous telephone hotline for fraud
reporting;
3. Requiring a surety bond for education service providers
receiving more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in OK
PEAK Account funds; and
4. Refunding payments from education s ervice providers back to
OK PEAK Accounts.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -103 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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A. The Agency may approve education service providers on its
own initiative, at the request of parents, or at the request of a
prospective education service provider.
B. A prospective education service provider seeking to
participate in the OK PEAK Account Program shall:
1. Submit notice to the Agency that it wishes to participate
and receive OK PEAK Account funds designated by parents for payment
of educational goods and services; and
2. Agree not to refund, r ebate, or share OK PEAK Account funds
with parents or OK PEAK students in any manner, except that funds
may be remitted or refunded to an OK PEAK Account.
C. A public school district, public charter school, or magnet
school in which an OK PEAK student was enrolled shall provide a
private school that is an education service provider and that has an
OK PEAK student enrolled with a complete copy of the OK PEAK
student’s records within five (5) business days of receiving the
request for records. The provision of records pursuant to this
subsection shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
D. Nothing in this act shall limit the independence or autonomy
of an education service provider or make t he actions of an education
service provider the act ions of state government. Education service
providers shall be given maximum freedom to provide fo r the
educational needs of OK PEAK students without governmental control.
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1. An education service provide r that accepts payment from an
OK PEAK Account as directed by parents pursuant to this act shall
not be considered an agent of the state or federal go vernment.
2. An education service provider shall not be required to alter
its creed, practices, admission s policy, or curriculum to accept
payments as directed by parents from an OK PEAK Account.
E. Nothing in this act shall be construed to expand the
regulatory authority of the state, its officers, or any public
school to impose any additional regulation of education service
providers beyond those necessary to enforce the requirements of the
OK PEAK Account Program.
F. Upon a finding of noncompliance wi th the provisions of
subsections D and E of this section by the Attorney General, the
Agency shall receive a five percent (5%) reduction in state funding
for the fiscal year following the year of noncompliance.
G. A parent of an OK PEAK student shall have a cause of action
against the Agency for noncompliance with the provisions of
subsections D and E of this section.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -104 of Title 70, unles s there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
There is hereby created in the State Trea sury a revolving fund
for the Office of the State T reasurer to be designated the “OK PEAK
Account Revolving Fund”. The fund shall be a continuing fun d, not
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subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall consist of all monies
received by the Office of the S tate Treasurer from appropriations,
gifts, grants, donations, and bequests. All monies accruing to the
credit of the fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and
expended by the Office of the State Treasurer for the purpose of
implementing the pro visions of the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act
for Kids. Expenditures from the fund shall be made upon warrants
issued by the State Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed by
law with the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise
Services for approval and payment.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 28 -105 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. In any legal proceedin g challenging the application of the
Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for Kids to an education service
provider, the state bears the burden of establis hing both that its
action is necessary and that it does not impose any undue burden on
the education service provider.
B. No liability shall arise on the pa rt of the Agency, the
state, a public school district, a public charter school, or a
magnet school based on the award of or use of an OK PEAK Account
pursuant to this act.
C. If any part of the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for Kids
is challenged in a s tate court as violating either the state or
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federal constitutions, parents of eligible students and OK PEAK
students shall be permitted to intervene for the purposes of
defending the OK PEAK Account Program’s constitutionality. However,
for the purposes of judicial administration, a court may require
that all parents of eligible students and OK PEAK students file a
joint brief so long as they are not required to join any brief filed
on behalf of any named state defendant.
D. The provisions of the Oklahoma Parent Empowerment Act for
Kids shall be severable, and if any provision of the Oklahoma Parent
Empowerment Act for Kids or the application thereof to any person or
circumstances is held invalid, such inv alidity shall not affect the
other provisions or ap plications of this Act, which can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.
SECTION 7. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 8. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
59-1-1634 EB 1/19/2023 11:11:50 AM