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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1598 By: McIntosh
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to state government; amending 53 O.S.
2021, Sections 1.18, 171, and 201C, as amended by
Section 1, Chapter 213, O.S.L. 2022 (53 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 201C), which relate to the dispensation
of funds; removing certain prohibition on use of
funds; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-136, as
amended by Section 7, Chapter 323, O.S.L. 2023 (70
O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 3-136), which relates to
charter schools; removing certain requirement on
nonsectarian charter schools; updating statutory
language; updating statutory references; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 53 O.S. 2021, Section 1.18, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1.18. The Oklahoma Historical Society shall dispense
funds for historical purposes only as defined provided by paragraph
6 of Section 6 of this act the Oklahoma Historical Preservation Act.
The Oklahoma Historical Society may enter into contracts with other
state agencies or nonprofit corporations holding a valid exemption
from taxation issued pursuant to Section 501(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and listed as an exempt
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organization in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, of the United States, as amended, or with individuals or
associations pursuant to statutory requirements.
Funds shall not be applied, donated or used directly or
indirectly for the use, benefit or support of any sect, church,
denomination or system of religion, or for the use, benefit or
support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious
teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.
The Oklahoma Historical Society shall provide opportunity to
organizations to submit written applications to be received and
acted upon by the Oklahoma Historical Society. At the conclusion of
the contract, each state agency, nonprofit corporation, individual,
or association shall provide the Oklahoma Historical Society with
proof of fulfillment of the contract in proper order and must shall
be affirmed on the proper form, provided by the Oklahoma Historical
Society, by the managing officers of the state agency, nonprofit
group, association, or individual making the contract.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 53 O.S. 2021, Section 171, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 171. The Oklahoma Arts Council shall dispense funds for
arts purposes only. The Oklahoma Arts Council shall enter into
contracts with other state agencies or nonprofit corporations
holding a valid exemption from taxation issued pursuant to Section
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, 1954 of 1986, as amended, and
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listed as an exempt organization in Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, 1954, of the United States of 1986, as
amended. These nonprofit corporations must demonstrate that the
goods and services provided meet the intent of the state policy
provided in this act Section 162 of this title.
Funds shall not be applied, donated or used directly or
indirectly for the use, benefit or support of any sect, church,
denomination or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or
support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious
teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.
The Oklahoma Arts Council shall provide opportunity, by public
notices, to all organizations interested in providing these goods
and services, who will submit written applications to be received
and acted upon by the Oklahoma Arts Council. At the conclusion of
the contract, each state agency or nonprofit corporation shall
provide the Oklahoma Arts Council with proof of fulfillment of the
contract in proper order and must shall be affirmed on the proper
form, provided by the Oklahoma Arts Council, by the managing
officers of the state agency or nonprofit group making the contract.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 53 O.S. 2021, Section 201C, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 213, O.S.L. 2022 (53 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 201C), is amended to read as follows:
Section 201C. A. The J.M. Davis Memorial Commission shall have
power and authority to:
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1. Appoint and to fix the salaries and duties of the
professional and administrative employees and curators as may be
necessary to carry out the purpose of this act 201A et seq. of this
title;
2. Appoint an executive director who shall serve at the
pleasure of the Commission. A member of the Commission may be
appointed as the executive director; provided, if a member of the
Commission is so appointed, the member shall resign as a member of
the Commission and the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as
are original appointments;
3. Provide for the proper housing, protection and display of
the J.M. Davis Gun Collection and other historical artifacts; and
4. Enter into contracts for services to be performed in
furtherance of the authorized activities and duties of the J.M.
Davis Memorial Commission with other state agencies or nonprofit
corporations holding a valid exemption from taxation issued pursuant
to Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
and listed as an exempt organization in Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or with individuals or
associations pursuant to statutory requirements.
B. Funds of the J.M. Davis Memorial Commission shall not be
applied, donated, or used directly or indirectly for the use,
benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of
religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest,
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preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or
sectarian institution as such. The J.M. Davis Memorial Commission
shall provide opportunity to organizations to submit written
applications to be received and acted upon by the J.M. Davis
Memorial Commission. At the conclusion of the contract, each state
agency, nonprofit corporation, individual, or association shall
provide the J.M. Davis Memorial Commission with proof of fulfillment
of the contract in proper order and must shall be affirmed on the
proper form, provided by the J.M. Davis Memorial Commission, by the
managing officers of the state agency, nonprofit group, association,
or individual making the contract.
C. Any agreements or contracts providing for the employment of
persons or to purchase property or equipment or the construction of
any facilities shall not be authorized unless necessary funds have
been appropriated by the Legislature or have been otherwise obtained
from gifts, grants or contributions actually received by the
Commission.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-136, as
amended by Section 7, Chapter 323, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 3-136), is amended to read as follows:
Section 3-136. A. Beginning July 1, 2024, a written contract
entered into between the Statewide Charter School Board and the
governing board of a charter school or statewide virtual charter
school or a written contract entered into between a sponsor and the
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governing board of a charter school shall ensure compliance with the
following:
1. Except as provided for in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act,
a charter school and virtual charter school shall be exempt from all
statutes and rules relating to schools, boards of education, and
school districts; provided, however, a charter school or virtual
charter school shall comply with all federal regulations and state
and local rules and statutes relating to health, safety, civil
rights, and insurance. By January 1, 2000, the State Department of
Education shall prepare a list of relevant rules and statutes which
a charter school and virtual charter school must shall comply with
as required by this paragraph and shall annually provide an update
to the list;
2. A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs,
admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations.
A sponsor may not authorize a charter school or program that is
affiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or religious
institution;
3. The charter contract shall provide a description of the
educational program to be offered. A charter school or virtual
charter school may provide a comprehensive program of instruction
for a prekindergarten program, a kindergarten program, or any grade
between grades one and twelve. Instruction may be provided to all
persons between four (4) and twenty-one (21) years of age. A
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charter school or virtual charter school may offer a curriculum
which emphasizes a specific learning philosophy or style or certain
subject areas such as mathematics, science, fine arts, performance
arts, or foreign language. The charter of a charter school or
virtual charter school which offers grades nine through twelve shall
specifically address whether the charter school or virtual charter
school will comply with the graduation requirements established in
Section 11-103.6 of this title. No charter school shall be
chartered for the purpose of offering a curriculum for deaf or blind
students that is the same or similar to the curriculum being
provided by or for educating deaf or blind students that are being
served by the Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School
for the Deaf;
4. 3. A charter school or virtual charter school shall
participate in the testing as required by the Oklahoma School
Testing Program Act and the reporting of test results as is required
of a school district. A charter school or virtual charter school
shall also provide any necessary data to the Office of
Accountability within the State Department of Education;
5. 4. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be
subject to the same reporting requirements, financial audits, audit
procedures, and audit requirements as a school district. The State
Department of Education or State Auditor and Inspector may conduct
financial, program, or compliance audits. The Statewide Charter
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School Board may request that the State Auditor and Inspector
conduct a financial, program, or compliance audit for any charter
school or virtual charter school it oversees. A charter school or
virtual charter school shall use the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System
to report financial transactions to the State Department of
Education. The charter school or virtual charter school shall be
subject to the limitations on spending, including provisions of the
Oklahoma Constitution, for any funds received from the state, either
through the State Department of Education or other sources;
6. 5. A charter school or virtual charter school shall comply
with all federal and state laws relating to the education of
children with disabilities in the same manner as a school district;
7. 6. A charter school or virtual charter school shall provide
for a governing board for the school which shall be responsible for
the policies and operational decisions of the charter school or
virtual charter school. All of the charter school or virtual
charter school governing board members shall be residents of this
state and shall meet no fewer than ten (10) months of the year in a
public meeting within the boundaries of the school district in which
the charter school is located or within this state if the governing
board oversees multiple charter schools in this state or oversees a
virtual charter school. The governing board of a charter school or
virtual charter school shall be subject to the same conflict of
interest requirements as a member of a school district board of
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education including but not limited to Sections 5-113 and 5-124 of
this title. Members appointed to the governing board of a charter
school or virtual charter school shall be subject to the same
instruction and continuing education requirements as a member of a
school district board of education and pursuant to Section 5-110 of
this title shall complete twelve (12) hours of instruction within
fifteen (15) months of appointment to the governing board and
pursuant to Section 5-110.1 of this title shall attend continuing
education;
8. 7. A charter school or virtual charter school shall not be
used as a method of generating revenue for students who are being
home schooled and are not being educated at an organized charter
school site or by a virtual charter school;
9. 8. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be as
equally free and open to all students as traditional public schools
and shall not charge tuition or fees;
10. 9. A charter school or virtual charter school shall provide
instruction each year for at least the number of days or hours
required in Section 1-109 of this title;
11. 10. A charter school or virtual charter school shall comply
with the student suspension requirements provided for in Section 24-
101.3 of this title;
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12. 11. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be
considered a school district for purposes of tort liability under
The Governmental Tort Claims Act;
13. 12. Employees of a charter school or virtual charter school
may participate as members of the Teachers’ Retirement System of
Oklahoma in accordance with applicable statutes and rules if
otherwise allowed pursuant to law;
14. 13. A charter school or virtual charter school may
participate in all health and related insurance programs available
to employees of a public school district;
15. 14. A charter school or virtual charter school and their
respective governing boards shall comply with the Oklahoma Open
Meeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
16. 15. The governing board of a charter school or virtual
charter school shall notify the sponsor within ten (10) business
days in the instance of any significant adverse actions, material
findings of noncompliance, or pending actions, claims, or
proceedings in this state relating to the charter school, the
virtual charter school, or an educational management organization
with which the charter school or virtual charter school has a
contract;
17. 16. No later than September 1 each year, the governing
board of each charter school or virtual charter school formed
pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall prepare a
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statement of actual income and expenditures for the charter school
or virtual charter school for the fiscal year that ended on the
preceding June 30, in a manner compliant with Section 5-135 of this
title. The statement of expenditures shall include functional
categories as defined in rules adopted by the State Board of
Education to implement the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System pursuant
to Section 5-145 of this title. Charter schools and virtual charter
schools shall not be permitted to submit estimates of expenditures
or prorated amounts to fulfill the requirements of this paragraph;
and
18. 17. A charter school or virtual charter school contract
shall include performance provisions based on a performance
framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational
performance indicators that shall be used by charter school and
virtual charter school sponsors to evaluate their respective
schools. The sponsor may develop a separate performance framework
to evaluate a charter school or virtual charter school that has been
designated by the State Department of Education as implementing an
alternative education program throughout the school. The sponsor
shall require a charter school or virtual charter school to submit
the data required in this subsection in the identical format that is
required by the State Department of Education of all public schools
in order to avoid duplicative administrative efforts or allow a
charter school or virtual charter school to provide permission to
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the Department to share all required data with the Board. The
performance framework shall serve as the minimum requirement for
charter school and virtual charter school performance evaluation and
shall include, but not be limited to, the following indicators:
a. student academic proficiency,
b. student academic growth,
c. achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth
between major student subgroups,
d. student attendance,
e. recurrent enrollment from year to year as determined
by the methodology used for public schools in
Oklahoma,
f. in the case of high schools, graduation rates as
determined by the methodology used for public schools
in Oklahoma,
g. in the case of high schools, postsecondary readiness,
h. financial performance and sustainability and
compliance with state and Internal Revenue Service
financial reporting requirements,
i. audit findings or deficiencies,
j. accreditation and timely reporting,
k. governing board performance and stewardship including
compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and
terms of the charter contract, and
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l. mobility of student population for the virtual charter
school framework.
The sponsor including the Statewide Charter School Board shall
annually evaluate its charter schools or virtual charter schools
according to the performance framework. The results of the
evaluation shall be presented to the governing board of the charter
school or virtual charter school and the governing board of the
charter school sponsor in an open meeting.
B. An applicant or the governing board of an applicant may hold
one or more charter contracts. Each charter school or virtual
charter school that is part of a charter contract shall be separate
and distinct from any other charter school or virtual charter
school. For the purposes of this subsection, “separate and
distinct” shall mean that a charter school or virtual charter school
governing board with oversight of more than one charter school or
virtual charter school shall not combine accounting, budgeting,
recordkeeping, admissions, employment, or policies and operational
decisions of the charter schools or virtual charter schools it
oversees.
C. The charter contract of a charter school or virtual charter
school shall include a description of the personnel policies,
personnel qualifications, and method of school governance. A
charter school or virtual charter school shall not enter into an
employment contract with any teacher or other personnel until a
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contract has been executed with its sponsor. The employment
contract shall set forth the personnel policies of the charter
school or virtual charter school including, but not limited to,
policies related to certification, professional development,
evaluation, suspension, dismissal and nonreemployment, sick leave,
personal business leave, emergency leave, and family and medical
leave. The contract shall also specifically set forth the salary,
hours, fringe benefits, and work conditions. The contract may
provide for employer-employee bargaining, but the charter school or
virtual charter school shall not be required to comply with the
provisions of Sections 509.1 through 509.10 of this title.
Upon contracting with any teacher or other personnel, the
governing board of a charter school or virtual charter school shall,
in writing, disclose employment rights of the employees in the event
the charter school or virtual charter school closes or the charter
contract is not renewed.
No charter school or virtual charter school may begin serving
students without a contract executed in accordance with the
provisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act and approved in an
open meeting of the governing board of the sponsor or the Statewide
Charter School Board. The governing board of the sponsor or the
Statewide Charter School Board may establish reasonable preopening
requirements or conditions to monitor the start-up progress of newly
approved charter schools or virtual charter schools and ensure that
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each brick-and-mortar school is prepared to open smoothly on the
date agreed and to ensure that each school meets all building,
health, safety, insurance, and other legal requirements for the
opening of a school.
D. The charter of a charter school or virtual charter school
may be amended at the request of the governing board of the charter
school or virtual charter school and upon the approval of the
sponsor.
E. A charter school or virtual charter school may enter into
contracts and sue and be sued.
F. The governing board of a charter school or virtual charter
school shall not levy taxes or issue bonds. A school district that
proposes a bond shall include any charter school established
pursuant to subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title and located
within the school district in planning conversations regarding the
bond.
G. The charter of a charter school or virtual charter school
shall include a provision specifying the method or methods to be
employed for disposing of real and personal property acquired by the
charter school or virtual charter school upon expiration or
termination of the charter or failure of the charter school or
virtual charter school to continue operations. Except as otherwise
provided, any real or personal property purchased with state or
local funds shall be retained by the sponsor. If a charter school
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that was previously sponsored by the board of education of a school
district continues operation within the school district under a new
charter sponsored by an entity authorized pursuant to Section 3-132
of this title, the charter school may retain any personal property
purchased with state or local funds for use in the operation of the
charter school until termination of the new charter or failure of
the charter school to continue operations.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-2544 MSBB 1/13/2026 11:31:23 AM