HB 1151 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

School district elections; election dates; school district board elections; terms of office; effective date.

HB 1151 changes Oklahoma school district election schedules and board terms. It mandates that school board elections occur on the first Tuesday of April in even-numbered years (instead of November), with primaries in February (adjusted if a Presidential Primary occurs). The bill shortens terms for elementary school boards to 3 years (from 4) and standardizes 4-year terms for other districts. Additionally, it requires run-off elections in districts with over 10,000 students if no candidate receives a majority in the initial vote. This directly affects all Oklahoma public school districts and their elected board members.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Last action Feb 25, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Floor (House) · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma's school district election procedures, primarily changing general election dates from April to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, aligning them with the general election cycle. It also modifies term lengths for some board members and clarifies election rules for special elections and levy questions.

Scope change

The bill applies to all school districts and technology center school districts in Oklahoma, with specific provisions for elementary districts and independent districts with wards.

TIMELINE

General elections for school board members moved from April to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

Levy elections for school funding now held on the second Tuesday in February, except when a Presidential Preferential Primary is held in February.

REQUIREMENT

Primary election dates updated to occur on the second third Tuesday in February or June, depending on whether a Presidential Preferential Primary is held.

Term lengths modified for some board members, changing from 3 years to 4 years for elementary districts and from 5 years to 4 years for independent districts.

Board district boundaries must follow clearly visible physical boundaries based on Census Bureau criteria and be as equal in population as practical with no more than 10% variance.

ELIGIBILITY

School districts with fewer than 1,800 students may now choose to elect all board members at large rather than establishing board districts.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass Government Oversight Committee

lower

Feb 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Policy recommendation to the Government Oversight committee; Do Pass Elections and Ethics

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Committee

Referred to Elections and Ethics

lower

Feb 3, 2025

Introduced

First Reading

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors