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An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 4359 By: Moore, Archer, and Caldwell
(Chad) of the House
and
Seifried of the Senate
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1210.508, as last amended by Section 10,
Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section
1210.508), which relates to the statewide student
assessment system; requiring assessments to be held
in the last three weeks of each school year; making
testing window inapplicable to certain administered
assessments; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT: Schools
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508, as
last amended by Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 1210.508), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.508. A. 1. By no later than December 31, 2016,
the State Board of Education shall adopt a statewide system of
student assessments in compliance with the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized and amended by P.L.
No. 114-95, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
2. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
pursuant to this subsection shall be aligned with the Oklahoma
Academic Standards as adopted by the Board and which prepare
students for college and careers.
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B. 1. The Board shall issue a request for proposals for the
selection of assessments to be administered to students in grades
three through twelve as a part of the statewide student assessment
system adopted by the Board pursuant to this section.
2. The Board shall adopt assessments from the selected
proposals that were submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this
subsection. The adopted assessments shall be administered by the
Board for a period that is in coordination with the six-year subject
area textbook adoption cycle unless the vendor does not fulfill the
terms of the contract or fails to comply with or violates the terms
of the contract. The Board shall administer the assessments
beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
C. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
pursuant to this section shall include assessments that:
1. Are aligned with the Oklahoma subject matter standards as
adopted by the Board;
2. Provide a measure of comparability among other states;
3. Yield both norm-referenced scores and criterion-referenced
scores;
4. Have a track record of statistical reliability and accuracy;
and
5. For assessments administered in high school, provide a
measure of future academic performance.
D. For the 2016-2017 school year, the Board shall administer
assessments in:
1. English Language Arts or reading and mathematics in grades
three through eight and at least once in high school, during the
grade span of nine through twelve;
2. Science not less than once during each grade span of three
through five, six through nine, and ten through twelve; and
3. United States History not less than once during the grade
span of nine through twelve.
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E. 1. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
student assessment system shall include assessments in:
a. English Language Arts and mathematics in grades three
through eight and at least once in high school, during
the grade span of nine through twelve,
b. science not less than once during each grade span of
three through five, six through nine, and ten through
twelve, and
c. United States History, with an emphasis on civics, not
less than once during the grade span of nine through
twelve.
2. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
student assessment system may include:
a. assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics in
certain grades as determined by the Board, and
b. contingent upon the availability of funds, an
additional nationally recognized college- and career-
readiness assessment or assessments as recommended by
the State Department of Education which will be
administered to students in high school at no cost to
the student.
F. 1. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
2017-2018 school year, each student shall take the assessment or
assessments included in the statewide student assessment system
adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section in
order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma.
All students shall take the assessment or assessments prior to
graduation, unless otherwise exempt by law.
2. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
2017-2018 school year, each student, in addition to taking the
assessment or assessments included in the statewide student
assessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of
this section, shall meet any other high school graduation
requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
Legislature in order to graduate from a public high school with a
standard diploma.
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3. For students who start the ninth grade prior to or during
the 2016-2017 school year, school districts shall adopt a plan that
establishes the assessment or assessments those students are
required to take in order to graduate from a public high school with
a standard diploma. The plan may also include any or all of the
other high school graduation requirements adopted by the Board
pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd
Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature that those students will be
required to meet in order to graduate from a public high school with
a standard diploma.
4. The Board shall promulgate rules to ensure that students who
transfer into an Oklahoma school district from out-of-state after
the junior year of high school shall not be denied the opportunity
to be awarded a standard diploma due to differing testing
requirements.
G. In order to provide an indication of the levels of
competency attained by the student in a permanent record for
potential future employers and institutions of higher education,
school districts shall report on the high school transcript of the
student the highest-achieved score on the assessment or assessments
included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the
Board pursuant to subsection A of this section and any business- and
industry-recognized endorsements attained.
H. Students who do not perform at a proficiency level on
assessments shall be remediated as established in the assessment
requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
Legislature, subject to the availability of funding.
