1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
3 HOUSE BILL 1626 By: Goodwin
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education
and Scholarship Trust; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
8 Sections 2621 and 2623, which relate to
administration of the Trust; modifying provisions
9 related to award of scholarships; modifying
qualifying income limit; modifying provisions related
10 to number of scholarships; modifying organization for
verification; modifying parties involved in
11 administration; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
15 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2621, is
16 amended to read as follows:
17 Section 2621. There is hereby created the Tulsa Reconciliation
18 Education and Scholarship Program. The purpose of the program is to
19 provide a scholarship award to residents of the Tulsa School
20 District, which was greatly impacted both socially and economically
21 by the civil unrest that occurred in the City of Tulsa during 1921.
22 Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, or as soon thereafter as
23 practicable, and subject to the availability of funds, the program
24 shall each year make scholarships available to as many as feasible
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1 up to three hundred scholarships to qualified residents of the Tulsa
2 School District, and to qualified residents of any other common
3 school district of the state who are direct lineal descendants as
4 defined in subsection C of Section 2623 of this title and who meet
5 the criteria set forth in Sections 2623 and 2624 of this title, and
6 who are intending to pursue studies at an institution of higher
7 education in The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a
8 private institution of higher education, or who are intending to
9 pursue studies in a postsecondary career technology education
10 program. The scholarship shall be an amount of not more than the
11 equivalent of the average amount of resident tuition for which an
12 eligible Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program
13 participant enrolled at an institution in The Oklahoma State System
14 of Higher Education or a postsecondary career technology education
15 program, whichever is applicable, is obligated to pay. The
16 scholarship shall be paid as provided for in Section 2625 of this
17 title. The further purpose of this program is to establish and
18 maintain a variety of educational support services whereby residents
19 who qualify for the program will be prepared for success in
20 postsecondary endeavors.
21 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2623, is
22 amended to read as follows:
23 Section 2623. A. Subject to the availability of funds, the
24 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may annually award a
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1 maximum of three hundred full-time-equivalent scholarships for the
2 Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program to residents
3 of the Tulsa School District.
4 B. To qualify for a scholarship, an applicant shall satisfy the
5 following criteria:
6 1. The family income of the applicant from taxable sources is
7 not more than Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00) One Hundred
8 Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per year. The Free
9 Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form may be used to
10 verify family income;
11 2. The applicant attended a Tulsa public school where seventy-
12 five percent (75%) or more of the students enrolled in the school
13 qualify for the free and reduced lunch program; and
14 3. The applicant resides in a census block area within the
15 Tulsa School District where thirty percent (30%) or more of the
16 residents are at or below the poverty level established by the
17 United States Bureau of the Census.
18 C. The Regents may consider as a and the selection process
19 shall factor in first, when determining the order of preference of
20 the applicant or applicants, whether an applicant is a direct lineal
21 descendant of a direct lineal descendant of a person who resided in
22 the Greenwood Area in the City of Tulsa between April 30, 1921, and
23 June 1, 1921. If the Regents use descent as a preference factor, it
24 shall be applied to all applicants regardless of race. The
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1 applicants shall be required to present verifiable documentation of
2 their lineage. The Oklahoma Historical Society An organization or
3 individual engaged in genealogy and research of descendants and
4 history of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921 race massacre and Greenwood
5 area shall verify the authenticity and accuracy of the documentation
6 submitted by an applicant and shall establish confirm the boundaries
7 of the Greenwood Area. Verifiable documentation shall include, but
8 not be limited to the following:
9 1. Family records including family Bibles, vital records,
10 correspondence, memoirs, journals, diaries, unrecorded deeds,
11 diplomas, certificates, or testimonials;
12 2. Public records including censuses, government records,
13 military records, pensions, land bounty records, passport
14 applications, passenger lists, original grants, naturalization or
15 immigration records, records of entry, or state, province, or local
16 records; or
17 3. Institutional records including church records, cemetery
18 records and inscriptions, education institutions, insurance records,
19 or societies and fraternal organizations.
20 D. The Regents shall promulgate rules establishing the
21 application requirements for the program and the system for
22 evaluating applications based on the preference factors. The
23 application form shall include a small outlined box graphic,
24 followed by language, "Mark the box, if you are a direct lineal
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1 descendant of a person greatly impacted socially and economically
2 during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre who resided in the Greenwood
3 area of Tulsa, Oklahoma between April 30, 1921 and June 1, 1921."
4 E. Applicants shall also meet the eligibility criteria
5 established in Section 2624 of this title.
6 F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall also
7 be authorized to annually award scholarships for the Tulsa
8 Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Program to two students at
9 each of the high schools in the Tulsa School District for the
10 purpose of preserving awareness of the history and meaning of the
11 civil unrest that occurred in Tulsa in 1921. The following
12 provisions shall apply to the scholarship provided in this
13 subsection:
14 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this
15 section, eligibility for the scholarships awarded pursuant to this
16 subsection shall be:
17 a. enrollment in the appropriate high school,
18 b. family income of the applicant from taxable sources
19 not to exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00)
20 One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000.00) per
21 year,
22 c. the awards made pursuant to this subsection shall be
23 as specified in subsection C of this section,
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1 d. satisfaction of the criteria specified in Section 2624
2 of this title, and
3 d. e. any other relevant criteria determined by the Oklahoma
4 State Regents for Higher Education;
5 2. The State Regents shall involve the administration of the Tulsa
6 School District and a Community Advisory Committee in the selection
7 process. The Community Advisory Committee shall be comprised of
8 seven members appointed by the Oklahoma Chancellor for Higher
9 Education. The Community Advisory Committee shall combine seven
10 members comprised of the following list:
11 a. One - President of Langston University or Designee,
12 b. One - Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools or
13 Designee,
14 c. Two - Members of the Oklahoma Legislature representing
15 the Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma or
16 their Designee/s,
17 d. Two - Descendants of socially and economically,
18 adversely impacted persons who resided in the
19 Greenwood area in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma between
20 April 30,1921 and June 1, 1921,
21 e. One - Citizen with ties to the historic Greenwood
22 community who may be engaged in faith based,
23 education, social, business or advocacy work.
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1 The President of Langston University, or Designee, shall be
2 responsible for coordinating the advisory committee and shall submit
3 to the Chancellor for Higher Education a list of proposed committee
4 members for review and approval;
5 3. The award shall be limited to a one-year full-time-
6 equivalent period. Following successful completion of such award,
7 recipients who meet the criteria provided in subsection B of this
8 section shall be eligible to apply and be considered for continued
9 participation in the full Tulsa Reconciliation Education and
10 Scholarship Program. Any student subsequently awarded such
11 scholarship shall have the duration of the scholarship provided
12 pursuant to this subsection deducted from the limits set in
13 subsection D of Section 2625 of this title;
14 4. The award may only be funded with state funds appropriated
15 to the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship Trust Fund and
16 income therefrom, and shall be made subject to the availability of
17 such funds; and
18 5. The awards made pursuant to this subsection shall be
19 included within the maximum number of scholarships specified in
20 subsection A of this section.
21 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
22 SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
23 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
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1 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
2 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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4 59-1-6829 MJ 01/17/23
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