OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – A bill that seeks to eliminate chronic absenteeism from the grading of Oklahoma schools unanimously passed the Oklahoma State Senate on Monday.
Senate Bill 711 passed the Senate with a 47-0 vote.
SB 711, written by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, makes changes to the state’s A-F grading system for schools, replacing chronic absenteeism with climate surveys administered to parents, school staff and parents and legal guardians of students enrolled at the school.
The bill makes schools eligible for bonus points based on student attendance rate and improvement in the student attendance rate.
“We do have a federal requirement under ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) to have a sixth measurement that’s included in A-F. There’s a section about time in the seat and time in schools,” Pugh said. “I’ve had discussions with the House about perhaps adding that as bonus points, but there’s also the possibility of having that as our sixth metric; but that language has to be worked out.”
House Bill 1412 also removes chronic absenteeism from school report cards. SB 711 and HB 1412 are mirror bills.
HB 1412, written by Johns and Pugh, strikes chronic absenteeism as a measure on state school report cards, replacing it with a measure of instructional time for schools.
The state currently requires schools to go at least 165 days and 1080 hours per year. The new instructional time measure awards schools additional points on their report card if they surpass those minimum days and hours, up to 180 days and 1200 hours.
“We can all agree that chronic absenteeism has not been a good measure for accountability of schools,” Johns said. “We have worked to find a new measurement that is something within the district’s control and can provide an incentive for schools to get students in front of our state’s amazing teachers even more.”
The bills amend the state plan in accordance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements to replace the chronic absenteeism measure with the instructional time measure. The State Board of Education will have to submit the proposed amendment to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) no later than Aug. 1, 2025.
The grade for an elementary, middle and high school site would include a measure of instructional time in lieu of chronic absenteeism, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, if the USDE approves the amended state plan.
The measures will account for 10 out of 90 points available on a school’s report card.
