Okla. Admin. Code § 210:35-3-229

Current through Vol. 42, No. 3, October 15, 2024

Section 210:35-3-229 - Applications for participation in the School District Empowerment Program

(a)Application submission. All applications for participation in the School District Empowerment Program shall be submitted by delivering one (1) copy to the Secretary of the State Board of Education and one (1) copy to the State Department of Education Office of Accreditation Standards Division. Within five (5) business days of the date of receipt of the application, the Secretary of the State Board of Education shall mail a written acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the school district contact name and address stated by the school district in the application.

(b)Application review. A School District Empowerment Programteam, consisting of State Department of Education employees, shall be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to review all applications submitted in accordance with this Section. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of receipt of the application, the deregulation team shall review the application and issue a recommendation to the State Board of Education for approval or denial. Applications which fail to meet the requirements set forth in this Section and in 210:35-3-228 will be recommended for denial. The team shall determine:

(1) If the application has addressed all requirements set forth in this Section and 210:35-3-228;

(2) If the statutes or regulations for which a waiver orderegulation is requested are eligible for consideration of waiver or deregulationby the State Board of Education;

(3) If additional data needs to be considered , such as the school district's or site's norm-referenced performance indicators, or such evaluation indicators as compensatory reading, language arts and mathematics;

(4) If any accreditation deficiencies are to be considered and their applicability to the application.

(c)Notice of application recommendation. Within three (3) business days of completion of application review by the deregulation team, the team shall provide writtennotice of its recommendation to the applicant and the State Board of Education that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) The notice shall contain the team's recommendation and shall explain the specific factual and legal grounds for the team's recommendation for approval or disapproval of the application;

(2) The notice shall contain any variances to the application which it will be forwarding to the State Board of Education (e.g., amendments to the application submitted by the school district subsequent to filing or required amendments upon which recommendations from the team are conditioned);

(3) The notice shall contain the date , time and location of the meeting of the State Board of Education at which the application is to be considered for approval or disapproval by the Board; and

(4) The notice shall contain language which notifies the school district that it may, but is not required to designate a representative to appear on its behalf at the board meeting to either support or contest the team's recommendation to the State Board of Education.

(d)Application decisions. The State Board of Education shall approve or disapprove all applications within ninety (90) days of the date of receipt of the application by the Secretary of the State Board of Education. The Secretary of the State Board of Education shall send the school district written notice of the application decision within five (5) business days of the date of the meeting at which the Board considered the application. The written notice shall meet all of the following requirements:

(1) The notice shall contain the specific factual and legal grounds for the Board's approval or disapproval of the application;

(2) The notice shall state the effective date of any approved request set pursuant to (f) of this Section;

(3) The notice shall advise the school district that it may submit a request for reconsideration of the application decision in accordance with the provisions of (e) of this Section; and

(4) In the event of denial of an application for participation in the School District Empowerment Program, the notice shall advise the school district the school district may submit an amended request for participation in the School District Empowerment Program at any time after the denial of the application in accordance with the provisions of 70 O.S. § 3-129.11.

(e)Appeal of denials of applications. A school district may request reconsideration of a denial of an application by delivering a written request for reconsideration to the Secretary of the State Board of Education within ten (10) business days of the date of receipt of the written notice of the Board's decision provided to the district in accordance with (d) of this Section. Within five (5) business days of receipt of the request of reconsideration, the Secretary shall schedule the district's request for reconsideration on the agenda for a board meeting to be held within forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of receipt of the request for reconsideration, and provide written notice of the date, time, and location of the meeting to the district via certified mail.

(f)Effective date of approval. Upon approval by the State Board of Education of an application for participation in the School District Empowerment Program, the Board may declare the approval of the application to take immediate effect, or to take effect on a date designated by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(g)Annual reports. No later than December 15 of each year following the first full year of participation in the School District Empowerment Program approved by the State Board of Education, every school district participating in the School District Empowerment Program shall submit a report to the State Board of Education. The report shall include all information necessary for the State Board of Education to assess the academic achievement and fiscal status of the school district, and shall include the school district's assessment of the impacts and outcomes of the school's participation in the Program for the previous school year and the progress made by the school district during the previous school year in meeting the goals and objectives for participation set forth in the district's plan.

(h)Renewal of a plan of participation in the School District Empowerment Program. Prior to the beginning of the third year, a school district may apply for renewal of an approved plan of participation in the School District Empowerment Program by submitting an application for renewal of the plan. The application for renewal shall be submitted in accordance with the requirements for submission of an application as set forth in (a) of this Section. In addition to the application criteria set forth in 210:35-3-228, the deregulation team shall consider the annual reports provided by the school district as required by (g) of this Section.

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:35-3-229

Added at 8 Ok Reg 2159, eff 5-17-91 (emergency); Added at 9 Ok Reg 2371, eff 7-13-92

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 31, Issue 24, September 2, 2014, eff. 9/12/2014