1| STATE OF OKLAHOMA |
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2| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) |
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3|SENATE BILL 1027 By: Jett |
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5| |
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6| AS INTRODUCED |
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7| An Act relating to schools; defining term; |
| prohibiting certain schools from using certain |
8| funding to promote, purchase, or utilize certain |
| concepts; prohibiting teachers and certain other |
9| school employees from using certain curricula; |
| providing for reporting of violation to certain |
10| district attorney; providing for certain notification |
| of certain committee chairs; providing for |
11| notification of the State Department of Education; |
| providing for certain financial penalty; amending 70 |
12| O.S. 2021, Section 11-103.2a, which relates to the |
| Oklahoma Play to Learn Act; removing reference to |
13| certain types of instruction; amending 70 O.S. 2021, |
| Section 1722, which relates to the purpose for the |
14| Oklahoma School for the Blind; removing reference to |
| certain type of instruction; amending 70 O.S. 2021, |
15| Section 1734, which relates to the purpose for the |
| Oklahoma School for the Deaf; removing reference to |
16| certain type of instruction; updating statutory |
| language; providing for codification; providing an |
17| effective date; and declaring an emergency. |
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19| |
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20|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
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21| SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified |
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22|in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 11-103.2b of Title 70, unless |
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23|there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: |
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24| |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 1
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1| A. For the purposes of this section, "social emotional |
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2|learning" means: |
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3| 1. Any evidence-based or non-evidence-based programming that |
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4|promotes school and/or civic engagement and/or builds an equitable |
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5|learning framework that creates or uses evidence-based benchmarks, |
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6|standards, surveys, activities, learning indicators, programs, |
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7|policies, processes, professional development, or assessments that |
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8|address non-cognitive social factors including but not limited to |
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9|self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship |
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10|skills, responsible decision making, and/or other attributes, |
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11|dispositions, social skills, attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, |
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12|feelings, emotions, mindsets, metacognitive learning skills, |
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13|motivation, grit, self-regulation, tenacity, perseverance, |
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14|resilience, and/or intrapersonal resources; |
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15| 2. Any evidence-based or non-evidence-based program, policy, |
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16|process, or procedure that uses school climate surveys to collect |
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17|data from students according to skills that include but are not |
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18|limited to education, confidence, connections, motivation, stress, |
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19|and/or well-being; and |
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20| 3. Any evidence-based or non-evidence-based program, policy, or |
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21|procedure that compiles and/or uses data from school climate surveys |
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22|to develop aligned learning opportunities. |
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23| B. No public school district, public charter school, or public |
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24|virtual charter school shall use federal, state, or private funds to |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 2
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1|promote, purchase, or utilize the concepts of social emotional |
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2|learning for training, instruction, or education of students. |
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3| C. No public school district, public charter school, or public |
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4|virtual charter school teacher, administrator, counselor, employee, |
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5|or volunteer shall use any curricula with content related to social |
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6|emotional learning in the training, instruction, or education of |
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7|students. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to all |
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8|learning resources. |
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9| D. 1. A parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in a |
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10|public school district, public charter school, or public virtual |
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11|charter school who has reason to believe a violation of the |
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12|provisions of this section has occurred shall make a report in good |
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13|faith with the district attorney for the county in which the school |
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14|district or charter school is located or with the district attorney |
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15|for the county in which the virtual charter school student resides. |
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16|The report shall include any written documentation of the potential |
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17|violation including but not limited to a project or class |
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18|assignment. |
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19| 2. A district attorney who receives a report pursuant to the |
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20|provisions of this subsection and determines that a violation of |
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21|this section has occurred shall notify the chairs of the education |
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22|committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives. |
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23| 3. If the chairs of the education committees in the Senate and |
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24|the House of Representatives determine that a violation of this |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 3
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1|section has occurred, they shall notify the State Department of |
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2|Education. The Department shall assess a financial penalty against |
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3|the school district, public charter school, or public virtual |
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4|charter school in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the State |
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5|Aid allocation for the district, charter school, or virtual charter |
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6|school for the proceeding fiscal year. |
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7| SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 11-103.2a, |
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8|is amended to read as follows: |
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9| Section 11-103.2a. A. This act shall be known and may be cited |
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10|as the "Oklahoma Play to Learn Act". |
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11| B. It is the intention of the Oklahoma State Legislature |
