1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 HOUSE BILL 3454 By: Moore
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7 AS INTRODUCED
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8 An Act relating to the Oklahoma Higher Learning
8 Access Program; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2603,
9 which relates to eligibility requirements; providing
9 eligibility for children of certain teachers;
10 defining term; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2605,
10 as amended by Section 1, Chapter 400, O.S.L. 2022 (70
11 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 2605), which relates to
11 student agreements; exempting students who are
12 children of certain teachers from financial
12 qualification determination; defining term; directing
13 the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to
13 verify certain employment status; providing an
14 effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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19 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2603, is
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20 amended to read as follows:
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21 Section 2603. A. Except as otherwise provided for in
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22 subsection B of this section and elsewhere in this section, to be
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23 eligible to participate in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access
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24 Program and to qualify for an award which includes payment of an
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Req. No. 8789 Page 1
 1 amount equivalent to resident tuition or other tuition pursuant to
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2 Section 2604 of this title for the first semester or other academic
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3 unit of postsecondary enrollment, a student shall:
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4 1. Be a resident of this state or be enrolled in a school
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5 district located in this state that serves students who reside in
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6 both this state and an adjacent state pursuant to a contract as
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7 authorized in Section 5-117.1 of this title;
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8 2. Be a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United
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9 States. A student who is not a United States citizen or lawfully
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10 present in the United States shall not be eligible to participate in
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11 the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to qualify for an
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12 award notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3242 of this title.
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13 The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any student who
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14 was enrolled in the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program prior to
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15 the end of the 2006-2007 school year;
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16 3. Have a record of satisfactory compliance with agreements
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17 executed pursuant to Section 2605 of this title;
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18 4. a. have graduated within the previous three (3) years
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19 from a high school accredited by the State Board of
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20 Education, or the Oklahoma School of Science and
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21 Mathematics with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point
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22 average on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in
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23 grades nine through twelve,
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 1 b. have graduated within the previous three (3) years
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2 from a high school not accredited by the State Board
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3 of Education with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point
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4 average on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in
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5 grades nine through twelve and have achieved a
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6 composite score of 22 or higher on the ACT test, or
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7 c. have satisfactorily completed within the previous
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8 three (3) years an educational program that was
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9 provided through a means other than a public or
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10 private school and have achieved a composite score of
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11 22 or higher on the ACT test;
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12 5. Have completed the curricular requirements for admission to
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13 an institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education
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14 and one additional unit or set of competencies in a course that
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15 meets college admission requirements. The curriculum requirements
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16 shall include two units or sets of competencies in foreign or non-
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17 English language or technology courses that meet the college
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18 admission requirements and one unit or set of competencies of a fine
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19 arts course. Students shall also have attained a 2.5 grade point
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20 average in the core curriculum courses. Students who attended a
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21 high school which did not offer all the core curriculum courses or
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22 students who were educated by other means and were not offered all
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23 the core curriculum courses shall be allowed to satisfy this
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24 curriculum requirement by participating in a program approved by the
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 1 State Regents for remediation of high school curricular
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2 deficiencies;
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3 6. Have satisfied admission standards as determined by the
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4 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for first-time-entering
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5 students for the appropriate type of institution, or, if attending a
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6 private institution, have satisfied admission standards as
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7 determined by the private institution. No student participating in
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8 the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program shall be admitted into
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9 an institution of higher education by special admission standards;
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10 7. Have secured admission to, and enrolled in, an institution
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11 which is a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education,
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12 a postsecondary vocational-technical program offered by a technology
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13 center school that meets the requirements to be eligible for federal
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14 student financial aid, or a private institution of higher learning
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15 located within this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of
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16 this title; and
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17 8. a. have established financial need according to the
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18 provisions of subsection D of Section 2605 of this
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19 title and standards and provisions promulgated by the
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20 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education,
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21 b. if the student was adopted between birth and twelve
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22 (12) years of age while in the permanent custody of
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23 the Department of Human Services, in the court-ordered
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24 custody of a licensed private nonprofit child-placing
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 1 agency, or federally recognized Indian tribe, as
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2 defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, have
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3 established financial need according to the provisions
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4 of paragraph 1 of subsection E of Section 2605 of this
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5 title and standards and provisions promulgated by the
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6 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, or
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7 c. if the student was adopted between thirteen (13) and
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8 seventeen (17) years of age while in the permanent
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9 custody of the Department of Human Services, in the
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10 court-ordered custody of a licensed private nonprofit
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11 child-placing agency, or federally recognized Indian
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12 tribe, as defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare
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13 Act, have established financial need according to the
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14 provisions of paragraph 2 of subsection E of Section
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15 2605 of this title and standards and provisions
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16 promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
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17 Education, or
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18 d. if the student is the child of a certified classroom
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19 teacher, as provided for in paragraph 4 of subsection
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20 E of Section 2605 of this title. For the purposes of
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21 this paragraph, "certified classroom teacher" means
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22 any certified, full-time teacher who has been employed
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23 by a public school district in this state for a
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24 minimum of ten (10) years.
