Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB707 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
3		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 1
4		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	3	+
	4	+	Req. No. 249 Page 1 1
	5	+	2
	6	+	3
	7	+	4
	8	+	5
	9	+	6
	10	+	7
	11	+	8
	12	+	9
	13	+	10
	14	+	11
	15	+	12
	16	+	13
	17	+	14
	18	+	15
	19	+	16
	20	+	17
	21	+	18
	22	+	19
	23	+	20
	24	+	21
	25	+	22
	26	+	23
	27	+	24
	28	+	1
5	29		2
6	30		3
7	31		4
8	32		5
9	33		6
10	34		7
11	35		8
12	36		9
13	37		10
14	38		11
15	39		12
16	40		13
17	41		14
18	42		15
19	43		16
20	44		17
21	45		18
22	46		19
23	47		20
24	48		21
25	49		22
26	50		23
27	51		24
28	52
29		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION
30		-	February 25, 2025
	53	+	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
31	54
	55	+	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
32	56
33		-	SENATE BILL ~~NO.~~ 707 By: Pugh
	57	+	SENATE BILL 707 By: Pugh
34	58
35	59
36	60
37	61
	62	+
	63	+	AS INTRODUCED
38	64
39	65		An Act relating to school accreditation; amending 70
40	66		O.S. 2021, Section 3 -104.4, which relates to
41	67		standards of accreditation for public sch ools;
42	68		directing standards to be adopted for accreditation
43	69		of public school districts rather than public
44	70		schools; directing standards to provide for
45	71		deficiencies; providing for closure of school
46	72		district that fails to receive or loses
47	73		accreditation; directi ng evaluations of school
48	74		districts to occur once every four years beginning in
49	75		certain school year; removing language allowing the
50	76		State Board of Education to interrupt certain
51	77		evaluation schedule; modifying reasons for which a
52	78		school district may be evalu ated annually; providing
53	79		for annual evaluation of school districts that
54	80		receive one or more deficiencies beginning in certain
55	81		school year; updating statutory language; updating
56	82		statutory reference; providing an effective date; and
57	83		declaring an emergency .
58	84
59	85
60	86
61	87
62	88
63	89		BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
64	90		SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3 -104.4, is
65	91		amended to read as follows:
66	92		Section 3-104.4. A. The State Board of Education shall adopt
67	93		standards for the accreditation of the public schools school
68	94		districts in this state according to the requirements of Section 3 -
69		-	104.3 et seq. of this title, to be effective as set forth in Section
70	95
71		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 2
72		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	96	+
	97	+	Req. No. 249 Page 2 1
	98	+	2
	99	+	3
	100	+	4
	101	+	5
	102	+	6
	103	+	7
	104	+	8
	105	+	9
	106	+	10
	107	+	11
	108	+	12
	109	+	13
	110	+	14
	111	+	15
	112	+	16
	113	+	17
	114	+	18
	115	+	19
	116	+	20
	117	+	21
	118	+	22
	119	+	23
	120	+	24
	121	+	1
73	122		2
74	123		3
75	124		4
76	125		5
77	126		6
78	127		7
79	128		8
80	129		9
81	130		10
82	131		11
83	132		12
84	133		13
85	134		14
86	135		15
87	136		16
88	137		17
89	138		18
90	139		19
91	140		20
92	141		21
93	142		22
94	143		23
95	144		24
96	145
	146	+	104.3 et seq. of this title, to be effective as set forth in Section
97	147		3-104.3 et seq. of this title. The accreditation standards shall
98	148		incorporate the curricular standards established pursuant to Section
99	149		11-103.6 of this title. The accreditation standards shall equal or
100	150		exceed nationally recognized accreditation standards to the extent
101	151		that the standards are consistent with an academic results ori ented
102	152		approach to accreditation. The accreditation standards adopted by
103	153		the State Board shall encompass accreditation for elementary
104	154		schools, middle schools, junior high schools, and high schools. The
105	155		accreditation standards shall be made available for p ublic
106	156		inspection at the offices of the State Department of Education.
107	157		B. Standards for accreditation adopted by the State Board of
108	158		Education shall include standards relating to the provision of
109	159		school counselors to the public school children of this state . The
110	160		State Board of Education shall require each local school district to
111	161		provide information regarding the number of counselors serving each
112	162		school site, the duties of all such counselors including all
113	163		administrative duties, the number of students serve d by each
114	164		counselor, and information regarding the number of counselors
115	165		employed per elementary school, middle school, junior high school ,
116	166		and high school.
