OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – A bill that removes chronic absenteeism from Oklahoma school report cards and incentivizes schools that exceed the state minimum in instructional time with students passed a key House of Representatives committee.
The House Education Oversight Committee passed House Bill 1412 with a 9-0 vote.
The bill, written by Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, 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.”
HB 1412 requires The State Board of Education to 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.
This measure will account for 10 out of 90 points available on a school’s report card.
“All the data shows that academic achievement improves when students have more time with high quality teachers,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said. “This legislation would reward the many districts who are already going above the state minimum on instructional time and incentivize additional schools to stay in school longer, which is a win for students.”
Senate Bill 711 also makes changes to the state’s A-F school grading system, replacing chronic absenteeism with climate surveys administered to parents, school staff and parents and legal guardians of the school site. The bill makes schools eligible for bonus points based on student attendance rate and improvement in the student attendance rate.
HB 1412 also does the following:
- Adds scoring Silver Level or above on American College Testing (ACT) WorkKeys and military readiness as evidenced by being accepted for enlistment into any branch of the military within the first year after high school graduation or earning a military readiness score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) to the postsecondary measure on state school report cards.
- Clarifies that students who transfer in and out of the school, emigrate to another country and deceased students will not be included in the adjusted cohort graduation rate for school accountability.
The bill will next be considered by the full House on the floor.