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 1 B. 1. A student shall be eligible to participate in the
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2 Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program and to qualify for an award
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3 which includes payment of an amount equivalent to resident tuition
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4 or other tuition pursuant to Section 2604 of this title for the
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5 first semester or other academic unit of postsecondary enrollment if
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6 the student meets all of the following criteria:
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7 a. is a child of any person killed after January 1, 2000,
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8 in the line of duty in any branch of the United States
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9 Armed Forces or who died after January 1, 2000, as a
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10 result of an injury sustained while in the line of
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11 duty in any branch of the United States Armed Forces
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12 and the person who was killed or died filed an
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13 individual or joint Oklahoma income tax return for the
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14 tax year prior to the year during which the person was
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15 killed or died,
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16 b. is a resident of this state or is enrolled in a school
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17 district located in this state that serves students
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18 who reside in both this state and an adjacent state
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19 pursuant to a contract as authorized in Section 5-
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20 117.1 of this title,
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21 c. enrolls in an institution within The Oklahoma State
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22 System of Higher Education prior to reaching the age
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23 of twenty-one (21),
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 1 d. has satisfied admission standards as determined by the
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2 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for first-
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3 time-entering students for the appropriate type of
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4 institution, or, if attending a private institution,
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5 has satisfied admission standards as determined by the
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6 private institution. No student participating in the
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7 Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program shall be
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8 admitted into an institution of higher education by
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9 special admission standards,
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10 e. has secured admission to, and enrolled in, an
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11 institution which is a member of The Oklahoma State
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12 System of Higher Education, a postsecondary
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13 vocational-technical program offered by a technology
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14 center school that meets the requirements to be
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15 eligible for federal student financial aid, or a
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16 private institution of higher learning located within
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17 this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of
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18 this title, and
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19 f. executes an agreement pursuant to subsection C of
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20 Section 2605 of this title.
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21 2. A student who is eligible to participate in the program
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22 pursuant to this subsection shall not be required to meet the
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23 eligibility requirements set forth in subsection A of this section.
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 1 C. To retain eligibility while pursuing the program of higher
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2 learning in which enrolled, the student shall:
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3 1. Meet the requirements for retention and degree completion as
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4 established by the institution in which the student is enrolled;
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5 2. Maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic
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6 progress according to standards of the Oklahoma State Regents for
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7 Higher Education;
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8 3. Maintain satisfactory academic progress as required for
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9 eligibility for federal Title IV student financial aid programs.
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10 The provisions of this paragraph shall become effective for the
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11 2012-2013 school year;
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12 4. Comply with the standards related to maintenance of
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13 eligibility as promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
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14 Education; and
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15 5. Refrain from conduct that leads to expulsion or suspension
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16 of more than one semester from an institution of higher education.
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17 A student who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall
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18 permanently lose eligibility for program benefits. The provisions
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19 of this paragraph shall become effective January 1, 2008.
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20 D. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the
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21 State Board of Career and Technology Education shall promulgate
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22 rules relating to maintenance of eligibility under the Oklahoma
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23 Higher Learning Access Act by a student.
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 1 E. It is the intent of the Legislature that students in the
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2 ninth grade for the 1992-93 school year who are determined to be
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3 eligible Oklahoma Higher Learning Access students pursuant to the
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4 Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Act shall be the first students
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5 eligible for benefits from the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Trust
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6 Fund.
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7 F. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are
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8 authorized to study, develop and propose criteria for determining
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9 award eligibility based upon the completion of seven semesters of
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10 high school coursework by a student.
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11 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2605, as
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12 amended by Section 1, Chapter 400, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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13 Section 2605), is amended to read as follows:
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14 Section 2605. A. Each school year, every fifth- through
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15 eleventh-grade student in the public and private schools of this
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16 state and students who are educated by other means and are in the
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17 equivalent of the fifth through eleventh grade shall be apprised,
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18 together with the parent, custodial parent, or guardian of the
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19 student, of the opportunity for access to higher learning under the
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20 Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program. The Oklahoma State Regents
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21 for Higher Education and the State Board of Education shall develop,
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22 promote, and coordinate a public awareness program to be utilized in
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23 making students and parents aware of the Oklahoma Higher Learning
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24 Access Program.
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 1 B. On a form provided by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
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2 Education, every public school district shall designate at least one
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3 Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program contact person, who shall be
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4 a counselor or teacher, at each public school site in this state in
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5 which eighth-, ninth-, tenth-, or eleventh-grade classes are taught.
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6 When requested by the State Regents, the State Board of Education
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7 shall assist the State Regents to ensure the designation of contact
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8 persons. Private schools shall also designate at least one school
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9 official as a contact person. For students who are educated by
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10 other means, a parent or guardian or other person approved by the
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11 State Regents shall be designated the contact person.
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12 C. 1. Students who qualify on the basis of financial need
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13 according to subsection D or E of this section or who meet the
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14 eligibility qualification set forth in subparagraph a of paragraph 1
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15 of subsection B of Section 2603 of this title prior to entering the
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16 eleventh grade or prior to reaching the age of sixteen (16) and the
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17 standards and provisions promulgated by the Oklahoma State Regents
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18 for Higher Education shall be given the opportunity throughout the
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19 eighth-, ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-grade years, for students
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20 enrolled in a public or private school, or between the ages of
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21 thirteen (13) and sixteen (16), for students who are educated by
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22 o