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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59 th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2009 By: Davis
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 3-104.4, which relates to standards for
accreditation; modifyi ng date to provide report on
statewide class sizes; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 18-113.1 and 18-113.2, which relate to class
size limitations; decreasing certain class size
limits; raising certain class size limits; providing
stipend for teachers with classes that fail to comply
with class size limitations; providing for
codification; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-104.4, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 3-104.4 A. The State Board of Education shall adopt
standards for the accredita tion of the public schools in this state
according to the requirements of Section 3 -104.3 et seq. of this
title, to be effective as set forth in Section 3-104.3 et seq. of
this title. The accreditation standards shall incorporate the
curricular standards established pursuant to Section 11 -103.6 of
this title. The accreditation standards shall equal or exceed
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nationally recognized accreditation standards to the extent that the
standards are consistent with an academic results oriented approach
to accreditation. The accreditation adopted by the State Board
shall encompass accreditation for elementary schools, middle
schools, junior high schools, and high schools. The accreditation
standards shall be made available for public inspection at the
offices of the State Department of Education.
B. Standards for accreditation adopted by the State Board of
Education shall include standards relating to the provision of
school counselors to the public school children of this state. The
State Board of Education shall require each local school district to
provide information regarding the number of counselors serving each
school site, the duties of all such counselors including all
administrative duties, the number of students served by each
counselor, and information regarding the number of counselors
employed per elementary school, middle school, junior high school
and high school.
C. Except as otherwise provided, schools shall meet the
accreditation standards as a condition of continued accreditation.
Nothing herein shall be construed as preventing changes to the
adopted standards by the State Board of Education pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act. The accreditation standards shall
provide for warnings, probation or nonaccredited status for schools
that fail to meet the standards. The Department shall investigate a
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complaint of failure to provide educational servi ces or failure to
comply with accreditation standards within thirty (30) days of
receiving the complaint. If the Department determines that a s chool
has failed to comply with the accreditation standards, the
Department shall report the recommended warning , probation or
nonaccredited accreditation status to the State Board of Education
within ninety (90) days. If a school does not take action to comply
with the accreditation standards within ninety (90) days after a
report is filed by the Department, the B oard shall withdraw
accreditation for the school. The State Board accreditation
regulations shall provide for warnings and for assistance to sc hools
and school districts whenever there is reason to believe a school is
in danger of losing its state accredi tation.
D. If one or more school sites fail to receive accreditation as
required pursuant to this section or subsequently lose
accreditation, the State Board of Education shall close the school
and reassign the students to accredited schools within the di strict
or shall annex the district to one or more other districts in which
the students can be educated in accredited schools.
E. Standards for accreditation adopted by the State Board of
Education shall include standards relating to the provision of
educational services provided in partial hospitalization programs,
day treatment programs, day hospital programs, residential treatment
programs and emergency shelter programs for persons between the ages
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of three (3) and twenty -one (21) years of age. The acc reditation
standards shall apply to on-site and off-site educational services
provided by public school districts or state-accredited private
schools. Each school which is providing or is required to provide
educational services for students placed in a p rogram as described
in this subsection shall be actively monitored by the State
Department of Education. The Department shall determine on an
ongoing basis if the educational program and services are in
compliance with the accreditation standards.
F. The State Board shall provide assistance to districts in
considering the possibility of meeting accreditation requirements
through the use of nontr aditional means of instruction. The State
Board shall also assist districts in forming cooperatives and making
arrangements for the use of satellite instruction or other
instructional technologies to the extent that use of such
instructional means meets a ccreditation standards.
G. 1. Accreditation shall not be withdrawn from or denied nor
shall a penalty be asses sed against a school or school district for
failing to meet the media materials and equipment standards, media
program expenditure standards and media personnel standards as set
forth in the accreditation standards adopted by the Board.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this subsection shall cease
to be effective during the fiscal year which begins on the July 1
immediately succeeding the legis lative session during which the
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measure appropriating monies to the State Board of Education for the
financial support of public schools is enacted as law and such
appropriation amount is at least Fifty Million Dollars
($50,000,000.00) greater than the amo unt of money appropriated to
the State Board of Education for the financial support of public
schools for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, pursuant to
Chapter 146, O.S.L. 2018. Provided, the Fifty Million Dollars
($50,000,000.00) shall not include an y amount of appropriations
dedicated for support or certified employee salary increases.
Accreditation shall no t be withdrawn from or denied nor shall a
penalty be assessed against a school or school district for failing
to meet the media personnel standa rds as set forth in accreditation
standards adopted by the Board.
H. 1. The State Board shall not assess a fin ancial penalty
against any school district which is given a deficiency in
accreditation status during any fiscal year as provided for in this
subsection.
