SB 491(1) (Williams/Boyd): Modifies the School Testing Program by administering a norm-referenced test in the third grade beginning with the 2000-2001 school year to continue until the third-grade criterion-referenced test (CRT) is implemented. Field testing of the third grade CRT is delayed until the 2001-2002 school year and implementation is delayed until 2002-2003. Delays implementation of the end-of-instruction tests in Biology I and Algebra I until the 2002-2003 school year. Requires test results to be disaggregated by ethnic group and gender. Declares school sites to be low-performing if more than 30% of students score unsatisfactory in both reading/English and mathematics on the CRT or end-of-instruction tests, or if the student average score falls in the lowest quartile statewide and below the national average. School sites identified as low-performing for three consecutive years will be declared high challenge schools. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 843(1) (Helton/McCarter): Deletes the first come-first serve basis for awarding Great Expectations Summer Institute scholarships. Effective 4-25-00.

SB 850(1) (Crutchfield/Hilliard): Modifies and updates the purpose of the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf and includes serving as statewide resource centers for educational services for children who are blind or visually impaired, or deaf or hard of hearing. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 901(1) (Haney/Settle): Prohibits school districts from increasing or reducing fringe benefits to meet the $3,000 salary increase mandated for teachers. Clarifies that school districts that do not use the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System are to be penalized by reduction in State Aid payments. Authorizes State Department of Education to reduce State Aid payments to school districts that willfully pay teachers less than the mandated minimum salary. Raises the flexible benefit allowance for support personnel to $170.24 per month. Extends the date by which school districts must provide alternative education programs to the 2001-2002 school year. Incorporates language from a duplicate section related to alternative education and repeals the duplicate section. Repeals an obsolete section related to flexible allowances for support personnel. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1015(1) (Williams/Roberts): Modifies the Oklahoma Advanced Placement Incentive Program . Authorizes test fee assistance for students taking multiple tests in one year. Authorizes the State Board of Education to award additional grants to school sites demonstrating successful implementation of the courses for which the first grants were awarded. Modifies awards to allow for support of preadvanced placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses, and development of advanced placement vertical teams. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1157(1) (Henry/Wells): Authorizes school districts to place income received on an investment in the fund from which the investment was made, the general fund, the building fund, or the sinking fund. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1348(1) (Herbert/Glover): Contingent upon approval of a proposed constitutional amendment to be voted on in November 2000, the bill authorizes the Commissioners of the Land Office to increase a distribution payment from the school trust funds if the payment calculated by the formula would be less than the payment for the preceding year. Authorizes transfers and successions of non-preference right leases. Effective upon passage of State Question 684.

SB 1392(1) (Ford/Adkins): Requires school districts to ensure that teachers of honors courses are certified in the subject area of the honors course taught. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1532(1) (Leftwich/Paulk): Allows school districts having at least 30,000 average daily membership to expand district board of education to include a chair of the board who would be elected at large. Chair of the board position may be added upon vote of district board of education or upon vote by people of district. Effective 6-1-00.

SB 1533(1) (Snyder/Bryant): Authorizes school districts to request disciplinary and nondirectory educational records from districts in which a student was formerly enrolled to ascertain safety issues with incoming students and ensure full disclosure when a student is in the process of enrolling in the new district. Defines disciplinary records to include but not be limited to all information that relates to a student assaulting, carrying weapons, possessing illegal drugs, including alcohol, and any incident that poses a potential dangerous threat to students or school personnel. Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1545(5) (Williamson/ Bryant): Creates the Reading Accountability Act. Sets the reading goal for public schools that by May 1, 2006, 90% or more of all third graders will read at or above grade level. Requires public elementary schools to set and achieve annual improvement goals necessary to achieve the 90% reading goal and to include the annual improvement goal in the district's reading sufficiency plan. Directs third grade teachers to annually report on the reading level of students to parents. Requires public elementary schools to annually report to its community the number and percent of third graders reading at or above grade level. Directs districts to encourage parents to read with their children at least 20 minutes a day from birth through third grade. Effective 11-1-00.

SB 1568(5) (Williams/Boyd): Modifies teacher certification provisions.

• Modifies qualifications for certification of teachers from other states and jurisdictions. Teachers holding National Board certification as provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are to be granted standard certification without any additional requirements. Teachers who hold a certificate from another state or jurisdiction are to be granted up to a 2-year provisional certificate unless the State Board of Education determines the teacher is disqualified by law. Upon recommendation of the superintendent of a district in which the teacher taught under the provisional certificate for a minimum of one year, the teacher shall be granted a standard certificate; provided the teacher must have completed the requirements of the residency program and have passed the competency examination or its equivalent as determined by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.
  
  
• Modifies qualifications of appointees to the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation by adding the option for the Speaker and Governor to appoint a Regent or Trustee from the governing board of an institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.
  
  
• Authorizes the State Board of Education to recognize, for purposes of certification renewal and salary increments for up to five years' credit, experience as a certified teacher with Bureau of Indian Affairs' schools that are recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Education, as a certified teacher in a school in another jurisdiction if the school is accredited by the appropriate accrediting agency in that jurisdiction, and as a volunteer worker with the Peace Corps serving in a teaching capacity.
  
  
• Encourages districts to develop pay plans to compensate teachers for extra work performed outside of school hours to assure all students perform
  at grade level by the year 2007.

Effective 7-1-00.