117	167		C. Except as otherwise provided, schools school districts shall
118	168		meet the accreditation standards as a condition of continued
119	169		accreditation. Nothing herein shall be construed as preventing
120		-	changes to the adopted standards by the State Board of Education
121	170
122		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 3
123		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	171	+
	172	+	Req. No. 249 Page 3 1
	173	+	2
	174	+	3
	175	+	4
	176	+	5
	177	+	6
	178	+	7
	179	+	8
	180	+	9
	181	+	10
	182	+	11
	183	+	12
	184	+	13
	185	+	14
	186	+	15
	187	+	16
	188	+	17
	189	+	18
	190	+	19
	191	+	20
	192	+	21
	193	+	22
	194	+	23
	195	+	24
	196	+	1
124	197		2
125	198		3
126	199		4
127	200		5
128	201		6
129	202		7
130	203		8
131	204		9
132	205		10
133	206		11
134	207		12
135	208		13
136	209		14
137	210		15
138	211		16
139	212		17
140	213		18
141	214		19
142	215		20
143	216		21
144	217		22
145	218		23
146	219		24
147	220
	221	+	changes to the adopted standards by the State Board of Education
148	222		pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. The accreditation
149	223		standards shall provide for deficiencies, warnings, probation, or
150	224		nonaccredited status for schools school districts that fail to meet
151	225		the one or more or all standards. The State Department of Education
152	226		shall investigate a complaint of failure to provide educational
153	227		services or failure to c omply with accreditation standards within
154	228		thirty (30) days of receiving the complaint. If the Department
155	229		determines that a school district has failed to comply with the
156	230		accreditation standards, the Department shall report the recommended
157	231		deficiencies, warning, probation, or nonaccredited accreditation
158	232		status to the State Board of E ducation within ninety (90) days. If
159	233		a school district does not take action to comply with the
160	234		accreditation standards within ninety (90) days after a report is
161	235		filed by the Department, the Board shall withdraw accreditation for
162	236		the public school district. The State Board of Education’s
163	237		accreditation regulations rules shall provide for warnings and for
164	238		assistance to schools and school districts whenever there is reason
165	239		to believe a school district is in danger of losing its state
166	240		accreditation.
167	241		D. If one or more a school sites fail district fails to receive
168	242		accreditation as required pursuant to this section or subsequently
169	243		lose loses accreditation, the State Board of Education s hall close
170	244		the school district and reassign the students to accredited schools
171		-	within the district school districts or shall annex the district to
172	245
173		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 4
174		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	246	+
	247	+	Req. No. 249 Page 4 1
	248	+	2
	249	+	3
	250	+	4
	251	+	5
	252	+	6
	253	+	7
	254	+	8
	255	+	9
	256	+	10
	257	+	11
	258	+	12
	259	+	13
	260	+	14
	261	+	15
	262	+	16
	263	+	17
	264	+	18
	265	+	19
	266	+	20
	267	+	21
	268	+	22
	269	+	23
	270	+	24
	271	+	1
175	272		2
176	273		3
177	274		4
178	275		5
179	276		6
180	277		7
181	278		8
182	279		9
183	280		10
184	281		11
185	282		12
186	283		13
187	284		14
188	285		15
189	286		16
190	287		17
191	288		18
192	289		19
193	290		20
194	291		21
195	292		22
196	293		23
197	294		24
198	295
	296	+	within the district school districts or shall annex the district to
199	297		one or more other districts in which the students can be educated in
200	298		accredited schools.
201	299		E. Standards for ac creditation adopted by the State Board of
202	300		Education shall include standards re lating to the provision of
203	301		educational services provided in partial hospitalization programs,
204	302		day treatment programs, day hospital programs, residential treatment
205	303		programs, and emergency shelter programs for persons between the
206	304		ages of three (3) and twenty -one (21) years of age. The
207	305		accreditation standards shall apply to on -site and off-site
208	306		educational services provided by public school districts or state -
209	307		accredited private scho ols. Each school district which is providing
210	308		or is required to provide educat ional services for students placed
211	309		in a program as described in this subsection shall be actively
212	310		monitored by the State Department of Education. The Department
213	311		shall determine on an ongoing basis if the educational program and
214	312		services are in compliance with the accreditation standards.
