2023 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 70. Schools
§70-1-111. School day - Six hours - Exceptions.

A. Except as otherwise provided for by law, a school day shall consist of not less than six (6) hours devoted to school activities. A district board of education may elect to extend the length of one (1) or more school days to more than six (6) hours and reduce the number of school days as long as the total amount of classroom instruction time is not less than one thousand eighty (1,080) hours per year as required pursuant to Section 1-109 of this title.

B. A school day for nursery, early childhood education, kindergarten, and alternative education programs shall be as otherwise defined by law or as defined by the State Board of Education. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, not more than one (1) school day shall be counted for attendance purposes in any twenty-four-hour period. Two (2) school days, each consisting of not less than six (6) hours, may be counted for attendance purposes in any twenty-four-hour period only if one of the school days is for the purpose of parent-teacher conferences held as provided for in Section 1-109 of this title.

C. Students absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled may be considered as being in attendance if the reason for such absence is to participate in scheduled school activities under the direction and supervision of a regular member of the faculty or to participate in an online course approved by the district board of education. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to provide for the implementation of supplemental online courses which shall include but not be limited to provisions addressing the following:

1. Criteria for student admissions eligibility;

2. A student admission process administered through the district of residence, which provides the ability for the student to enroll in individual courses;

3. A process by which students are not denied the opportunity to enroll in educationally appropriate courses by school districts. For the purposes of this section, "educationally appropriate" means any instruction that is not substantially a repeat of a course or portion of a course that the student has successfully completed, regardless of the grade of the student, and regardless of whether a course is similar to or identical to the instruction that is currently offered in the school district;

4. Creation of a system which provides ongoing enrollment access for students throughout the school year;

5. A grace period of fifteen (15) calendar days from the first day of an online course for student withdrawal from an online course without academic penalty;

6. Mastery of competencies for course completion rather than Carnegie units;

7. Student participation in extracurricular activities in accordance with school district eligibility rules and policies and any rules and policies of a private organization or association which provides the coordination, supervision, and regulation of the interscholastic activities and contests of schools;

8. Parent authorization for release of state test results to online course providers, on a form developed by the State Department of Education; and

9. A review process to identify and certify online course providers and a uniform payment processing system.

D. Each district board of education shall adopt policies and procedures that conform to rules for online courses as adopted by the State Board. Such policies shall include criteria for approval of the course, the appropriateness of the course for a particular student, authorization for full-time students to enroll in online courses, and establishing fees or charges. No district shall be liable for payment of any fees or charges for any online course for a student who has not complied with the district's policies and procedures. School districts shall not deny students the opportunity to enroll in educationally appropriate courses and shall provide an admissions process which includes input from the student, the parent or legal guardian of the student, and school faculty.

E. Districts shall require students enrolled in online courses to participate in the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act. Students participating in online courses from a remote site will be responsible for providing their own equipment and Internet access, unless the district chooses to provide the equipment. Credit may not be granted for such courses except upon approval of the State Board of Education and the district board of education.

F. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a student who transfers from the district in which the student resides to another school district pursuant to the Education Open Transfer Act from enrolling in a full-time virtual education program offered by the receiving school district. A student who enrolls pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of Section 8-103.2 of this title. The board of education of a school district with a full-time virtual education program shall adopt a policy to determine the number of transfer students the program has the capacity to accept in each grade level, as provided for in Section 8-101.2 of this title.

G. Districts may provide students with opportunities for blended instruction. "Blended instruction" shall mean a combination of brick-and-mortar learning and virtual learning environments that includes elements of a student's control over place, pace, and path of learning. A student in blended instruction may work on virtual courses at home or at school in a blended flex lab but shall participate in at least one unit or set of competencies as defined by Section 11-103.6 of this title at a physical school building in a traditional classroom setting which is the academic equivalent of one (1) hour per day for each instructional day in the school year as defined by Section 1-109 of this title.

H. The school day for kindergarten may consist of six (6) hours devoted to school activities.

Added by Laws 1971, c. 281, § 1-111, eff. July 2, 1971. Amended by Laws 1989, c. 335, § 5, eff. July 1, 1989; Laws 1989, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 2, § 32, emerg. eff. April 25, 1990; Laws 1992, c. 324, § 5, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1994, c. 290, § 68, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 2001, c. 427, § 1, emerg. eff. June 5, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 453, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 169, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2004, c. 5, § 81, emerg. eff. March 1, 2004; Laws 2009, c. 103, § 2, emerg. eff. April 24, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 352, § 1; Laws 2011, c. 368, § 1, eff. July 1, 2011; Laws 2012, c. 24, § 1, eff. July 1, 2012; Laws 2013, c. 203, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2016, c. 135, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2021, c. 563, § 4, emerg. eff. May 28, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 153, § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.

NOTE: Laws 2003, c. 40, § 1 repealed by Laws 2004, c. 5, § 82, emerg. eff. March 1, 2004.