Schools; allowing school districts to adopt a policy for certain students to participate in extracurricular activities; eligibility requirements; definitions; standards; effective date.
HB 4491 prohibits full-time students enrolled in statewide virtual charter schools (sponsored by the Statewide Charter School Board) from participating in Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) sports and competitive extracurricular activities starting July 1, 2026. The bill directly affects these virtual charter students, who would instead be limited to intramural activities organized by their virtual school or external groups. It amends existing law to clarify that virtual charter students cannot join district-sponsored athletic associations, while allowing schools to offer their own non-competitive activities. The provision applies only to statewide virtual charter schools, not traditional public or brick-and-mortar charter schools.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026
Last action Apr 1, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
House Committee Substitute
→
Floor (House)
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was updated to reflect its progression from the House Committee Substitute to the Floor version, adding a new sponsor (Townley of the House and Daniels of the Senate) and correcting a typo in the effective date for student participation (changing 2024 to 2026). The core policy regarding student eligibility for extracurricular activities remains substantively unchanged.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain the same; the changes are administrative updates to the bill's metadata and a correction to the implementation timeline.
TIMELINE
Corrected the effective date for students in statewide virtual charter schools to participate in OSSAA activities from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2026.
TECHNICAL
Added new sponsors, Kane and Townley of the House, and Daniels of the Senate, to the bill header.
Updated the document header to indicate this is the 'Floor (House)' version and added formatting notes regarding bold face text.
Floor votes · House Mar 24, 2026
How they voted
68–29
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 100
Mar 24, 2026
D
Democratic18
72% Nay
R
Republican82
76% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
23
Key actions
4
Committee
7
Mar 25, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
Mar 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Engrossed, signed, to Senate
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Committee
Referred for engrossment
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 67 Nays: 29
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Appropriations and Budget Committee
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Recommendation to the full committee; Do Pass Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Appropriations and Budget
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Common Education
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Education Oversight
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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