1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
3 HOUSE BILL 1006 By: West (Rick)
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1-111, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 153,
8 O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 1-111),
which relates to school days; requiring students be
9 given excused absences for participating in approved
4-H activities; subjecting excused absences to
10 certain policies; directing 4-H educator to provide
proof of participation upon request; requiring
11 student be given opportunity to make up missed
schoolwork; prohibiting class grades from being
12 adversely affected; providing exception for certain
absences; and providing an effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1-111, as
18 amended by Section 1, Chapter 153, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022,
19 Section 1-111), is amended to read as follows:
20 Section 1-111. A. Except as otherwise provided for by law, a
21 school day shall consist of not less than six (6) hours devoted to
22 school activities. A district board of education may elect to
23 extend the length of one (1) or more school days to more than six
24 (6) hours and reduce the number of school days as long as the total
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1 amount of classroom instruction time is not less than one thousand
2 eighty (1,080) hours per year as required pursuant to Section 1-109
3 of this title.
4 B. A school day for nursery, early childhood education,
5 kindergarten, and alternative education programs shall be as
6 otherwise defined by law or as defined by the State Board of
7 Education. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, not
8 more than one (1) school day shall be counted for attendance
9 purposes in any twenty-four-hour period. Two (2) school days, each
10 consisting of not less than six (6) hours, may be counted for
11 attendance purposes in any twenty-four-hour period only if one of
12 the school days is for the purpose of parent-teacher conferences
13 held as provided for in Section 1-109 of this title.
14 C. Students Except as provided in subsection D of this section,
15 students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled may
16 be considered as being in attendance if the reason for such absence
17 is to participate in scheduled school activities under the direction
18 and supervision of a regular member of the faculty or to participate
19 in an online course approved by the district board of education.
20 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to provide for the
21 implementation of supplemental online courses which shall include,
22 but not be limited to, provisions addressing the following:
23 1. Criteria for student admissions eligibility;
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1 2. A student admission process administered through the
2 district of residence, which provides the ability for the student to
3 enroll in individual courses;
4 3. A process by which students are not denied the opportunity
5 to enroll in educationally appropriate courses by school districts.
6 For the purposes of this section, "educationally appropriate" means
7 any instruction that is not substantially a repeat of a course or
8 portion of a course that the student has successfully completed,
9 regardless of the grade of the student, and regardless of whether a
10 course is similar to or identical to the instruction that is
11 currently offered in the school district;
12 4. Creation of a system which provides ongoing enrollment
13 access for students throughout the school year;
14 5. A grace period of fifteen (15) calendar days from the first
15 day of an online course for student withdrawal from an online course
16 without academic penalty;
17 6. Mastery of competencies for course completion rather than
18 Carnegie units;
19 7. Student participation in extracurricular activities in
20 accordance with school district eligibility rules and policies and
21 any rules and policies of a private organization or association
22 which provides the coordination, supervision, and regulation of the
23 interscholastic activities and contests of schools;
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1 8. Parent authorization for release of state test results to
2 online course providers, on a form developed by the State Department
3 of Education; and
4 9. A review process to identify and certify online course
5 providers and a uniform payment processing system.
6 D. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection,
7 students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled
8 shall be given an excused absence if the reason for such absence is
9 to participate in scheduled 4-H activities or programs as approved
10 by the county 4-H educator. The number of excused absences allowed
11 pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the attendance
12 policy of the school district board of education.
13 1. Upon request from a school principal or attendance officer,
14 a 4-H educator shall provide documentation as proof of student
15 participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.
16 2. Students shall be given the opportunity to make up any
17 schoolwork missed while they are participating in activities or
18 programs sponsored by 4-H. Students shall not have their class
19 grades adversely affected for lack of attendance or participation
20 due to their participation in activities or programs sponsored by 4-
21 H.
22 3. A school principal or his or her designee shall not credit a
23 student who participates in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H
24 with an excused absence if the participation occurs during:
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1 a. the schedule established by the State Board of
2 Education for the administration of statewide student
3 assessments, or
4 b. any period of time for which the student has been
5 disciplined, suspended, or expelled, if the terms of
6 punishment would preclude the student from
7 participating in an educational field trip or
8 extracurricular activity.
9 E. Each district board of education shall adopt policies and
10 procedures that conform to rules for online courses as adopted by
11 the State Board. Such policies shall include criteria for approval
12 of the course, the appropriateness of the course for a particular
13 student, authorization for full-time students to enroll in online
14 courses, and establishing fees or charges. No district shall be
15 liable for payment of any fees or charges for any online course for
16 a student who has not complied with the district's policies and
17 procedures. School districts shall not deny students the
18 opportunity to enroll in educationally appropriate courses and shall
19 provide an admissions process which includes input from the student,
20 the parent or legal guardian of the student, and school faculty.
21 E. F. Districts shall require students enrolled in online
22 courses to participate in the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act.
23 Students participating in online courses from a remote site will be
24 responsible for providing their own equipment and Internet access,
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1 unless the district chooses to provide the equipment. Credit may
2 not be granted for such courses except upon approval of the State
3 Board of Education and the district board of education.
4 F. G. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a student who
5 transfers from the district in which the student resides to another
6 school district pursuant to the Education Open Transfer Act from
7 enrolling in a full-time virtual education program offered by the
8 receiving school district. A student who enrolls pursuant to this
9 subsection shall be subject to the provisions of Section 8-103.2 of
10 this title. The board of education of a school district with a
11 full-time virtual education program shall adopt a policy to
12 determine the number of transfer students the program has the
13 capacity to accept in each grade level, as provided for in Section
14 8-101.2 of this title.
15 G. H. Districts may provide students with opportunities for
16 blended instruction. "Blended instruction" shall mean a combination
17 of brick-and-mortar learning and virtual learning environments that
18 includes elements of a student's control over place, pace, and path
19 of learning. A student in blended instruction may work on virtual
20 courses at home or at school in a blended flex lab but shall
21 participate in at least one unit or set of competencies as defined
22 by Section 11-103.6 of this title at a physical school building in a
23 traditional classroom setting which is the academic equivalent of
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1 one (1) hour per day for each instructional day in the school year
2 as defined by Section 1-109 of this title.
3 H. I. The school day for kindergarten may consist of six (6)
4 hours devoted to school activities.
5 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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7 59-1-5212 EK 11/15/22
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