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12|through this act the Oklahoma Play to Learn Act to focus on the |
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13|importance of child-centered, play-based learning as the most |
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14|rigorous and most developmentally appropriate way for children in |
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15|the early childhood grade levels to learn literacy, science, |
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16|technology, engineering, art, and math academic concepts. |
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17| C. As used in this section: |
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18| 1. "Child-directed" means interaction in which the child is |
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19|helped to direct and lead the play in any way the child wishes, |
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20|unless there is harmful or destructive activity; |
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21| 2. "Domain" means a specified sphere of activity or knowledge; |
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22| 3. "Early childhood education" means prekindergarten, |
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23|kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade; |
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24| 4. "Play" means the spontaneous activity of children; |
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1| 5. "Play-based learning" means any learning activities that are |
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2|performed by a child for self-amusement that have behavioral, social |
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3|and psychomotor rewards. Play-based learning shall also mean |
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4|activities that are child-directed, joyful, and spontaneous whereby |
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5|the rewards come from within the individual child; |
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6| 6. "Professional development" means any of a wide variety of |
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7|specialized training, formal education, or advanced professional |
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8|learning intended to help administrators, teachers, and other |
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9|educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, |
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10|and effectiveness; |
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11| 7. "Reading for pleasure" means reading that is freely chosen |
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12|or that readers freely and enthusiastically continue after it is |
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13|assigned; and |
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14| 8. "Socialization" means social interaction with others. |
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15| D. Instruction in support of early childhood education |
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16|standards may be engaging and may foster children's development and |
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17|learning in all domains, including physical, social, emotional, |
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18|cognitive, and language. To the best of their ability, educators |
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19|may create a learning environment that facilitates child-directed |
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20|experiences based upon developmentally appropriate early childhood |
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21|practices and intentional, sustained, play-based learning |
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22|opportunities, including, but not limited to, movement, creative |
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23|expression, exploration, socialization, reading for pleasure, art, |
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24|music, and dramatic play. The art instruction may adhere to |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 5
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1|prekindergarten standards for fine arts, which include dance, drama, |
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2|music, and visual arts, as approved by the State Department of |
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3|Education. Educators may develop physical, social, emotional, |
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4|cognitive, and academic learning opportunities in all curricular |
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5|domains, which may include unstructured time for the discovery of |
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6|each child's individual needs, abilities, and talents. |
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7| E. In support of play-based learning in Oklahoma public |
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8|schools, school districts may provide ongoing early childhood |
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9|professional development for early childhood educators and |
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10|administrators, which may include existing early childhood |
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11|professional development programs from the State Department of |
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12|Education. |
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13| F. A school district shall not prohibit a teacher from |
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14|utilizing play-based learning in early childhood education. The |
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15|State Board of Education shall promulgate rules, subject to approval |
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16|by the Legislature, establishing guidelines for professional |
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17|development programs for early childhood educators and |
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18|administrators. |
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19| SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1722, is |
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20|amended to read as follows: |
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21| Section 1722. The purposes of the Oklahoma School for the Blind |
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22|shall be to: |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 6
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1| 1. Provide academic, vocational, social/emotional, and cultural |
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2|instruction as well as independent living skills and transitional |
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3|needs for children who are blind or visually impaired; and |
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4| 2. Serve as a statewide resource center for educational |
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5|services for children who are blind or visually impaired. |
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6| SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1734, is |
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7|amended to read as follows: |
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8| Section 1734. The purposes of the Oklahoma School for the Deaf |
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9|shall be: |
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10| 1. To provide academic, vocational, social/emotional, and |
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11|cultural instruction as well as independent living skills and |
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12|transitional needs for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; and |
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13| 2. To serve as a statewide resource center for educational |
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14|services for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. |
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15| SECTION 5. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023. |
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16| SECTION 6. It being immediately necessary for the preservation |
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17|of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby |
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18|declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and |
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19|be in full force from and after its passage and approval. |
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21| 59-1-1402 EB 1/19/2023 4:08:44 PM |
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Req. No. 1402 Page 7