215	313		F. The State Board of Education shall provide assistance to
216	314		districts in considering the possibility of meeting accreditation
217	315		requirements through the use of nontraditional means of instruction.
218	316		The State Board shall also assist districts in forming cooperatives
219	317		and making arrangements for the use of satellite instruction or
220	318		other instructional technologies to the extent that use of such
221	319		instructional means meets accreditation standards.
222	320
223		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 5
224		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	321	+
	322	+	Req. No. 249 Page 5 1
	323	+	2
	324	+	3
	325	+	4
	326	+	5
	327	+	6
	328	+	7
	329	+	8
	330	+	9
	331	+	10
	332	+	11
	333	+	12
	334	+	13
	335	+	14
	336	+	15
	337	+	16
	338	+	17
	339	+	18
	340	+	19
	341	+	20
	342	+	21
	343	+	22
	344	+	23
	345	+	24
	346	+	1
225	347		2
226	348		3
227	349		4
228	350		5
229	351		6
230	352		7
231	353		8
232	354		9
233	355		10
234	356		11
235	357		12
236	358		13
237	359		14
238	360		15
239	361		16
240	362		17
241	363		18
242	364		19
243	365		20
244	366		21
245	367		22
246	368		23
247	369		24
248	370
249	371		G. 1. Accreditation shall not be withdrawn from or denied nor
250	372		shall a penalty be assessed against a school or school district for
251	373		failing to meet the media materials and equipment standards, media
252	374		program expenditure standards, and media personnel standards as set
253	375		forth in the accreditat ion standards adopted by the Board.
254	376		2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this subsection shall cease
255	377		to be effective during the fiscal year which begins on the July 1
256	378		immediately succeeding the legislative session during which the
257	379		measure appropriating monies to the State Board of Education for the
258	380		financial support of public schools is enacted as law and such
259	381		appropriation amount is at least Fifty Million Dollars
260	382		($50,000,000.00) greater than the amount of money appropriated to
261	383		the State Board of Education for the financial support of public
262	384		schools for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, pursuant to
263	385		Chapter 146, O.S.L. 2018. Provided, the Fifty Million Dollars
264	386		($50,000,000.00) shall not include any amount of appropriations
265	387		dedicated for support or certified employee salary increases.
266	388		Accreditation shall not be withdrawn from or denied nor shall a
267	389		penalty be assessed against a school or school district for failing
268	390		to meet the media personnel standards as set forth in accreditation
269	391		standards adopted by th e Board.
270	392		H. 1. The State Board of Education shall not assess a
271	393		financial penalty against any school district which is given a
272	394
273		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 6
274		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	395	+
	396	+	Req. No. 249 Page 6 1
	397	+	2
	398	+	3
	399	+	4
	400	+	5
	401	+	6
	402	+	7
	403	+	8
	404	+	9
	405	+	10
	406	+	11
	407	+	12
	408	+	13
	409	+	14
	410	+	15
	411	+	16
	412	+	17
	413	+	18
	414	+	19
	415	+	20
	416	+	21
	417	+	22
	418	+	23
	419	+	24
	420	+	1
275	421		2
276	422		3
277	423		4
278	424		5
279	425		6
280	426		7
281	427		8
282	428		9
283	429		10
284	430		11
285	431		12
286	432		13
287	433		14
288	434		15
289	435		16
290	436		17
291	437		18
292	438		19
293	439		20
294	440		21
295	441		22
296	442		23
297	443		24
298	444
299	445		deficiency in accreditation status during any fisc al year as
300	446		provided for in this subsection.
301	447		2. Beginning with the fiscal year which begins July 1, 2021, if
302	448		the amount of money appropriated to the State Board of Education for
303	449		the financial support of public schools including funds apportioned
304	450		pursuant to Section 2 Section 426 of this act Title 63 of the
305	451		Oklahoma Statutes, is at least One Hundred Million Dollars
306	452		($100,000,000.00) greater than the amount of money appropriated to
307	453		the State Board of Education for the financial support of public
308	454		schools for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, pursuant to
309	455		Chapter 146, O.S.L. 2018, a financial penalty shall be assessed
310	456		against any school districts that do not comply with the class size
311	457		limitations for kindergarten as provided for in Section 18 -113.2 of
312	458		this title and class size limitations for grade one as provided for
313	459		in subsection A of Section 18-113.1 of this title. Provided, the
314	460		One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00) shall not include any
315	461		amount of appropriations dedicated for support or certified e mployee
316	462		salary increases.
