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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1298 By: Bullard
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to student assessments; amending 70
7 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508, as last amended by
8 Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
8 2025, Section 1210.508), which relates to the
9 statewide system of student assessments; directing
9 the State Board of Education to issue certain request
10 for proposals; directing the Board to adopt certain
10 minimum number of alternative assessments; allowing
11 assessments to measure certain readiness; directing
11 the Board to provide school districts with certain
12 alternative assessments for administration beginning
12 in certain school year; prohibiting a student in
13 certain grades with certain consent from being
13 required to take certain assessment; requiring
14 student in certain grades to take certain alternative
14 assessment; modifying requirement for students to
15 take certain assessment prior to graduation; updating
15 statutory language; providing an effective date; and
16 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 1210.508, as
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20 last amended by Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
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21 2025, Section 1210.508), is amended to read as follows:
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22 Section 1210.508. A. 1. By no later than December 31, 2016,
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23 the State Board of Education shall adopt a statewide system of
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24 student assessments in compliance with the Elementary and Secondary
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1 Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized and amended by P.L.
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2 No. 114-95, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
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3 2. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
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4 pursuant to this subsection shall be aligned with the Oklahoma
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5 Academic Standards as adopted by the Board and which prepare
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6 students for college and careers.
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7 B. 1. The Board shall issue a request for proposals for the
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8 selection of assessments to be administered to students in grades
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9 three through twelve as a part of the statewide student assessment
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10 system adopted by the Board pursuant to this section.
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11 2. After the effective date of this act, the Board shall issue
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12 a request for proposals for the selection of at least three
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13 alternative assessments that comply with the provisions of ESSA and
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14 fulfill the requirements of subsection E of this section that school
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15 districts may administer to students in ninth through twelfth
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16 grades. The alternative assessments may measure readiness for both
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17 college and postsecondary career training. A public school district
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18 in this state may recommend an assessment for the Board to review
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19 and consider for approval.
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20 3. The Board shall adopt assessments from the selected
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21 proposals that were submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this
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22 subsection and shall adopt at least three alternative assessments
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23 from the selected proposals that were submitted pursuant to
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24 paragraph 2 of this subsection. The adopted assessments shall be
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1 administered by the Board for a period that is in coordination with
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2 the six-year subject area textbook adoption cycle unless the vendor
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3 does not fulfill the terms of the contract or fails to comply with
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4 or violates the terms of the contract. The Board shall administer
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5 the assessments selected from proposals submitted pursuant to
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6 paragraph 1 of this subsection beginning with the 2017-2018 school
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7 year. The Board shall provide school districts with at least three
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8 alternative assessments selected from proposals submitted pursuant
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9 to paragraph 2 of this subsection that may be administered beginning
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10 with the 2026-2027 school year.
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11 C. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
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12 pursuant to this section shall include assessments that:
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13 1. Are aligned with the Oklahoma subject matter standards as
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14 adopted by the Board;
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15 2. Provide a measure of comparability among other states;
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16 3. Yield both norm-referenced scores and criterion-referenced
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17 scores;
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18 4. Have a track record of statistical reliability and accuracy;
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19 and
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20 5. For assessments administered in high school, provide a
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21 measure of future academic performance.
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22 D. For the 2016-2017 school year, the Board shall administer
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23 assessments in:
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1 1. English Language Arts or reading and mathematics in grades
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2 three through eight and at least once in high school, during the
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3 grade span of nine through twelve;
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4 2. Science not less than once during each grade span of three
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5 through five, six through nine, and ten through twelve; and
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6 3. United States History not less than once during the grade
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7 span of nine through twelve.
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8 E. 1. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
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9 student assessment system shall include assessments in:
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10 a. English Language Arts and mathematics in grades three
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11 through eight and at least once in high school, during
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12 the grade span of nine through twelve,
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13 b. science not less than once during each grade span of
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14 three through five, six through nine, and ten through
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15 twelve, and
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16 c. United States History, with an emphasis on civics, not
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17 less than once during the grade span of nine through
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18 twelve.
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19 2. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
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20 student assessment system may include:
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21 a. assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics in
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22 certain grades as determined by the Board, and
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23 b. contingent upon the availability of funds, an
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24 additional nationally recognized college- and career-
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1 readiness assessment or assessments as recommended by
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2 the State Department of Education, which will be
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3 administered to students in high school at no cost to
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4 the student.
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5 F. 1. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
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6 2017-2018 school year, each student shall take the assessment or
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7 assessments included in the statewide student assessment system
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8 adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section in
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9 order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma.
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10 A student in ninth through twelfth grade shall not be required to
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11 take the assessment or assessments selected by the Board pursuant to
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12 paragraph 1 of subsection B of this section if:
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13 a. the student's parent or legal guardian provides
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14 written consent to opt out; provided, however, the
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15 student shall be required to take an alternative
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16 assessment or assessments selected by the Board
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17 pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection B of this
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18 section, and
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19 b. the student and his or her parent or legal guardian,
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20 in collaboration with school staff, determine that an
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21 alternative assessment is appropriate for the
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22 student's postsecondary goals.
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1 All students shall take the assessment or assessments selected by
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2 the Board pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2 of subsection B of this
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3 section prior to graduation, unless otherwise exempt by law.
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4 2. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
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5 2017-2018 school year, each student, in addition to taking the
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6 assessment or assessments included in the statewide student
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7 assessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of
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8 this section, shall meet any other high school graduation
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9 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
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10 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
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11 Legislature in order to graduate from a public high school with a
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12 standard diploma.
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13 3. For students who start the ninth grade prior to or during
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14 the 2016-2017 school year, school districts shall adopt a plan that
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15 establishes the assessment or assessments those students are
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16 required to take in order to graduate from a public high school with
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17 a standard diploma. The plan may also include any or all of the
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18 other high school graduation requirements adopted by the Board
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19 pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd
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20 Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature that those students will be
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21 required to meet in order to graduate from a public high school with
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22 a standard diploma.
