SB 674 creates the "Charter Schools Incentive and Closure Reimbursement Fund" to support charter schools with startup costs, building renovations, and closure expenses. It requires charter schools to pay $5 per student (based on average daily membership) into this fund, while modifying how state funding is calculated - allowing new schools a 1.333 multiplier for first-year enrollment to determine initial funding. The bill also clarifies that charter schools receive state aid based on their own enrollment (not their sponsor’s), prohibits sponsors from charging fees beyond a 3% administrative cap on state aid, and states charter schools are considered local education agencies for funding purposes. This affects all Oklahoma charter schools, virtual charter schools, and their sponsors, with the bill now law after governor approval on May 23, 2025.
HB 1096 modifies Oklahoma school district requirements for teacher professional development. It updates goals to prioritize increasing academic performance scores, closing achievement gaps, and reducing college remediation rates. The bill adds mandatory annual training on dyslexia and dysgraphia for teachers, expands autism awareness training for early childhood educators, and requires data-driven planning for professional development programs. School districts must annually report on these programs to the State Department of Education, including progress toward specific student achievement goals. The bill does not reference the Classic Learning Test in its substantive provisions as described in the provided text.
HB 1086 updates Oklahoma's school funding rules by redefining how school districts manage their general funds. It requires districts to place capital project funds (like those for building repairs) into a separate building fund instead of the general fund, and eliminates the practice of carrying over general fund money to future years. The bill restricts general fund use for capital projects to only cases where a building is destroyed by disaster (fire, flood, etc.) and other funding sources (insurance, state aid) are insufficient. This directly affects all Oklahoma public school districts in how they track and spend state and local education funds.
This bill removes a requirement that students with disabilities must have attended a public school the previous year to qualify for the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program. It directly affects families seeking private school options for children with disabilities who previously needed public school enrollment history. The key change eliminates the "prior public school attendance" rule in Section 13-101.2, while maintaining other eligibility criteria like having an IEP or meeting specific exemptions (e.g., military transfers, foster care, homelessness). Private schools must still meet program standards, and scholarships remain available until the student graduates, enrolls in public school, or turns 22. The change makes the program more accessible for eligible students without prior public school enrollment.
HB 2287 clarifies and expands how Oklahoma defines "per-pupil expenditure" for reporting purposes. It requires school districts and the state to calculate this metric by dividing total daily school operation costs (including instruction, student support, administration, transportation, and nutrition) by the student count as of October 1. The bill specifically adds categories like career and technology education and concurrent graduation courses to the definition while excluding non-operational costs (e.g., building construction, debt). This change ensures the State Department of Education must publish detailed breakdowns of all spending categories alongside the overall per-pupil figure, starting July 1, 2025.
HB 1940 amends Oklahoma's charter school law to establish a new annual limit: the Statewide Charter School Board may sponsor no more than five new charter schools per year in counties with fewer than 500,000 residents. This directly affects the Statewide Charter School Board's authority and charter school expansion in smaller counties, while maintaining existing sponsorship rules for other areas. The rule applies to all new charter school applications approved after July 1, 2025, when the bill takes effect. The bill does not change sponsorship requirements for schools in larger counties or other sponsor types.
SB 942 is a clarifying amendment to an existing education discrimination bill. It adds a specific provision (subsection G) explicitly stating that the bill's provisions do not restrict the implementation, funding, or administration of Indian education programs or services established under federal or state law. This amendment directly affects existing Indian education programs by ensuring they remain protected from potential unintended restrictions under the broader anti-discrimination law. The amendment was added to the bill on February 24, 2025, and the bill became law after the governor approved it on May 6, 2025.
HB 1485 modifies Oklahoma's teacher contract rules by clarifying that temporary contracts for teachers with emergency or provisional certificates are exempt from the four-semester limit. It requires school districts to provide written contract terms upfront, or the contract becomes a continuing one, and grants teachers who complete a full school year on temporary contracts one year of service credit toward career status. The law also specifies that temporary contract teachers in federally or privately funded roles must follow evaluation rules but cannot exceed the four-semester limit unless replacing a leave-taking teacher or for emergency/provisional certificate holders. The bill, which became law without a governor's signature on May 6, 2025, directly affects school districts and teachers using temporary contracts.
SB 139 requires Oklahoma public school district boards of education to adopt cell phone policies by the 2025-2026 school year. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, boards may choose to implement policies prohibiting students from using cell phones or personal electronic devices on school campuses "from bell to bell" during school hours. The bill directly affects school districts by setting a timeline for policy adoption and defining the scope of device restrictions during instructional time. This legislation, approved by the governor on May 3, 2025, provides a framework for district-level decisions without mandating specific enforcement.
SB 409 would require Oklahoma public school districts to add one additional day of classroom instruction starting July 1, 2025, if the state allocates at least $25 million more in funding for public schools than the previous fiscal year. This provision directly affects all Oklahoma public school districts by mandating an extra school day when specific state budget increases are met. The bill establishes a clear funding trigger ($25 million greater than prior year) as the mechanism for the requirement, with no changes to existing minimum instructional time standards (180 days or 1,080 hours). It is designed to link state education funding increases directly to expanded instructional time for students. The bill was introduced but failed passage in April 2025 (22-63 vote).
