Schools; modifying calculation of the certain adjusted cohort graduation rates; modifying calculation of Oklahoma School Testing Program annual reports. Effective date. Emergency.
SB 711 revises Oklahoma’s school accountability and graduation-rate reporting laws. It changes how the State Board of Education calculates four-year and extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rates, including excluding twelfth-grade transfer students who enroll after October 1 from the graduation-rate calculation and clarifying how transfers, emigrants, and deceased students are removed from a cohort. The bill also updates statutory references to federal education law and aligns terminology with the Every Student Succeeds Act.
The bill further changes the annual school report card system used for the Oklahoma School Testing Program. It removes chronic absenteeism as a statewide measure of school quality or student success, prohibits it from being included in certain accountability measures, and directs the State Board of Education to amend the state’s ESSA plan accordingly. It also revises the point structure for elementary, middle, and high school grades, expands the list of postsecondary opportunities that can earn points, and adds bonus points for schools that provide extra in-person classroom instruction and show improvement in chronic absenteeism. The bill requires the Department of Education to continue issuing annual school report cards to parents and the public and directs the Board to submit a federal plan amendment by August 1, 2025.
In practical terms, SB 711 affects how school districts, charter schools, parents, and state education officials measure and report school performance. It changes which students count in graduation statistics, alters the weighting of accountability indicators, and may influence school grades, public reporting, and any performance-based funding decisions tied to school performance. The bill also updates reporting and rulemaking duties for the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history is strongly supportive. The bill passed the Senate and House with large margins, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee and floor votes in the Senate and broad bipartisan support in the House. The lack of recorded committee discussion suggests little public controversy in the available materials, and the emergency clause indicates lawmakers viewed the changes as needing prompt implementation.
The main points of contention appear to be limited and technical rather than ideological. The most notable policy choice is the removal of chronic absenteeism from the statewide accountability measure, even though the bill still allows bonus points for improvement in absenteeism and includes absenteeism in some school-grade calculations. Another potential issue is the exclusion of late-transfer twelfth graders from graduation-rate calculations, which could affect reported outcomes for some schools. Overall, however, the bill appears to have been treated as a technical accountability update rather than a major disputed education policy change.
SB 711 amends two sections of Oklahoma education law: the statute governing high school graduation-rate calculations and the statute governing annual school accountability reports. It changes cohort definitions, reporting rules, and the weighting of accountability indicators, while also directing the State Board of Education to revise the state ESSA plan and adopt implementing rules. The bill affects how graduation rates and school grades are calculated for school sites and districts, and it may influence public reporting, accountability determinations, and any related performance-based policy or funding decisions.
The bill appears to have been received positively and with little opposition. It advanced with strong bipartisan support in both chambers, including unanimous Senate committee approval, unanimous Senate third reading, and large House majorities. The voting pattern suggests lawmakers broadly agreed with the accountability and reporting revisions, and there is no committee transcript in the provided materials indicating significant debate.
The main substantive issue is the bill’s treatment of chronic absenteeism and graduation-rate calculations. SB 711 removes chronic absenteeism as a statewide measure of school quality or student success, but still allows it to factor into some school-grade points and bonus points, which could be seen as inconsistent or as a compromise. Another possible concern is the exclusion of twelfth-grade students who transfer in after October 1 from graduation-rate calculations, which may affect schools serving mobile student populations. These are technical accountability concerns rather than clearly partisan disputes, and the available vote history shows limited resistance.