2. Beginning with the fiscal year which begins July 1, 2021, if
the amount of money appropriated to t he State Board of Education for
the financial support of public schools including funds apportioned
pursuant to Section 2 of this act, is at least One Hundred Million
Dollars ($100,000,000.00) greater than the amount of money
appropriated to the Stat e Board of Education for the financial
support of public schools for the fiscal year e nding June 30, 2019,
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pursuant to Chapter 146, O.S.L. 2018, a financial penalty shall be
assessed against any school districts that do not comply with the
class size limitations for kindergarten as provided for in Section
18-113.2 of this title and class si ze limitations for grade one as
provided for in subse ction A of Section 18-113.1 of this title.
Provided, the One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00) shall
not include any amount of appropriations dedicated for support or
certified employee salary i ncreases.
3. The State Department of Education shall submit a report on
statewide classroom class sizes to the President Pro Tempore of the
Oklahoma State Senate and the Speak er of the Oklahoma House of
Representatives no later than January 1, 2022 2024, and for each
year thereafter.
I. Except as provided for in subsection J of this section,
beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, evaluations of schools to
determine whether they meet the accreditation standar ds set forth in
accordance with this section shall occur once every four (4) years
on a schedule adopted by the State Board of Education. The Board
may interrupt the evaluation schedule provided in this subsection
for reasons including a change in the sup erintendent of the school
district; determination that one or more school district b oard
members have not met the continuing education requ irements as
defined by this title; determination that the school district
falsified information submitted to any publ ic city, county, state or
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federal official or agency; initiation of an investigation by the
Board or a law enforcement agency; or other det ermination by the
Board that standards for accreditation are not being met by the
school district. The schedule adop ted by the Board shall allow for
school districts receiving no deficiencies for two (2) consecutive
years to be reviewed for accreditation less than annually.
Provided, however, that schools shall be evaluated annually f or the
purposes of:
1. Local, state and federal funding;
2. Health and safety;
3. Certification requirements for teachers, principals and
superintendents;
4. School board governance, including instructional and
continuing education requirements for sch ool board members; and
5. Any other requirements under state or fede ral law.
J. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, if a public school
receives a deficiency on its ac creditation report, the public school
shall be evaluated annually to determine if it meets the
accreditation standard s set forth in accordance with thi s section.
If the public school receives no deficiencies for two (2)
consecutive years, the public schoo l shall be subject to the
evaluation timeline established in subsection I of this section.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 18 -113.1, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 18-113.1 A. The provisions of t his subsection shall
apply only to grades one through three.
1. Except as otherwise provided f or in this section, no child
shall be included in the average daily member ship of a school
district for the purpose of computing and paying state -appropriated
funds if that child is regularly assigned to a teacher or to a class
that includes more than twenty (20) eighteen (18) students.
2. If a class or classes in a grade exceed the class si ze
limitation provided for in this subsection, the class size
limitation and penalty shall not apply if:
a. the creation of an additional class would cause a
class to have fewer than ten (10) students ;, and
b. a teacher's assistant, as defined in Section 6 -127 of
this title, is employed to serve with each teacher in
a class that exceeds the class size limitation
provided for in this subsection.
3. No school district sha ll be penalized for exceeding class
size limitations set forth in this subsection if the limitations are
exceeded beginning after the first nine (9) weeks of the school
year.
4. Any school district found to be in violation of the
provisions of this subsec tion shall receive a penalty in the State
Aid formula as a reduction to State Aid to be deter mined as follows:
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a. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subsection
by the grade level weight and by the Base Foundation
Support Level for the current school year, and
b. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subse ction
by the grade level weight and by the Incentive Aid
guarantee for the current school y ear times twenty
(20), and
c. Sum sum the products of subparagraphs a and b of this
paragraph.
B. The provisions o f this subsection shall apply only to grades
four through six.
1. Except as otherwise provided for in this section, no child
shall be included in the average daily membership of a school
district for the purpose of computing and paying state -appropriated
funds if that child is regularly assigned to a tea cher or to a class
that includes more than twenty (20) twenty-two (22) students.
2. If a class or classes in a grade exceed the class size
limitation provided for in this subsection, the class size
limitation and penalty shall not apply if the creation of an
additional class would cause a class to have fewer than sixteen (16)
students.
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3. No school district shall be penalized for exceeding class
size limitations set forth in this subsection if the limitations are
exceeded beginning after the first nine (9 ) weeks of the school
year.
4. Any school district found to be in violation of the
provisions of this subsection shall receive a penalty in the State
Aid formula as a reduction to State Aid to be determined as follows:
a. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subsection
by the grade level weight and by the Base Foundation
Support Level for the current school year, and
b. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subsection
by the grade level weight and by the Incentive Aid
guarantee for the current school year times twenty
(20), and
c. Sum sum the products of subparagraphs a and b of this
paragraph.
C. Classes in the following subjects s hall not be subject to
the class size limitations provided for in subsections A and B of
this section:
1. Physical education; and
2. Chorus, band, orchestra and similar music classes.
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D. If a school district groups its grades as grades one through
five, grades six through eight, and grades nine through twelve, then
as to such district the provisions of s ubsection B of this section
shall apply to grades four and five rather than grades four through
six, and the provisions of Section 18 -113.3 of this title shall
apply to grades six through twelve.
