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ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 1054 By: Goodwin, Boren, and Nice of
the Senate
and
Lowe (Jason) of the House
An Act relating to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Program; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 2621, 2623, and 2625, which rel ate to
creation of and eligibility for the program;
modifying eligibility for program; updating statutory
language; increasing income limit for certain
eligibility; exempting certain applicants from
certain income limit; allowing certain form to be
used to verify income; removing certain eligibility
criteria; directing the Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education to give first priority status to
certain applicants; modifying process for verifying
documentation of lineage; requiring application form
to include certain language; directing awards to be
made in certain specified manner; directing the State
Regents to involve certain community advisory
committee in selection process; providing for
composition of and appointments to advisory
committee; directing certain university president to
submit a list of proposed members; directing advisory
committee to review certai n applications and make
certain recommendations; directing the State Regents
to select recipients from certain list; allowing
certain remaining scholarship award funds to be used
for certain purposes; directing certain applicants to
always be given first priority status; and declaring
an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2621, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 2621. There is hereby created the Tulsa Reconciliation
Education and Scholarship Program. The purpose of the program is to
provide a scholarship award to residents of the Tulsa Sch ool
District, which was greatly impacted both socially and economically
by the civil unrest that occurred in the City of Tulsa during 1921.
Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, or as soon thereafter as
practicable, and subject to the availability of funds, the program
shall each year make scholarships available to as many students as
feasible, up to three hundred scholarships, to qualified residents
of the Tulsa School District , and to qualified students of any other
public school district in the United States who are direct lineal
descendants as defined in subsection C of Section 2623 of this title
and who meet the criteria set forth in Sections 2623 and 2624 of
this title, and who are intending to pursue studies at an
institution of higher education in The Oklahoma State System of
Higher Education or a private institution of higher education , in
this state or who are intending to pursue studies in a postsecondary
career and technology education program in this state. The
scholarship shall be an amoun t of not more than not exceeding the
equivalent of the average amount of resident tuition for which an
eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarshi p Program
participant enrolled at an institution of higher education in The
Oklahoma State System o f Higher Education or a postsecondary career
and technology education program, whichever is applicable, is
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obligated to pay. The scholarship shall be paid as provided for in
Section 2625 of this title. The further purpose of this program is
to establish and maintain a variety of educational support services
whereby residents students who qualify for the program will be
prepared for success in postsecondary e ndeavors.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2623, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2623. A. Subject to the availability of funds, the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may annually award a
maximum of three hundred full -time-equivalent scholarships for the
Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarshi p Program to residents
of the Tulsa School District and to qualified students of any other
public school district in the United States who are direct lineal
descendants as defined in subsection C of this section and who are
intending to pursue studies at a n institution of higher education in
The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a private
institution of higher education in this state or who are intending
to pursue studies in a postsecondary career and technology education
program in this state .
B. To qualify for a scholarship, the family income of an
applicant shall satisfy the following criteria:
1. The family income of the applicant , from taxable sources is
not more than Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00) , not exceed One
Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00) per year. There
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shall be no family income limit for an applicant who is a direct
lineal descendant as defined in subsection C of this section. The
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form may be used to
verify family income;
2. The applicant attended a Tulsa public school where seventy -
five percent (75%) or more of the students enrolled in the school
qualify for the free and reduced lunch program; and
3. The applicant resides in a census block area within the
Tulsa School District where thirty percent (30%) or more of the
residents are at or below the poverty level established by the
United States Bureau of the Census .
C. The State Regents may consider as a Regents’ selection
process shall factor, when determining the order of preference of
give first priority status to applicants, whether an applicant who
is a direct lineal descendant of a person who resided in the
Greenwood Area in the City of Tulsa between April 30, 1921, and June
1, 1921, and was a victim of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre . If the
Regents use Use of descent as a preference factor , it shall be
applied to all applicants regardless of race. The applicants shall
be required to present verifiable documentation of their lineage.
The Oklahoma Historical Society An organization or individual
engaged in genealogy and research of descendants and history of the
1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and Greenwood Area shall verify the
authenticity and accuracy of the documentation submitted by an
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applicant and shall establish confirm the boundaries of the
Greenwood Area. Verifiable documentation shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
1. Family records including family bibles, vital records,
correspondence, memoirs, journals, diaries, unrecorded deeds,
diplomas, certificates, or testimonials;
2. Public records including censuses, government records,
military records, pensions, land bounty records, passpor t
applications, passenger lists, original grants, naturalization or
immigration records, records of entry, or state, province, or local
records; or
3. Institutional records including church records, cemetery
records and inscriptions, education institutions, insurance records,
or societies and fraternal organizations.
D. The State Regents shall promulg ate rules establishing the
application requirements for the program and the system for
evaluating applications based on the preference factors. The
application form shall include a small outlined box graphic,
followed by the following language: “Mark the box if you are a
direct lineal descendant of a victim greatly impacted socially and
economically during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre who resided in the
Greenwood Area of Tulsa, Oklahoma, between April 30, 1921 , and June
1, 1921.”
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E. Applicants shall also meet the eligibility criteria
established in Section 2624 of this title.
