An act relating to schools, the official text

1                            STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2             1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)

3 HOUSE BILL 1408            By: Grego

4

5

6                            AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to schools; requiring certain

    transfer students to file a notice of intent;

8   mandating notice filing timeline; requiring State

    Department of Education to create notice form;

9   requiring notice form to be available online and in

    schools; clarifying language; excluding certain

10  students from school dropout report; providing for

    codification; providing an effective date; and

11  declaring an emergency.

12

13

14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

15  SECTION 1.      NEW LAW  A new section of law to be codified

16 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24-162 of Title 70, unless there

17 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

18  A. A parent or legal guardian of a student attending a public

19 school within the state who intends to transfer the student to a

20 private school or home school, or chooses to educate their child

21 through other means of education as provided in Section 4 of Article

22 13 of the Oklahoma Constitution, shall file a Notice of Intent with

23 the school district the student currently attends or most recently

24 attended.

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1   B. The Notice of Intent described in subsection A of this

2 section shall be filed with the applicable school district within 10

3 days of beginning instruction at a private school or home school in

4 the state or within 10 days of beginning other means of education.

5   C. The State Department of Education shall adopt a standard

6 Notice of Intent form to be provided on the State Department of

7 Education's website in a conspicuous place for parents and legal

8 guardians to use. Each public school shall have said forms

9 available in their main office for parent and legal guardian use.

10  SECTION 2.      AMENDATORY  70 O.S. 2021, Section 35e, is

11 amended to read as follows:

12  Section 35e. A. It shall be the duty of the superintendent,

13 principal or head teacher of each public or private middle, junior

14 high and high school accredited by the State Department of Education

15 in the State of Oklahoma to notify the Department annually as

16 scheduled by the Department of the name, address, race and age of

17 any pupil dropping out from the school during the preceding year.

18 The report shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the

19 Department.

20  B. The State Board of Education shall cause these statistics of

21 school dropouts to be tabulated by grade and school district.

22 Information of school dropouts shall be made available to the

23 Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the Bureau

24 of Indian Affairs, the Military Department of the State of Oklahoma

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1 for use in the youth educational programs provided by the Department

2 and the State Department of Health.

3   C. The State Department of Education shall make an annual

4 report to the Legislature prior to the convening of each regular

5 session thereof of information received and tabulated pursuant to

6 this section.

7   D. For the purposes of this section, "school dropout" means any

8 student who is under the age of nineteen (19) and has not graduated

9 from high school and is not attending any public or private school

10 or is not otherwise receiving an education pursuant to law for the

11 full term the schools of the school district in which the student

12 resides are in session. School dropouts shall not include students

13 whose parents or legal guardians have filed a Notice of Intent with

14 the applicable school district.

15  SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.

16  SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation

17 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby

18 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and

19 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

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21  60-1-10072      SW  01/08/25

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    Req. No. 10072                                                Page 3