HB 2154: Charter schools; Oklahoma Charter Schools Act; exemptions; financial statements; contract requirements; effective date; emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 10 edits

MAJOR

The bill was converted from a House floor version to a Senate floor version with substantive changes to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act. The Senate version adds significant exemptions from state statutes and rules for charter schools, clarifies that charter schools must comply with federal and local health/safety/insurance rules, and establishes new requirements for curriculum descriptions, graduation compliance, and financial reporting. The Senate version also adds specific provisions about nonsectarian operations, testing participation, and governing board requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly exempt charter and virtual charter schools from most state statutes and rules relating to schools, boards of education, and school districts, while maintaining compliance with federal regulations and local health/safety/insurance rules.

SCOPE

Added exemption from all state statutes and rules relating to schools, boards of education, and school districts for charter and virtual charter schools, with exceptions for federal regulations and local health, safety, civil rights, and insurance rules.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement that charter contracts must describe the educational program to be offered.

Added requirement that charter schools offering grades 9-12 must specifically address compliance with state graduation requirements.

Added requirement that charter schools cannot be affiliated with nonpublic sectarian or religious institutions.

Added requirement that charter schools must comply with all federal and state laws relating to education of children with disabilities in the same manner as school districts.

Added requirement that charter school governing board members must meet no fewer than 10 months of the year in public meetings within the school district boundaries or within the state.

Added requirement that charter school governing board members must be subject to the same conflict of interest requirements as school district board members.

Added requirement that charter school governing board members must complete 12 hours of instruction within 15 months of appointment and attend continuing education.

Modified financial reporting requirements to exempt charter schools from filing written itemized statements of estimated needs and probable income as required for other entities.

Added requirement that charter schools must use the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System to report financial transactions to the State Department of Education.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a Committee Substitute version to a Floor version, with minor structural changes to the header and page numbering. No substantive policy changes, new requirements, funding modifications, or eligibility criteria were introduced. The core legislative content regarding charter school regulations remains identical.

TECHNICAL

Header formatting changed from 'COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE' to 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' with updated page numbering and layout.

Engrossed → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from an 'Engrossed' version to a 'Committee Substitute' version, primarily changing the header information and page numbering. The substantive legislative content regarding charter school requirements, exemptions, and obligations remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Header information changed from 'Engrossed House Bill' to 'Committee Substitute' with updated session details and sponsor attribution.

Page numbering and footer text were updated from 'ENGR. H. B. NO. 2154' to 'Req. No. 12981'.

Line breaks and paragraph formatting were adjusted throughout the document, but the actual legal text and statutory requirements remain identical.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MINOR

This bill adds a new requirement for charter schools to submit their budgets for approval before each fiscal year. The bill also clarifies that charter schools must comply with certain financial reporting requirements and audit procedures similar to traditional school districts, while maintaining exemptions from some state financial statement filing requirements. These changes aim to increase financial oversight and accountability for charter schools without adding excessive administrative burdens.

Scope change

The bill maintains the same scope of applicability to charter schools and virtual charter schools in Oklahoma, but adds a new budget approval requirement that applies to all charter schools covered by the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that charter school budgets must be approved before each fiscal year begins, increasing financial oversight and ensuring budgetary compliance prior to fund allocation.

Modified the title and description of the bill to reflect the new budget approval requirement, updating the legislative purpose statement to include this new mandate.

TECHNICAL

Made minor formatting and line number adjustments throughout the document to reflect the engrossed version of the bill.

Charter schools; Oklahoma Charter Schools Act; exemptions; financial statements; contract requirements; effective date; emergency.

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