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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (202 4)
HOUSE BILL 3496 By: West (Tammy)
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 8-101 and 8-101.2, as amended by Section 1,
Chapter 193, O.S.L. 2022 (7 0 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section
8-101.2), which relates to transfer students;
allowing certain students to transfer to adjacent
school district; directing automatic approval of
transfer; excepting certain capacity requirements for
transfer to adjacent school di strict; mandating
student comply with certain transfer requirements if
receiving district is not adjacent to district of
residence; deleting automatic transfer to any school
district for certain students; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 8 -101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 8-101. A. Any student residing in a school district
that does not offer the grade which th e student is entitled to
pursue shall be allowed to transfer to a school district inside or
outside of the transportation area in which is adjacent to the
school district where the student resides which and offers the grade
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the student is entitled to pursu e. The district to which the
student transfers shall be referred to as the receiving district.
B. A student shall be limited to one transfer pursuant to
subsection A of this section, which shall be aut omatically approved
and not subject to capacity requi rements provided in Section 8-101.2
of this title. Thereafter, a student may apply for any other kind
of transfer for which the student is eligible as provided for in the
Education Open Transfer Act.
C. Any student residing in a school district that does not
offer the grade which the student is enti tled to pursue and who
chooses not to attend a school district which is adjacent to the
school district where the student resides pursuant to subsection A
of this section, shall follow the requirements of subsection 8-101.2
of this title to request a transfer to another school district which
offers the grade the student is entitled to pursue.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 8 -101.2, as
amended by Section 1, Cha pter 193, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2023,
Section 8-101.2), is amended to read as follows:
Section 8-101.2 A. Except as provided in subsection B of this
section, on and after January 1, 2022, the transfer of a student
from the district in which the stud ent resides to another school
district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is entitled
to pursue shall be granted at any time in the year unless the n umber
of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school
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site within a school district. If the capacity of a grade level for
each school site within a school district is insufficient to enrol l
all eligible students, the school district sha ll select transfer
students in the order in which the district received the student
transfer applications. The capacity of a school district shall be
determined by the school district board of education base d on its
policy adopted pursuant to subsection B of this section. A student
may be granted a one-year transfer and may automatically continue to
attend the school each school year to which the student transferred
with the approval of the receiving district . At the end of each
school year, a school dis trict may deny continued transfer of the
student for the reasons outlined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection
B of this section. Any brother or sister of a student who transfers
may attend the school district to wh ich the student transferred, if
the school district policy gives preference to sibling transfers
regardless of capacity, and the brother or sister of the transferred
student does not meet a basis for denial as outl ined in paragraphs 1
and 2 of subsection B of this section. Any child in the custody of
the Department of Human Services in fos ter care who is living in the
home of a student who transfers may attend the school district to
which the student transferred . Except for a child in t he custody of
the Department of Human Services in foster care, a transfer s tudent
shall not transfer more than two (2) times per school year to one or
more school districts in which the student does not reside, provided
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that the student may always reenroll at any time in his or her
school district of residence. At the discretion of the receiving
district, a student who has attend ed a school district as a resident
student for at least three (3) years prior to becoming eligible to
apply as a transfer student may be allowed to transfer to the school
district regardless of capac ity.
If the grade a student is entitled to pursue is not offered in
the district where the student resides, the transfer shall be
automatically approved.
B. Each school district board of education shal l adopt a policy
to determine the number of transfer students the school dist rict has
the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site
within a school district no later than January 1, 2022 . The policy
may include:
1. The acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this
title as a basis for denial of a transfe r; and
2. A history of absences as a basis fo r denial of a transfer.
For the purposes of this section, "history of absences" means ten or
more absences in one semester that are not excused for the reasons
provided for in subsection B of Section 10 -105 of this title or due
to illness.
The policy shall be publicly posted on the school district
website.
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C. By the first day of January, Ap ril, July and October, the
school district board of education shall establish the number of
transfer students the school d istrict has the capacity to accept in
each grade level for each school site within a school district.
D. After establishing the numb er of transfer students the
school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for
each school site within a sc hool district, the board of education
shall:
1. Publish in a prominent place on the school district website
the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school
site within a school district which the school district has the
capacity to accept; and
2. Report to the State Department o f Education the number of
transfer students for each grade level for each school site within a
school district which the school distr ict has the capacity to
accept.
E. If a transfer request is denied by the sc hool district, the
parent of the student may a ppeal the denial within ten (10) days of
notification of the denial to the receiving school district board of
education. The receiving school district board of education shall
consider the appeal at its next r egularly scheduled board meeting .
If the receiving school district board of education denies the
appeal, the parent of the studen t may appeal the denial within ten
(10) days of notification of the appeal denial to the State Board of
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Education. The parent shall submit to the State Board of Education
and the superintendent of the receiving school a notice of appeal on
a form prescribed by the State Board of Education . The appeal shall
be considered by the State Board of Education at its next regularly
scheduled meeting, where the parent and a represen tative from the
receiving school district may address the Board. The State Board of
Education shall promulgate rules to establish th e appeals process
authorized by this subsection.
F. Each school district boa rd of education shall submit to the
State Department of Education the number of student transfers
approved and denied and whether each denial was based on capacity,
acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this title or a
history of absences as pro vided for in paragraph 2 of subsection B
of this section. The State Department of Education shall publish
the data on its websit e and make the data available to the Office of
Educational Quality and Accountability.
G. Each year, the Office of Educational Quality and
Accountability shall randomly sel ect ten percent (10%) of the school
districts in the state and conduct an audit of each district's
approved and denied transfers base d on the provisions of the
policies adopted by the respective school district board of
education. If the Office finds inac curate reporting of capacity
levels by a school district, the Office shall set the capacity for
the school district.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
59-2-8537 EK 12/01/23