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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
SENATE BILL 1554 By: Garvin
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to student transfers; amending 70
O.S. 2021, Section 8 -101.2, as amended by Section 1,
Chapter 193, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section
8-101.2), which relates to transfers from resident
school districts; requiring school district board of
education to include in its transfer policy certain
exception for certain emergency transfer; directing
approval of requests for emergency transfer under
certain circumstances; allowing a transfer policy to
include certain provision for prohibiting t he
transfer of certain student under certain
circumstances; updating statutory language; providing
for electronic submission of certain i nformation;
providing an effective date; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STAT E OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 8 -101.2, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 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 student resides to another school
district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is ent itled
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to pursue shall be granted at any time in the year unless the number
of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school
site within a school district . If the capacity of a grade level for
each school site within a school district i s insufficient to enroll
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 schoo l district shall be
determined by the school district bo ard of education based 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 yea r 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 subsec tion
B of this section. Any brother or sister of a student who transfers
may attend the school district to whic h 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 distr ict to
which the student transferred . Except for a child in the custody of
the Department of Human Services in foster care, a transfer s tudent
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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
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) y ears 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 sha ll 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 transfer; and
2. A history of absences as a basis fo r denial of a transfer.
For the purposes of this secti on, “history of absences” means ten or
more absences in one semester that are not excused for the re asons
provided for in subsection B of Section 10 -105 of this title or due
to illness.
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The policy shall be publicly posted on the school district
website.
C. 1. Each school district board of education shall include in
its transfer policy adopted pu rsuant to subsection B of this section
an exception for the emergency transfer of a student who has been
the victim of bullying or threatening behavior as defined in Section
24-100.3 of this title. The parent of the student shall file a
written application for an emergency transfer with the
superintendent of the receiving school district. Upon verification
by the receiving school distri ct that the student was the victim of
bullying or threatening behavior and that the sending school
district was notified of the incident or incidents prior to the
filing of the request to transfer, the receiving school district
shall approve the transfer.
2. The transfer policy may include a provision prohi biting the
transfer of a student who committed bullying or threatening behavior
against a student granted an emergency transfer pursuant to
paragraph 1 of this subsection if the receiving school district
receives verification from the sending school district that it was
notified of the incident or incidents prior to the filing of the
request to transfer.
D. By the first day of January, Ap ril, July, and October, the
school district board of education shall establish the number of
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transfer students the school d istrict has the capacity to accept in
each grade level for each school site within a school district.
D. E. After establishing the number 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 dis trict 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 gr ade level for each schoo l site within a
school district which the school distr ict has the capacity to
accept.
E. F. 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 Education. The parent shall submit to the State Board of
Education and the superintendent of the receiving school a notice of
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appeal on a form prescrib ed 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
representative from the receiving school district may address t he
Board. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to
establish the appeals process authorized by this subsection.
F. G. Each school district boa rd of education shall
electronically submit to the State Department of Education the
number of student transfers app roved and denied and whether each
denial was based on capacity, acts and re asons outlined in Section
24-101.3 of this title, or a history of absences as p rovided for in
paragraph 2 of subsection B of th is section. The State Department
of Education shall pu blish the data on its websit e and make the data
available to the Office of Educational Quality and A ccountability.
G. H. Each year, the Office of Educational Quality and
Accountability shall ran domly select ten percent (10%) of the school
districts in the state and conduct an audit of each district’s
approved and denied transfe rs based on the provisions of the
policies adopted by the respective school dis trict board of
education. If the Office finds inac curate reporting of capacity
levels by a school distric t, the Office shall set the capacity for
the school district.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2024.
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SECTION 3. It being immediately necessa ry for the preservation
of the public peace, health , 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.
59-2-2919 EB 1/4/2024 9:47:23 AM