Schools; requiring certain amount of funds to be allocated from the School Security Revolving Fund, subject to availability. Effective date. Emergency.
SB1189 amends Oklahoma’s School Security Revolving Fund law to remove the existing expenditure limitation and to require a set allocation from the fund each fiscal year, subject to available funding. Beginning July 1, 2026, the bill directs that up to $50 million per fiscal year be allocated from the fund and divided equally among all public school districts in the state for three fiscal years. The bill also keeps the fund’s existing purposes, including school resource officers and physical security improvements such as cameras, gates, lighting, locks, doors, windows, geofencing, ballistic storm shelters, and mobile panic alert systems.
The measure is framed as an emergency and would take effect July 1, 2026. It preserves the revolving fund as a continuing fund not subject to fiscal year limitations and maintains the rule that these monies supplement, rather than replace, existing school security funding. In practical terms, the bill creates a more predictable, statewide distribution formula for school security dollars and expands the amount that can be spent annually if funding is available.
SB1189 changes 70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 5-148.2, governing the School Security Revolving Fund. It removes the prior cap on expenditures and replaces it with a directive to allocate up to $50 million annually, divided equally among public school districts for three fiscal years beginning July 1, 2026, subject to available funding. The bill affects the State Department of Education, the State Treasurer, and all public school districts, and it continues to authorize spending on school security personnel and infrastructure improvements.
The bill appears to have broad support, especially around the goal of improving school safety and ensuring stable funding for security measures. It passed the Senate Education Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senate third reading with comfortable margins, and it also received unanimous support in the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee. The committee transcript shows no substantive debate at final Senate passage, suggesting the measure was largely noncontroversial among supporters.
The main policy issue is not whether school security should be funded, but how the money should be distributed and whether the state should commit to a fixed annual allocation. The bill’s equal distribution formula may be viewed as beneficial for fairness and predictability, but it could also be questioned by those who prefer funding targeted to need, enrollment, or risk factors. The removal of the expenditure limitation and the commitment to a large annual allocation may also raise budgetary concerns, though the available vote history suggests little organized opposition in committee or on the floor.