317	463		3. The State Department of Education shall submit a report on
318	464		statewide classroom sizes to the President Pro Tempore of the
319	465		Oklahoma State Senate and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
320	466		Representatives no later than January 1, 2 022.
321	467		I. Except as provided for in subsection J of this section,
322	468		beginning with the 2019-2020 2025-2026 school year, evaluations of
323	469
324		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 7
325		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	470	+
	471	+	Req. No. 249 Page 7 1
	472	+	2
	473	+	3
	474	+	4
	475	+	5
	476	+	6
	477	+	7
	478	+	8
	479	+	9
	480	+	10
	481	+	11
	482	+	12
	483	+	13
	484	+	14
	485	+	15
	486	+	16
	487	+	17
	488	+	18
	489	+	19
	490	+	20
	491	+	21
	492	+	22
	493	+	23
	494	+	24
	495	+	1
326	496		2
327	497		3
328	498		4
329	499		5
330	500		6
331	501		7
332	502		8
333	503		9
334	504		10
335	505		11
336	506		12
337	507		13
338	508		14
339	509		15
340	510		16
341	511		17
342	512		18
343	513		19
344	514		20
345	515		21
346	516		22
347	517		23
348	518		24
349	519
350	520		schools school districts to determine whether they meet the
351	521		accreditation standards set forth in accordance with this sectio n
352	522		shall occur once every four (4) years on a schedule adopted by the
353	523		State Board of Education. The Board may interrupt the evaluation
354	524		schedule provided in this subsection for reasons including a change
355	525		in the superintendent of the school district; determi nation that one
356	526		or more school district board members have not met the continu ing
357	527		education requirements as defined by this title; determination that
358	528		the school district falsified information submitted to any public
359	529		city, county, state or federal official or agency; initiation of an
360	530		investigation by the Board or a law enforcement agency; or other
361	531		determination by the Board that standards for accreditation are not
362	532		being met by the school district. The schedule adopted by the Board
363	533		shall allow for school dis tricts receiving no deficiencies for two
364	534		(2) consecutive years to be reviewed for accreditation less than
365	535		annually. Provided, however, that schools school districts shall be
366	536		evaluated annually for the purposes of:
367	537		1. Local, state, and federal funding;
368	538		2. Health and safety;
369	539		3. Certification requirements for teachers, principals , and
370	540		superintendents; and
371	541		4. School board governance , including instructional and
372	542		continuing education requirements for school board members ; and
373	543		5. Any other requirements under state or federal law .
374	544
375		-	SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB707 SFLR Page 8
376		-	(Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1
	545	+
	546	+	Req. No. 249 Page 8 1
	547	+	2
	548	+	3
	549	+	4
	550	+	5
	551	+	6
	552	+	7
	553	+	8
	554	+	9
	555	+	10
	556	+	11
	557	+	12
	558	+	13
	559	+	14
	560	+	15
	561	+	16
	562	+	17
	563	+	18
	564	+	19
	565	+	20
	566	+	21
	567	+	22
	568	+	23
	569	+	24
	570	+	1
377	571		2
378	572		3
379	573		4
380	574		5
381	575		6
382	576		7
383	577		8
384	578		9
385	579		10
386	580		11
387	581		12
388	582		13
389	583		14
390	584		15
391	585		16
392	586		17
393	587		18
394	588		19
395	589		20
396	590		21
397	591		22
398	592		23
399	593		24
400	594
401	595		J. Beginning with the 2019-2020 2025-2026 school year, if a
402	596		public school district receives a deficiency one or more
403	597		deficiencies on its accreditation report, the public school district
404	598		shall be evaluated annually to determine if it meets the
405	599		accreditation standards set forth in accordance with this section.
406	600		If the public school district receives no deficiencies for two (2)
407	601		consecutive years, the public school district shall be subject to
408	602		the evaluation timeline established in subse ction I of this section.
409	603		SECTION 2. This act shall become eff ective July 1, 2025.
410	604		SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
411	605		of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
412	606		declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
413	607		be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
414		-	~~COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION~~
415		-	~~February 25,~~ 2025 ~~- DO PASS~~
	608	+
	609	+	60-1-249 EB 1/15/2025 9:55:03 AM