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House Advances New Charter School Accountability Bill, Passes Funding Equalization Measure

Oklahoma House of Representatives

The Oklahoma House on Monday advanced major pieces of legislation dealing with charter schools.

House Bill 2966 would implement accountability measures like requiring all state funds to remain public, clarifying that charter school boards are subject to state open meeting and records laws, and mandating regular audits. Rep. Sheila Dills (R-Tulsa) said it’s part of the legislature’s response to a multicounty grand jury interim report on Epic Charter Schools, which said while its inquiry is ongoing, such changes were needed before Epic gets more funding July 1.

"It’s not about Epic. What — the situation with Epic helped us identify loopholes in our laws," Dills said.

The bill also does things like prohibit management organizations from controlling charter school boards and ban boards from commingling financial records of multiple schools. 

"Due to ongoing, high-profile investigations, Oklahoma charter schools are covered in a cloud of skepticism, and they are ready for clarity in our laws, investigations to end and changes to occur," Dills said.

HB2966 passed 81–17, with all the opposing votes coming from Republican members. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The House also passed Senate Bill 229, which creates a building fund grant program to help underfunded districts. Rep. Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) said it will help brick-and-mortar charter schools, but traditional districts also stand to benefit.

"What we’re talking about here is a school district like Lawton, who’s been chronically underfunded for decades just because the property values within that school district are substantially less than when you look around the state. And so, what this would mean for Lawton Public Schools is $1.8 million every year. I mean, that is a really, really big deal," Hilbert said.

SB229 could also offer a different end to a lawsuit the State Board of Education sought to settle in March. The board voted to equalize charter and traditional public school funding through the statewide formula. The board is set to consider rescinding that vote Monday night.

The Redbud Grant Program set up by SB229 establishes a medical marijuana tax apportionment to supplement the state's public school building fund.

"Now, is there a possibility that medical marijuana revenue will not be sufficient to fill this? I mean, I guess technically it’s possible, but every month it seems, the amount of revenue coming into [the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority] from medical marijuana excise tax just keeps going higher and higher," Hilbert said, drawing laughs from his House colleagues.

SB229 does not offer building fund dollars to virtual charter schools and sets limits on blended options that can qualify. Hilbert said there are currently no qualifying programs.

SB229 passed the House 97–1, with Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa) the lone vote against it. Waldron said he had questions about offering charter schools additional funding without increasing their oversight accordingly, pointing out grants could potentially be used for management companies to buy and renovate administration buildings.

Waldron did, however, call the bill "well-intentioned and probably the right thing to do."

SB229 has been sent to the governor.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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