E. Any violations of the provisions of this section shall
result in denial of accreditation in accordance with the
requirements of Section 3 -104.4 of this title.
F. Any school district which at the beginning of the school
year does not have sufficient classrooms to meet the class size
limitation provided for in t his section as determined by guidelines
established by the State Board of Education shall not be penalized
for failure to meet the class size limitations provided for in this
section if:
a. the school district has voted indebtedness, at any
time within the five (5) years preceding the year the
district exceeds the class size limitations or during
the year the district exceeds the class size
limitations, through the issuance of bonds or approval
by voters of issuance of new bonds for more than
eighty-five percent (85%) of the maximum allowable
pursuant to the provisions of Section 26 of Article X
of the Oklahoma Constitution as shown on the school
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district budget filed with the State Equalization
Board for the current school year and certifications
by the Attorney General prior to February 1 of the
current school year;, and
b. on the date of filing of the school district budget
with the State Equalization Boar d, the school district
is voting the maximum millage allowable for the
support, maintenance and constr uction of schools as
provided for in subsections (a), (c), (d) and (d -1) of
Section 9 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution
and Section 10 of Article X of the Oklahoma
Constitution.
G. Any school district which exceeds the class size limitations
as set forth in this section shall submit a written report to the
State Board of Education, on or before July 1 of each year, setting
forth the procedures that the district will follow in order to
comply with this section.
H. School districts which receive sta te-appropriated funds
pursuant to the provisions of Section 18 -112.2 of this title and do
not comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to
loss of State Aid for each child in excess of the class size
limitations specified in this section.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 18 -113.2, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 18-113.2 A. The provisions of this section s hall apply
only to kindergarten.
1. No child shall be included in the average daily membe rship
of a school district for the purpose of com puting and paying state -
appropriated funds if that child is regularly assigned to a teacher
or to a class that includ es more than twenty (20) eighteen (18)
students.
2. If a class or classes in a grade exce ed the class size
limitation provided for in this subsection, t he class size
limitation and penalty shall not apply if:
a. the creation of an additional class would c ause a
class to have fewer than ten (10) students ;, and
b. a teacher's assistant, as defin ed in Section 6-127 of
this title, is employed to serve with eac h teacher in
a class that exceeds the class size limitation
provided for in this subsection.
3. No school district shall be penalized for exceeding class
size limitations set forth in this se ction if the limitations are
exceeded beginning after the first nine (9) weeks of the school
year.
4. Any school district which at the beginning of the school
year does not have sufficient classrooms to meet the class size
limitation provided for in this section as determined by guidelines
established by the State Boa rd of Education shall not be penalized
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for failure to meet the class size limitations provided for in this
section if:
a. the school district has voted indebtedness, at any
time within the five (5) years preceding the year the
district exceeds the class si ze limitations or during
the year the district exceeds the class size
limitations, through the issuanc e of bonds or approval
by voters of issuance of new bonds for more than
eighty-five percent (85%) of the maximum allowable
pursuant to the provisions of S ection 26 of Article X
of the Oklahoma Constitution as shown on the school
district budget filed with the State Equalization
Board for the current school year and certifications
by the Attorney General prior to February 1 of the
current school year; , and
b. on the date of filing of the school district budget
with the State Equalization Board, the school dis trict
is voting the maximum millage allowable for the
support, maintenance and construct ion of schools as
provided for in subsections (a), (c), (d) and (d -1) of
Section 9 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution
and Section 10 of Article X of the Oklahoma
Constitution.
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5. Any school district found to be in violation of the
provisions of this subsection shall receive a penalty in the State
Aid formula as a reduction to State Aid to be determined as follows:
a. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subsection
by the grade level weight and by the Base Foundation
Support Level for the current school year, and
b. Multiply multiply each pupil in excess of the class
size membership limit as provided in this subsection
by the grade level weight and by the Incentive Aid
guarantee for the current school year times twenty
(20), and
c. Sum sum the products of subparagraphs a and b of t his
paragraph.
B. Any violations of the provisions of this section shall
result in denial of accredit ation in accordance with the
requirements of Section 3 -104.4 of this title.
C. School districts which receive state -appropriated funds
pursuant to the provisions of Section 18 -112.2 of this title and do
not comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to
loss of State Aid for each child in excess of the c lass size
limitations specified in this section.
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SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 18-113.6 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year and each school year
thereafter, a school district shall pay a teacher a stipend of One
Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) per extra student,
with a maximum stipend of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) i f the
teacher is responsible for the instruction of class that fails to
comply with the class size limitations as provided for in
subsections A of Section 18-113.2, A and B of Section 18-113.1 and C
of Section 113.3 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 6. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, heal th or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
59-1-5117 EK 01/03/23