House Bill No. 1096 amends various sections of the Oklahoma Statutes concerning student testing and professional development for educators. The bill establishes professional development programs for certified teachers and administrators, which must be informed by a committee that includes classroom teachers and parents. It updates the goals of these programs to enhance academic performance, close achievement gaps, and boost graduation rates. The legislation replaces references to the ACT with "nationally norm-referenced college entrance exams" and allows for the use of equivalent exam scores, such as those from the SAT and Classic Learning Test (CLT), to determine student remediation needs. Additionally, it emphasizes the alignment of assessments with Oklahoma Academic Standards and mandates that students must take these assessments to graduate from high school.

The bill also introduces amendments related to educational assessments and scholarship programs, assigning the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability the responsibility of setting cut scores for statewide assessments and conducting ongoing reviews for alignment with other states. The State Board of Education is tasked with ensuring the reliability and validity of these assessments and establishing rules for timely reporting of results to school districts. It requires disaggregation of assessment results by demographic factors and mandates that schools notify parents about performance levels. Furthermore, the bill updates eligibility criteria for the Oklahoma State Regents Academic Scholars Program and the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, allowing for alternative assessments for students with disabilities and specifying that the Classic Learning Test must be taken at designated testing sites. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, with an emergency clause for immediate implementation upon passage.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 70-2603
House Committee Substitute: 70-2603
Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill: 70-2603
Floor (House): 70-2603
Floor (Senate): 70-2603
Engrossed: 70-2603
Amended And Engrossed: 70-2603
Enrolled (final version): 70-2603