I. 1. All assessments required by this section shall measure
academic competencies in correlation with the subject matter
standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 11-103.6 and 11-
103.6a of this title and referred to as the Oklahoma Academic
Standards. The State Board of Education shall evaluate the subject
matter standards to ensure the competencies reflect high standards,
are specific, well-defined, measurable, and challenging, and will
prepare elementary students for next-grade-level course work and
secondary students for postsecondary studies at institutions of
higher education or technology center schools without the need for
remediation. All subject matter standards shall reflect the goals
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as set forth in Section 11-103.6 of this title and of improving the
state average of college entrance exam scores.
2. The State Department of Education shall annually evaluate
the results of the assessments. The State Board of Education shall
ensure that preliminary results for all statewide assessments are
reported to districts no later than June 20 of each year and are
presented in a manner that yields detailed, diagnostic information
for the purpose of guiding instruction and student remediation. As
improvements are made to the assessments required by this section,
the Board shall seek to increase the depth of knowledge assessed for
each subject. The State Board of Education shall seek to ensure
that data yielded from the assessments required in this section are
utilized at the school district level to inform instruction,
professional development, school improvement, and remediation for
students.
3. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability
shall determine the cut scores for the performance levels on all
statewide assessments. The Commission shall conduct an ongoing
review to compare the statewide assessment content and performance
descriptors with those of other states. Upon receipt of the review,
the Commission may adjust the cut scores as necessary.
4. The State Board of Education, for the purposes of conducting
reliability and validity studies, monitoring contractor adherence to
professionally accepted testing standards, and providing
recommendations for testing program improvement, shall retain the
services of an established, independent agency or organization that
is nationally recognized for its technical expertise in educational
testing but is not engaged in the development of aptitude or
achievement tests for elementary or secondary level grades. These
national assessment experts shall annually conduct studies of the
reliability and validity of the statewide assessments administered
pursuant to this section. Validity studies shall include studies of
decision validity and concurrent validity.
J. 1. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules
setting the assessment window dates for each statewide assessment so
that the assessments are administered according to recommended
testing protocols and so that the assessment results are reported
back to school districts in a timely manner. The vendor shall
provide a final electronic data file of all school site, school
district, and state results to the State Department of Education and
the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability prior to August
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20 of each year. The Department shall forward the final data files
for each school district and each school site in that district to
the school district. The Board shall ensure the contract with the
vendor includes a provision that the vendor report assessment
results directly to the Office of Educational Quality and
Accountability at the same time it is reported to the Board.
2. State, district, and site level results of all assessments
required in this section shall be disaggregated by gender, race,
ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency,
and status as economically disadvantaged, except that such
disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number
of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically
reliable information or the results would reveal personally
identifiable information about an individual student. Each school
site shall notify the student's parents or legal guardians of the
school's performance levels in the Oklahoma School Testing Program
as reported in the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program at the
end of each school year.
K. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for the
field-testing and validation of the statewide assessment system
required in subsection A of this section.
L. The State Board of Education shall develop, administer, and
incorporate as a part of the Oklahoma School Testing Program other
assessment programs or procedures including appropriate
accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities as
required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
20 U.S.C., Section 1400 et seq.
M. For purposes of developing and administering alternate
assessments for students with the most significant cognitive
disabilities, the State Board of Education shall not be subject to
subsections D and E of Section 11-103.6a of this title.
N. By December 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the State
Board of Education shall electronically submit a report to the
Legislature containing data collected for the most recently
completed school year on the number and demographics of students who
were eligible for advanced mathematics courses, the number and
demographics of students who were placed in advanced mathematics
courses, the number and demographics of students placed in
mathematics intervention courses, and the number and demographics of
students not placed in advanced mathematic courses or mathematic
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intervention courses. The report shall include information on the
type and format of advanced mathematic courses and the type and
format of mathematic intervention courses.
O. The State Board of Education shall provide guidance on how
to best develop programming and courses to ensure all impacted
students receive rigorous, academically appropriate instruction in
mathematics.
P. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, and for each
school year thereafter, all assessments required by this section
administered in grades three through eight shall be administered
within the last four (4) weeks of the school year. The testing
window required by this subsection shall not apply to assessments
administered as part of the Oklahoma Alternate Assessment Program
for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Passed the House of Representatives the 5th day of May, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 29th day of April, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________