HB 3151: Schools; length of school year; increasing minimum days of instruction; requiring parent-teacher conferences to have an in-person option; contingent effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to transition from a House to a Senate version, adding new co-sponsors and updating the summary to reflect a conditional effective date. Substantively, the Senate version introduces a new option for districts to adopt a 'school-hours policy' requiring 1,086 hours of instruction (instead of just days), mandates an in-person option for parent-teacher conferences, and adds strict accountability measures requiring districts to prove student achievement improvements to keep extended-day schedules.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new 'school-hours policy' option alongside the existing 'school-days' option, and the effective date for the new requirements is now contingent upon specific conditions being met.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement allowing districts to adopt a 'school-hours policy' requiring 1,086 hours of instruction, with a specific minimum of 173 days if adopted.

Mandated that parent-teacher conferences must provide an in-person meeting option for parents and legal guardians.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a requirement that districts implementing extended-day schedules must document student achievement improvements; failure to do so allows the State Board of Education to deny accreditation.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date language to be contingent upon certain conditions being met, rather than a fixed date.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated the list of bill sponsors to include additional Senators (Kerbs, Hilbert, Paxton, and Jech).

HB3151 (4-22-26) (PAXTON) WDFA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a Senate chamber version to a House Floor version, incorporating committee amendments that clarify how school districts can structure their academic years. The changes allow districts to meet classroom instruction requirements through either a traditional 181-day schedule or extended-day schedules, provided they meet specific hour and quality standards. It also explicitly limits the counting of professional meetings and parent-teacher conferences toward required instruction time to prevent districts from using non-instructional activities to satisfy state mandates.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Oklahoma public schools, but the applicability of the instruction time requirements was refined to offer districts more flexible scheduling options while maintaining strict limits on how non-instructional time is counted.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that school districts cannot count more than 30 hours of professional meetings or 12 hours of parent-teacher conferences per year toward the mandatory classroom instruction time.

Established specific criteria for districts adopting extended-day schedules, requiring them to hold public hearings and document student achievement improvements.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date for the new extended-day schedule requirements to begin with the 2025-2026 school year.

DEFINITION

Defined conditions under which teachers off contract must be paid additional compensation to attend professional meetings.

HB3151 (4-22-26) (PAXTON) FA1.PDF → HB3151 (4-22-26) (PAXTON) WDFA1.PDF · 1 edit

MINOR

The only change to the bill is a timestamp update on the document header, reflecting a later time of 4:28 PM instead of 2:20 PM. No substantive policy, legal, or procedural changes were made to the text of the bill itself.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document timestamp from 2:20 PM to 4:28 PM.

House Committee Substitute → HB3151 (4-22-26) (PAXTON) FA1.PDF · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to remove new language regarding the revocation of extended-day schedules and accreditation denials if student achievement does not improve. The amendment also updates the document title to reflect the Senate floor action. This change reduces the strict enforcement mechanisms previously added to the bill.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding extended-day schedules was narrowed by removing the requirement for districts to revoke authorization or face accreditation denial if they fail to document student achievement improvements.

REQUIREMENT

Deleted provisions requiring school districts to revoke extended-day schedule authorization if they cannot document student achievement improvements in annual reports.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the provision allowing the State Board of Education to deny accreditation to schools that violate the new student achievement documentation requirements.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title to conform to the Senate floor amendment process and removed the 'Committee Substitute' header.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to replace the old text with a new version. The primary change is the addition of strict accountability measures for districts adopting extended school days, requiring them to prove student achievement improvements or face revocation of authorization. The bill also updates the legislative session dates and clarifies the requirements for professional development time.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school year length and professional meeting time, but the applicability of extended-day schedules now includes new performance-based conditions.

REQUIREMENT

Districts adopting extended-day schedules must now document student achievement improvements and provide annual reports to the State Board of Education.

ENFORCEMENT

If a district fails to document student achievement improvements in its annual report, the district board must revoke the extended-day authorization, and the State Board may deny school accreditation.

TIMELINE

The text was updated to reflect the 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026) instead of the previous session.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was changed from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to reflect its current status in the legislative process.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to remove requirements for schools to count professional meetings and parent-teacher conferences toward their minimum instructional hours. Additionally, the bill now explicitly prohibits school districts from counting these activities as classroom instruction time, whereas the previous version allowed them under specific conditions.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding instructional time calculation was narrowed; it now strictly separates administrative and parental engagement activities from required classroom instruction hours.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement that parent-teacher conferences held during the school day must provide an in-person meeting option for parents and legal guardians.

Removed the requirement that districts adopting a school-hours policy must meet specific student performance and cost savings guidelines established by the State Board of Education.

Added a prohibition preventing school districts from counting professional meetings or parent-teacher conferences toward the required minimum days or hours of classroom instruction.

Added a new provision to amend a separate statute regarding the Oklahoma School Testing Program to eliminate references to using classroom instruction time for certain meetings and conferences.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 4 edits · Apr 28, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, adding a new Senate sponsor and updating the effective dates for new school-year policies to the 2025-2026 and 2027-2028 school years. The most significant policy change is the addition of a new subsection (I), which allows districts to close schools early for inclement weather without losing instructional time credits, provided the hours taught before the closure count toward the annual total. Additionally, the criteria for adopting extended-day schedules were clarified to require public hearings and documentation of student achievement impacts.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the start date for new school-year policies was updated to begin in the 2025-2026 school year, and a new provision was added to handle inclement weather closures.

TIMELINE

The start date for schools adopting new school-hours policies was updated from the 2025-2026 school year to the 2027-2028 school year in one section, while another section retained the 2025-2026 start date.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement was added allowing districts to close schools early for bad weather without penalty, as long as the instructional hours completed before the closure count toward the yearly minimum.

The process for adopting extended-day schedules was clarified to explicitly require a public hearing and an annual report documenting the impact on student achievement.

SCOPE

A new Senate sponsor, Jech, was added to the list of bill sponsors.

Introduced → Engrossed · 6 edits · Apr 27, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to transition from a 2026 effective date to an immediate 2025-2026 school year start. It significantly expanded requirements for districts adopting a 'school-hours policy' (longer days, fewer days) by adding strict performance benchmarks and student achievement reporting. The amendment also introduced new rules for professional meeting attendance and clarified that parent-teacher conferences must offer an in-person option.

Scope change

The bill's applicability shifted from a future session to the current 2025-2026 school year, and the criteria for adopting alternative school schedules were tightened to include specific performance and cost-saving guidelines.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from November 1, 2026, to the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

REQUIREMENT

Districts adopting a school-hours policy must now meet minimum student performance guidelines and demonstrate cost savings established by the State Board of Education.

The minimum number of instructional days for districts with a school-hours policy was increased from 166 to 173 days.

A new requirement was added stating that parent-teacher conferences must provide an in-person meeting option for parents and legal guardians.

New provisions clarify that teachers off contract cannot be required to attend professional meetings without additional compensation.

ENFORCEMENT

New requirements mandate that districts document student achievement improvements for extended-day schedules and revoke authorization if improvements are not documented.

Schools; length of school year; increasing minimum days of instruction; requiring parent-teacher conferences to have an in-person option; contingent effective date.

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors