An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1006 By: West (Rick), Talley, and
Bashore of the House
and
Murdock of the Senate
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1-111, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 153,
O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Sup p. 2023, Section 1-111),
which relates to school days; requiring students be
given excused absences for participating in approved
4-H activities; subjecting excu sed absences to
certain policies; directing 4 -H educator to provide
proof of participati on upon request; requiring
student be given opportunity to make up missed
schoolwork; prohibiting class grades from being
adversely affected; and providing exception for
certain absences.
SUBJECT: Schools
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -111, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 153, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2023,
Section 1-111), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-111. A. Except as otherwise provided for by law, a
school day shall consist of not less than six (6) hours devoted to
school activities. A district board of education may elect to
extend the length of one (1) or more school days to more than six
(6) hours and reduce the number of sc hool days as long as the total
amount of classroom instruction time is not less than one thousand
eighty (1,080) hours per year as required pursuant to Section 1-109
of this title. ENR. H. B. NO. 1006 Page 2
B. A school day for nursery, early childhood education,
kindergarten, and alternative education programs shall be as
otherwise defined by law or as defined by the State Board of
Education. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, not
more than one (1) school day shall be counted for attendance
purposes in any twenty -four-hour period. Two (2) school days, each
consisting of not less than six (6) hours, may be counted for
attendance purposes in any twenty-four-hour period only if one of
the school days is for the purpose of parent -teacher conferences
held as provided for in Section 1-109 of this title.
C. Students Except as provided in subsection D of this section,
students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled may
be considered as being in attendance if the reason for such absence
is to participate in scheduled school activities under the direction
and supervision of a regula r member of the faculty or to participate
in an online course approved by the district board of education.
The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to provide for the
implementation of supplemental online courses which shall include ,
but not be limited to, provisions addressing the following:
1. Criteria for student admissions eligibility;
2. A student admission process administered t hrough the
district of residence, which provides the ability for the student to
enroll in individual courses;
3. A process by which students are not denied the opportunity
to enroll in educationally appropriate courses by school districts.
For the purposes of this section, "educationally appropriate" means
any instruction that is not substantially a repeat of a course or
portion of a course that the student has successfully completed,
regardless of the grade of the student, and regardless of whether a
course is similar to or identical to the instruction that is
currently offered in the school district;
4. Creation of a system which provides ongoing enrollment
access for students throughout the school year;
5. A grace period of fifteen (15) calendar days from the first
day of an online course for student withdrawal from an online course
without academic penalty;
ENR. H. B. NO. 1006 Page 3
6. Mastery of competencies for course completion rather than
Carnegie units;
7. Student participation in extracurricular activities in
accordance with school district eligibility rules and policies and
any rules and policies of a private organization or associ ation
which provides the coordination, supervision, and regulation of the
interscholastic activities and contests of schools;
8. Parent authorization for release of state test results to
online course providers, on a form developed by the State Department
of Education; and
9. A review process to identify and certify online course
providers and a uniform payment processing system.
D. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this s ubsection,
students absent from scho ol in which they are regularly enrolled
shall be given an excused absence if the reason for such absence is
to participate in sch eduled 4-H activities or programs as approved
by the county 4-H educator. The number of excused absences allowed
pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the attendance
policy of the school district board of education .
1. Upon request from a schoo l principal or attendance office r,
a 4-H educator shall provide documentation as proof of student
participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4 -H.
2. Students shall be given the opportunity to make up any
schoolwork missed while they are particip ating in activities or
programs sponsored by 4-H. Students shall not have their class
grades adversely affected for lack of at tendance or participation
due to their participation in activities or programs sponsored by 4 -
H.
3. A school principal or his or her designee shall not credit a
student who participates in an activity or program spon sored by 4-H
with an excused absence if the participation occurs during:
a. the schedule established by the State Board of
Education for the administration of statewide student
assessments, or
b. any period of time for which the student has been
disciplined, suspended, or expelled, if the term s of ENR. H. B. NO. 1006 Page 4
punishment would preclude the student from
participating in an educational field trip or
extracurricular activity.
E. Each district board of education shall adopt policies and
procedures that conform to rules for online courses as adopted by
the State Board. Such policies shall include criteria for approval
of the course, the appropriateness of the course for a particular
student, authorization for full-time students to enroll in online
courses, and establishi ng fees or charges. No district shall be
liable for payment of any fees or charges for any online course for
a student who has not complied with the district's policies and
procedures. School districts shall not deny students the
opportunity to enroll in educationally appropriate courses and shall
provide an admissions process which includes input from the student,
the parent or legal guardian of the student, and school f aculty.
E. F. Districts shall require students enrolled in online
courses to participate in the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act.
Students participating in online courses from a remote site will be
responsible for providing their own equipment and Internet access,
unless the district chooses to provide the equipment. Credit may
not be granted for such courses except u pon approval of the State
Board of Education and the district board of education.
F. G. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a student who
transfers from the d istrict in which the student resides to another
school district pursuant to the Education Open Tr ansfer Act from
enrolling in a full-time virtual education program offered by the
receiving school district. A student who enrolls pursuant to this
subsection shall be subject to the provisions of Section 8 -103.2 of
this title. The board of education of a school district with a
full-time virtual education program shall adopt a policy to
determine the number of transfer students the pr ogram has the
capacity to accept in each grade level, as provided for in S ection
8-101.2 of this title.
G. H. Districts may provide students with opportunities for
blended instruction. "Blended instruction" shall mean a combination
of brick-and-mortar learning and virtual learning environm ents that
includes elements of a student 's control over place, pace, and path
of learning. A student in blended instruction may work on virtual
courses at home or at school in a blended flex lab but shall
participate in at least one unit or set of compete ncies as defined
by Section 11-103.6 of this title at a physical school building in a ENR. H. B. NO. 1006 Page 5
traditional classroom setting which is the academic equivalent of
one (1) hour per day for each instructional day in the school year
as defined by Section 1-109 of this title.
H. I. The school day for kindergarten may consist of six (6)
hours devoted to schoo l activities.
ENR. H. B. NO. 1006 Page 6
Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of March, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 19th day of March, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Okl ahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this ______ ____
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________