F. The Oklahoma In addition to the scholarships authorized
pursuant to Section 262 1 of this title and this section, the State
Regents for Higher Education shall also be authorized t o annually
award scholarships for the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
Scholarship Program to two students at each of the high schools in
the Tulsa School District for the purpose of preserving awareness of
the history and meaning of the civil unrest tha t occurred in Tulsa
in 1921. The following provisions shall apply to the scholarship
scholarships provided in this subsection:
1. Notwithstanding the provi sions of subsection B of this
section, eligibility for the scholarships awarded pursuant to this
subsection shall be:
a. enrollment in the appropriate high school,
b. family income of the applicant from taxable sources
not to exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00)
One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00)
per year. There shall be no family income limit for
an applicant who is a direct lineal descendant as
defined in subsection C of this section ,
c. made as provided for in subsection C of this section,
d. satisfaction of the criteria specified in Section 2624
of this title, and
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d. e. any other relevant criteria determined by the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education;
2. The State Regents shall involve the administration of the
Tulsa School District and a community advisory committee in the
selection process. The community advisory committee shall be
comprised of seven (7) members appointed by the Chancellor of Higher
Education. The community advisory committee shall be comprised of:
a. the President of Langston University or his or her
designee,
b. the Superintendent of Tulsa Pu blic Schools or his or
her designee,
c. two members of the Legislature representing the
Greenwood area in the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, or
their designees,
d. two descendants of socially and economically adversely
impacted persons who resided in the Greenwo od Area in
the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, between April 30, 1921
and June 1, 1921, and
e. a citizen with ties to the historic Greenwood
community who may be en gaged in faith-based,
education, or social, business, or advocacy work.
The President of Langston U niversity, or his or her designee,
shall be responsible for coordinating with the community advisory
committee and shall submit to the Chancellor of Higher Education a
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list of proposed committee members for review and approval . The
community advisory comm ittee shall review scholarship applications
and make recommendations for scholarship recipients and scholarship
award amounts. The State Regents shall selec t scholarship
recipients from the list of recommendations provided pursuant to
this paragraph;
3. The award shall be limited to a one -year full-time-
equivalent period. Following successful completion of such award,
recipients who meet the criteria provided in subsection B of this
section shall be eligible to apply and be considered for continued
participation in the full Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
Scholarship Program. Any student subsequently awarded such
scholarship shall have the duration of th e scholarship provided
pursuant to this subsection deducted from the limits set in
subsection D of Section 2625 of this title;
4. The award may only be funded with state funds appropriated
to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund and
income therefrom, and shall be made subject to the availability of
such funds; and
5. The awards made pursuant to this subsection shall be
included within the maximum number of scholarships specified in
subsection A of this section.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2625, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 2625. A. Subject to the availability of funds, an
amount of not more than the equivalent of the average amount of
resident tuition for which an eligible Tulsa Reconciliation
Education and Scholarship Program participant enrolled in an
institution in The Okl ahoma State System of Higher Education, or
enrolled in a postsecondary career and technology education program,
whichever is applicable, is obligated to pay shall be awarded by
allocation from the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship
Trust Fund.
B. Subject to the availability of funds, for each eligible
Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program participant
enrolled at a private institution of higher education, the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education shall award from the Tulsa
Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund an amount of not
more than the equivalent of the average amount of resident tuition
for which the partic ipant would be eligible if the participant were
enrolled in a program at an institution of The Okla homa State System
of Higher Education.
C. Subject to the availability of funds, an amount of not more
than the equivalent of the average amount of tuition for which an
eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program
participant enrolled in a postsecondary career and technology
education program is obligated to pay shall be awarded by allocation
from the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Schol arship Trust Fund.
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The allocation shall not exceed the amount a participant would have
received for enrollment at a two -year institution within The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.
D. Benefits awarded under the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Program shall not be allowed for courses or other
postsecondary units taken in excess of the requirements for
completion of a baccalaureate program or taken more than five (5)
years after the student ’s first semester of participation in the
program. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may award
the Tulsa Reconciliation Educati on and Scholarship Program benefits
for courses of postsecondary units taken more than five (5) years
after the student’s first semester of participation in the program
only in hardship circumstances. No Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Prog ram participant may receive benefits beyond a
cumulative time period of five (5) years. The Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education may establish a maxi mum limit on the
number of courses or other postsecondary units to which Tulsa
Reconciliation Educa tion and Scholarship Program benefits will
apply. An award to an eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
Scholarship Program participant who is enrolled in a postsecondary
career and technology education program may be used to pay for both
career and technology education and college work if both are
required by the program.
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E. Benefits awarded under the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Prog ram shall be awarded to not more than 300 three
hundred (300) eligible participants annually, subje ct to the amount
of funds available for the program and the number of eligible
participants. Subject to the provisions of subsection F of this
section, if funds are not sufficient to provide awards for the
maximum number of eligible participants each year , the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education shall make awards on the basis of
need. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall take
into consideration other grants and scholarships received by an
eligible student when making awards. If an eligible student
receives other grants and scholarships scholarship award funds
remain after payment of resident tuition , the benefits awarded under
the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program may cover
any additional educational costs not covered by the other grants and
scholarships including, but not limited to, fees, required textbooks
or materials, and room and board . If the family of an eligible
Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program participant
may qualify for the fed eral Hope Scholarship or Lifetime Learning
tax credit as provided for in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, P.L.
No. 105-34, the participant may elect to use the award allowed by
this section to pay for fees, required textbooks or materials and,
if any funds remain, to pay for room and board instead of resident
tuition.
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F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may, at the
time an award is made on beha lf of a Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Program participant, set aside in the Tulsa
Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund funds for the
full commitment made to such Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
Scholarship Program participant. For all academic years,
participants who have previously received awards under the
provisions of the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Act
and who have continued at all times to fulfill the requirements for
eligibility to receive awards provided pursuant to this program
shall be given an absolute priority for continued financial supp ort
by the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program
superior to any residents students who are applying for such
benefits for the first time ; provided, however, that scholarship
applicants who are direct lineal descendants as defined in
subsection C of Section 2623 of this title shall always be given
first priority status .
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preserv ation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason w hereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Passed the Senate the 26th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives