2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 70. Schools › §70-8-101.2. Transfer of student from residential school district.

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, on and after January 1, 2022, the transfer of a student from the district in which the student resides to another school district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is entitled to pursue shall be granted at any time in the year unless the number of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school site within a school district. If the capacity of a grade level for each school site within a school district is insufficient to enroll all eligible students, the school district shall select transfer students in the order in which the district received the student transfer applications. The capacity of a school district shall be determined by the school district board of education based on its policy adopted pursuant to subsection B of this section. A student may be granted a one-year transfer and may automatically continue to attend the school each school year to which the student transferred with the approval of the receiving district. At the end of each school year, a school district may deny continued transfer of the student for the reasons outlined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection B of this section. Any brother or sister of a student who transfers may attend the school district to which the student transferred, if the school district policy gives preference to sibling transfers regardless of capacity, and the brother or sister of the transferred student does not meet a basis for denial as outlined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection B of this section. Any child in the custody of the Department of Human Services in foster care who is living in the home of a student who transfers may attend the school district to which the student transferred. Except for a child in the custody of the Department of Human Services in foster care, a transfer student shall not transfer more than two (2) times per school year to one or more school districts in which the student does not reside, provided that the student may always reenroll at any time in his or her school district of residence. At the discretion of the receiving district, a student who has attended a school district as a resident student for at least three (3) years prior to becoming eligible to apply as a transfer student may be allowed to transfer to the school district regardless of capacity.
If the grade a student is entitled to pursue is not offered in the district where the student resides, the transfer shall be automatically approved.
B. Each school district board of education shall adopt a policy to determine the number of transfer students the school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within a school district no later than January 1, 2022. The policy may include:
1. The acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this title as a basis for denial of a transfer; and
2. A history of absences as a basis for denial of a transfer. For the purposes of this section, "history of absences" means ten or more absences in one semester that are not excused for the reasons provided for in subsection B of Section 10-105 of this title or due to illness.
The policy shall be publicly posted on the school district website.
C. By the first day of January, April, July and October, the school district board of education shall establish the number of transfer students the school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within a school district.
D. After establishing the number of transfer students the school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within a school district, the board of education shall:
1. Publish in a prominent place on the school district website the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school site within a school district which the school district has the capacity to accept; and
2. Report to the State Department of Education the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school site within a school district which the school district has the capacity to accept.
E. If a transfer request is denied by the school district, the parent of the student may appeal the denial within ten (10) days of notification of the denial to the receiving school district board of education. The receiving school district board of education shall consider the appeal at its next regularly scheduled board meeting. If the receiving school district board of education denies the appeal, the parent of the student may appeal the denial within ten (10) days of notification of the appeal denial to the State Board of Education. The parent shall submit to the State Board of Education and the superintendent of the receiving school a notice of appeal on a form prescribed by the State Board of Education. The appeal shall be considered by the State Board of Education at its next regularly scheduled meeting, where the parent and a representative from the receiving school district may address the Board. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to establish the appeals process authorized by this subsection.
F. Each school district board of education shall submit to the State Department of Education the number of student transfers approved and denied and whether each denial was based on capacity, acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this title or a history of absences as provided for in paragraph 2 of subsection B of this section. The State Department of Education shall publish the data on its website and make the data available to the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability.
G. Each year, the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability shall randomly select ten percent (10%) of the school districts in the state and conduct an audit of each district's approved and denied transfers based on the provisions of the policies adopted by the respective school district board of education. If the Office finds inaccurate reporting of capacity levels by a school district, the Office shall set the capacity for the school district.
Added by Laws 1999, c. 320, § 20, eff. July 1, 1999. Amended by Laws 2000, c. 232, § 8, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2015, c. 363, § 2, eff. July 1, 2015; Laws 2021, c. 6, § 1, emerg. eff. March 31, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 193, § 1, emerg. eff. May 4, 2022.