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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1408 By: Grego
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to schools; providing an option for
public schools to report the departure of certain
students; requiring State Department of Education to
create a reporting portal; requiring portal to be
available online for public school administrators ;
amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 35e, which relates to
school dropout reports; clarifying language;
excluding certain students from the definition of
school dropout; 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 24 -162 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. When a student leaves a public school to attend a private or
other school, or to be educate d by other means, the public school
administrator shall have the option to report the student's
departure has occurred.
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B. The State Department of Education shall create a portal on
its website for public school administrators to report the
departures described in subsection A of this section.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 35e, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 35e. A. It shall be the duty of the superintendent,
principal or head teacher of each public or priv ate middle, junior
high and high school accredited by the State Department of Education
in the State of Oklahoma to notify the Department annually as
scheduled by the Department of the name, address, race and age of
any pupil dropping out from the school d uring the preceding year.
The report shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the
Department.
B. The State Board of Education shall cause these statistics of
school dropouts to be tabulated by grade and school district.
Information of school d ropouts shall be made available to the
Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, the Military Department of the State of Oklahoma
for use in the youth educational programs provided by the Department
and the State Department of Health.
C. The State Department of Education shall make an annual
report to the Legislature prior to the convening of each regular
session thereof of information received and tabulated pursuant to
this section.
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D. For the purposes of this section, "school dropout" means any
student who is under the age of nineteen (19) and has not graduated
from high school and is not attending any public or private school
or is not otherwise receiving an education pursuant to law for the
full term the schools of the school district in which the student
resides are in session . School dropouts shall not include students
whose departures have been reported in accordance with Section 1 of
this act.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective Ju ly 1, 2025.
SECTION 4. 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 it s passage and approval.
60-1-12979 SW 02/26/25