An act relating to open meetings, the official text

1                   STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2   2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)

3 HOUSE BILL 2981               By: Banning

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6                   AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to open meetings; amending 70 O.S.

    2021, Section 5-118, as amended by Section 1, Chapter

8   4, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 5-118),

    which relates to regular meetings of school district

9   boards of education; requiring all school district

    boards of education to post meeting minutes on the

10  their website; establishing time limit for

    compliance; determining accessibility requirements;

11  establishing results for noncompliance; clarifying

    applicability; and providing an effective date.

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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 5-118, as

16 amended by Section 1, Chapter 4, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025,

17 Section 5-118), is amended to read as follows:

18  Section 5-118. A. Regular meetings of the board of education

19 of each school district shall be held upon the first Monday of each

20 month, or upon such day as may be fixed by the board. Special

21 meetings may be held from time to time as circumstances may demand.

22  B. All meetings of the boards of education shall be public

23 meetings, and in all such meetings the vote of each member must be

24 publicly cast and recorded. Executive sessions will be permitted

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1 only for the purpose of discussing the employment, hiring,

2 appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignations of

3 any or all of the employees or volunteers of the school district,

4 and for the purpose of discussing negotiations concerning employees

5 and representatives of employee groups, and for the purpose of

6 hearing evidence and discussing the expulsion or suspension of a

7 student or students only when requested by the student involved or

8 his or her parent, attorney, or legal guardian; provided, however,

9 that any vote or action thereon must be taken in a public meeting

10 with the vote of each member publicly cast and recorded. It is

11 required that the board of education shall provide notice to the

12 student, his or her parent, attorney or legal guardian that said

13 student is entitled to an executive session regarding the discussion

14 of expulsion or suspension of said student.

15  C. Any action taken in violation of the provisions of this act

16 shall be invalid.

17  D. Each member of the board of education of a school district

18 with an average daily attendance exceeding fifteen thousand (15,000)

19 or a school district where boundaries encompass a total population

20 exceeding one hundred thousand (100,000) persons according to the

21 last preceding Federal Decennial Census may be paid from the

22 district's general fund a stipend of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00)

23 for each regular, special or adjourned meeting of the board of

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1 education that he or she attends, but not for more than four

2 meetings in any calendar month.

3   E. 1. Each school district board of education shall post their

4 regular and special meeting minutes to the school district's website

5 within two (2) weeks of the board's approval of the minutes. Such

6 minutes shall be accessible within two clicks of the main page of

7 the school district's website.

8   2. Failure to comply with the requirements in paragraph 1 of

9 this subsection shall result in an administration and organization

10 deficiency during the district's accreditation review.

11  F. 1. Unless otherwise provided by law, a board of education

12 may submit an Affidavit of Board Action to the State Department of

13 Education in lieu of approved board minutes to provide proof of an

14 action approved or taken at a board meeting. Such affidavit shall

15 be signed and sworn by the applicable personnel as provided in

16 paragraph 2 of this subsection. The State Department of Education

17 shall accept a signed Affidavit of Board Action as certification

18 that the district board has approved or taken a specific action at a

19 board meeting. Nothing in this subsection shall exempt a board of

20 education from keeping minutes of a meeting in accordance with

21 Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes or posting minutes

22 in accordance with subsection E of this section.

23  2. The Affidavit of Board Action described in paragraph 1 of

24 this subsection shall include:

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1   a. the county or district code,

2   b. the name of the school district,

3   c. the date of the board meeting,

4   d. the agenda item number approved,

5   e. a summary of the action approved,

6   f. an affirming signature representing the district from

7   the district superintendent or the assistant

8   superintendent, and

9   g. an affirming signature representing the district board

10  from the board president or chair, or from a board

11  officer.

12  SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

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14  60-2-13913      SW  01/06/26

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