SB 1596(5) (Williams/Boyd): Authorizes priority consideration for funding parents as teachers programs that demonstrate the greatest need and commitment of community, foundation, and corporate support. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 1979(1) (Staggs/Henry): Expands school district board of education control over revenue-generating fund sources and school activity funds. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2000(1) (Boyd/Hobson): Authorizes a substitute teacher who holds a lapsed or expired certificate or has a bachelors degree to teach up to 100 days during a school year. Removes all limits on number of days a certified substitute teacher can teach. Removes the prohibition on paying stipends to teachers who attend professional development institutes in reading. Authorizes Teacher Preparation Commission to pay the stipends. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2028(1) (Turner/Dunlap): Allows the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education to hold meetings by teleconference. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2117(1) (Coleman/Horner): Adds operation of a toll-free literacy services referral system to duties of the Center for the Study of Literacy. Creates the Adult Literacy Services Advisory Committee. Requires State Department of Education to participate in the National Adult Literacy Survey in 2001. Effective 6-5-00.

HB 2128(1) (Wells/Morgan): Changes the name of the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education to the State Board of Career and Technology Education, and changes the name of the State Department of Vocational and Technical Education to the State Department of Career and Technology Education. Effective 5-19-00.

HB 2168(1) (Staggs/Fisher): States legislative intent to address school violence through an emphasis on prevention. Authorizes school districts to contract with nonprofit agencies or community-based service providers for the appropriate personnel and services and to seek any available funding, including the use of Medicaid funds through targeted case management, and any other funds which may be available for related services. Encourages the State Board of Education to allow for the use of licensed professional counselors and licensed social workers in addition to academic counselors. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2506(1) (Staggs/Crutchfield): Allows school districts to pay for attendance of school district employees at classes or workshops conducted by school district employees. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2653(1) (Benson/Taylor): Provides a $3,000 salary increase to state-paid certified personnel beginning with the 2000-01 school year and increases the minimum teacher salary schedule to reflect the increase. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2662(1) (Deutschendorf/Robinson): Requires the Virtual Internet School in Oklahoma Network (VISION) Pilot Program to concentrate on developing web-based instructional programs in mathematics. Requires selection of participating school districts by mid-summer of 2000. Effective 6-5-00.

HB 2728(1) (Benson/Taylor): Modifies last year's education reform bill (HB 1759).

• High School graduation requirements:
  - Abolishes the dual diploma system by repealing the Diploma of Honor and restoring the Certificate of Distinction option;
  - Adds attainment of competencies as method of satisfying core course requirements;
  - Requires courses which satisfy the core curriculum requirements in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies to have content and/or rigor equal to or above the required core course;
  - Allows certain courses taught in a contextual methodology;
  - Requires school districts to encourage students to take two units of foreign language;
  - States that schools are not required to offer every course listed, but must offer enough courses to meet the graduation requirements;
  - States that schools are required to pay for a student's concurrent enrollment course when the course is necessary for graduation and the district does not offer it;
  - Requires the State Department of Education to work with school districts to review and approve courses not specifically listed in statute; deletes the term "comparable", and specifies that such courses must be equal to or above the listed courses in content and/or rigor;
  - Specifies that academic and vocational-technical courses with integrated or embedded competencies from the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS - state curriculum) may be approved for academic credit by the State Board of Education;
  - Allows students on individualized education programs (IEPs) who satisfy the programming for graduation in the IEP to be awarded a high school diploma;
  - Allows students enrolled in alternative education programs who meet the requirements of their plans to be awarded a high school diploma;
  - Allows students who complete the curriculum requirements of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program to be awarded a high school diploma;
  
  
• Certification requirements for middle school mathematics teachers:
  - Removes 6th grade mathematics teachers from the requirement;
  - Allows 7th and 8th grade mathematics teachers to meet the requirement by either successfully completing the Oklahoma Subject Area Test (OSAT) for middle level/intermediate mathematics OR completing a professional development institute (PDI) in middle level/intermediate mathematics. Teachers who pass the OSAT will be allowed to teach at the 7th and 8th grade levels for high school credit;
  - Teachers who opt for the PDI and who have completed 24 hours of college credit with 6 of those hours in Algebra courses will be allowed to teach at the 7th and 8th grade levels for high school credit;
  - Teachers wishing to teach mathematics at the 9th grade level must complete the Oklahoma Professional Teacher Examination (OPTE) for middle level/secondary certification. The OPTE will not be required for 7th and 8th grade teachers;
  - Specifies that the state will fund either the OSAT or a PDI one time free of charge after July 1, 2000 for each teacher seeking to meet the new requirements.
  
  
• Deletes certain provisions relating to school dress codes and states school boards have the option of adopting a dress code which includes school uniforms;
  
  
• Modifies the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP) to make the benefit compatible with the federal HOPE tax credit and increases the level of family income eligibility from $32,000 to $50,000;
  
  
• Modifies qualifications for the Oklahoma Tuition Scholarship Program (OTSP) which provides a two-year college scholarship. Deletes the requirement for the diploma of honor and an ACT score of 22, and substitutes with a graduate ranking in the top 15% of high school class, a 3.25 GPA, and an ACT score of 26. Specifies that the scholarship begins for students who graduate from high school in 2002-2003. Modifies terminology on tuition and makes benefit compatible with the federal HOPE tax credit;
  
  
• States legislative intent on coordination of spring break dates among common education, vo-tech education, and higher education;
  
  
• Amends current law that specified contingencies on implementation of certain provisions from HB 1759, to remove the sections on the Oklahoma Tuition Scholarship Program from the contingency, thereby allowing OTSP to be implemented immediately.

Effective 7-1-00

HJR 1019(6) (Staggs/Weedn): Proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the voters in each school district to decide to eliminate the need for an annual election for the emergency levy, local support levy, and the building fund levy. State Question No. 690; Legislative Referendum No. 318.