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23 4. The Board shall promulgate rules to ensure that students who
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24 transfer into an Oklahoma a school district in this state from out-
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1 of-state after the junior year of high school shall not be denied
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2 the opportunity to be awarded a standard diploma due to differing
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3 testing requirements.
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4 G. In order to provide an indication of the levels of
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5 competency attained by the student in a permanent record for
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6 potential future employers and institutions of higher education,
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7 school districts shall report on the high school transcript of the
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8 student the highest-achieved score on the assessment or assessments
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9 included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the
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10 Board pursuant to subsection A of this section and any business- and
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11 industry-recognized endorsements attained.
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12 H. Students who do not perform at a proficiency level on
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13 assessments shall be remediated as established in the assessment
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14 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
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15 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
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16 Legislature, subject to the availability of funding.
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17 I. 1. All assessments required by this section shall measure
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18 academic competencies in correlation with the subject matter
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19 standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 11-103.6 and 11-
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20 103.6a of this title and referred to as the Oklahoma Academic
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21 Standards. The State Board of Education shall evaluate the subject
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22 matter standards to ensure the competencies reflect high standards,
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23 are specific, well-defined, measurable, and challenging, and will
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24 prepare elementary students for next-grade-level course work and
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1 secondary students for postsecondary studies at institutions of
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2 higher education or technology center schools without the need for
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3 remediation. All subject matter standards shall reflect the goals
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4 as set forth in Section 11-103.6 of this title and of improving the
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5 state average of college entrance exam scores.
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6 2. The State Department of Education shall annually evaluate
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7 the results of the assessments. The State Board of Education shall
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8 ensure that preliminary results for all statewide assessments are
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9 reported to districts no later than June 20 of each year and are
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10 presented in a manner that yields detailed, diagnostic information
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11 for the purpose of guiding instruction and student remediation. As
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12 improvements are made to the assessments required by this section,
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13 the Board shall seek to increase the depth of knowledge assessed for
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14 each subject. The State Board of Education shall seek to ensure
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15 that data yielded from the assessments required in this section are
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16 utilized at the school district level to inform instruction,
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17 professional development, school improvement, and remediation for
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18 students.
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19 3. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability
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20 shall determine the cut scores for the performance levels on all
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21 statewide assessments. The Commission shall conduct an ongoing
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22 review to compare the statewide assessment content and performance
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23 descriptors with those of other states. Upon receipt of the review,
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24 the Commission may adjust the cut scores as necessary.
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1 4. The State Board of Education, for the purposes of conducting
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2 reliability and validity studies, monitoring contractor adherence to
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3 professionally accepted testing standards, and providing
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4 recommendations for testing program improvement, shall retain the
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5 services of an established, independent agency or organization that
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6 is nationally recognized for its technical expertise in educational
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7 testing but is not engaged in the development of aptitude or
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8 achievement tests for elementary or secondary level grades. These
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9 national assessment experts shall annually conduct studies of the
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10 reliability and validity of the statewide assessments administered
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11 pursuant to this section. Validity studies shall include studies of
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12 decision validity and concurrent validity.
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13 J. 1. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules
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14 setting the assessment window dates for each statewide assessment so
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15 that the assessments are administered according to recommended
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16 testing protocols and so that the assessment results are reported
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17 back to school districts in a timely manner. The vendor shall
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18 provide a final electronic data file of all school site, school
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19 district, and state results to the State Department of Education and
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20 the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability prior to August
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21 20 of each year. The Department shall forward the final data files
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22 for each school district and each school site in that district to
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23 the school district. The Board shall ensure the contract with the
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24 vendor includes a provision that the vendor report assessment
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1 results directly to the Office of Educational Quality and
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2 Accountability at the same time it is they are reported to the
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3 Board.
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4 2. State, district, and site level results of all assessments
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5 required in this section shall be disaggregated by gender, race,
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6 ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency,
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7 and status as economically disadvantaged, except that such
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8 disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number
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9 of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically
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10 reliable information or the results would reveal personally
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11 identifiable information about an individual student. Each school
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12 site shall notify the student's parents or legal guardians of the
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13 school's performance levels in the Oklahoma School Testing Program
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14 as reported in the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program at the
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15 end of each school year.
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16 K. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for the
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17 field-testing and validation of the statewide assessment system
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18 required in subsection A of this section.
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19 L. The State Board of Education shall develop, administer, and
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20 incorporate as a part of the Oklahoma School Testing Program other
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21 assessment programs or procedures including appropriate
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22 accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities as
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23 required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
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24 20 U.S.C., Section 1400 et seq.
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1 M. For purposes of developing and administering alternate
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2 assessments for students with the most significant cognitive
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3 disabilities, the State Board of Education shall not be subject to
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4 subsections D and E of Section 11-103.6a of this title.
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5 N. By December 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the State
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6 Board of Education shall electronically submit a report to the
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7 Legislature containing data collected for the most recently
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8 completed school year on the number and demographics of students who
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9 were eligible for advanced mathematics courses, the number and
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10 demographics of students who were placed in advanced mathematics
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11 courses, the number and demographics of students placed in
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12 mathematics intervention courses, and the number and demographics of
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13 students not placed in advanced mathematic courses or mathematic
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14 intervention courses. The report shall include information on the
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15 type and format of advanced mathematic courses and the type and
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16 format of mathematic intervention courses.
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17 O. The State Board of Education shall provide guidance on how
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18 to best develop programming and courses to ensure all impacted
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19 students receive rigorous, academically appropriate instruction in
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20 mathematics.
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21 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
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22 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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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
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2 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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