HB 2981 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Open meetings; school district boards of education; meeting minutes; website posting; time limit; accessibility requirements; accreditation; effective date.

HB 2981 requires school districts with over 15,000 average daily students or 100,000+ population to post all board meeting minutes on their website within two weeks of approval, with the minutes accessible within two clicks from the homepage. Failure to comply results in an "administration and organization deficiency" during accreditation reviews. The bill also clarifies that executive sessions for student discipline or staff matters must still be followed by public votes, and allows districts to submit an Affidavit of Board Action as proof of decisions instead of full minutes. It applies directly to large Oklahoma school districts and takes effect November 1, 2026.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Apr 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to align with Senate floor procedures and formatting standards. The most significant substantive change is the removal of a clause allowing executive sessions for student disciplinary matters, which previously permitted closed-door discussions regarding student expulsions or suspensions. Additionally, the committee reporting section was updated to reflect the correct committee name and date.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding student disciplinary procedures was narrowed by removing the specific provision that allowed for executive sessions to discuss student expulsions or suspensions.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the provision allowing executive sessions to discuss student expulsions or suspensions, requiring these matters to be addressed in public meetings.

TECHNICAL

Updated the header and committee report sections to reflect the Senate floor version, including the correct committee name (Education) and date.

Floor votes · House Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

94–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 100

Mar 9, 2026

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican82

76 Yea 6

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass Education committee; CR filed

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Engrossed, signed, to Senate

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Referred for engrossment

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 93 Nays: 0

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Civil Judiciary

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Civil Judiciary

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors