Oklahoma Administrative Code, Title 210

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Chapter 1 State Board of Education

Subchapter 1 General Provisions

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:1-1-1 Declaration of Foundational Values

(a) This declaration of foundational values and principles of public education in this state should guide the interpretation of rules adopted by the State Board of Education.

(b) Education is the teaching and instruction of individuals by means of equipping them with the tools of learning that will best orient their whole lives toward the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty; the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and the competence, confidence, and courage to pursue virtue.

(c) Truth, goodness, and beauty are objective moral virtues that can be discovered, known, attained, and never exhausted in our limits as finite creatures. It is mankind's duty to pursue such virtues, and the goal of education is to train a student's desires toward an ever-growing love, appreciation, and capacity for these universal and self-evident truths, whose ultimate author is our Creator, having created all men equal, as echoed in our Declaration of Independence.

(d) Good and evil are real and universal rather than relativistic concepts, and it is incumbent upon every person to strive toward the former and to face the latter.

(e) Academics is the primary purpose of public schools, teachers, and public instruction. It cannot be said that a school is functioning as a school unless its students are made literate, meaning they are able to read; able to write; able to perform arithmetic and fundamental mathematics; able to comprehend literature; able to compose legible and coherent texts; able to politely and specifically discuss thoughts on complex ideas; able to seek out knowledge of a subject independently; able to think critically for themselves; and ultimately able to honestly navigate the world adeptly and independently as educated individuals.

(f) The ultimate responsibility of children's education rests firmly upon the shoulders of their parents, to whom their children were given by their Creator, or upon the shoulders of those guardians who, due to the unforeseen course of life, have taken upon themselves the solemn and sacred task of providing for and protecting the wards in their care. All responsibilities of an educator and servant of public education are responsibilities delegated from these parents and guardians, and such responsibilities are to be taken with full sobriety and respect as is befitting the care and training of all children.

(g) The founding documents of our nation-the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights-and the founding document of our state-the Oklahoma Constitution-confirm these values. The preamble of the founding document of the State of Oklahoma reads: "Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of liberty; to secure just and rightful government; to promote our mutual welfare and happiness, we, the people of the State of Oklahoma, do ordain and establish this Constitution."

(h) Instruction in the public schools must elevate, protect, and celebrate those values and ideals that are commonly expressed by the people of Oklahoma and bind us together so as to preserve and nurture a society of peace, prosperity, and shared community; founded upon our cultural principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and the political conviction and knowledge that hard work conquers all, as enshrined in the Great Seal of the state of Oklahoma.

(i) The State Department of Education is hereby directed to use its full authority to maintain standards and ensure accountability and transparency in such a way that most fully upholds and protects the values of education as stated herein.

(j) All newly appointed members of the State Board of Education shall be required to read this rule and attest in writing to their having read and understood this rule on or before the day of their first Board meeting.

History

• Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 23, August 15, 2024, eff. 8/25/2024

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:1-1-2 Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Administrator" means a duly certified person who devotes a majority of time to service as a superintendent, principal, vice principal, or in any other administrative or supervisory capacity in a school district.

"Nonreemployment" means the nonrenewal of a teacher's contract upon expiration of the contract (end of school term).

"Policies" means principles adopted by the State Board of Education (Board) to help it identify and select actions to guide and determine its present and future decisions.

"Policy of evaluation" means a school district's policy, developed pursuant to 70 O.S. § 6-101.10, describing the total teacher and administrator evaluation system including the purposes of evaluating, the criteria to be used as standards, and the procedure to be followed in implementing the evaluation process.

"Procedures" means actions specified by rules and regulations to be followed in carrying out a policy or law. It may also mean processes used in the implementation of a program.

"Professional development program" means the program mandated by 70 O.S. § 6-194 for the continuous improvement and enrichment of the certified teachers and administrators of this state.

"Revocation" or "revoked" means the invalidation of a teacher or administrator certification by the State Board of Education pursuant to due process procedures provided for by applicable laws and regulations.

"Student teacher" means any student who is enrolled in an institution of higher learning approved by the State Board of Education for teacher training and who is jointly assigned by such institution of higher learning and a school district's board of education to perform practice teaching under the direction of a regularly employed and certified teacher. A student teacher, while serving an internship under the supervision of a certified teacher, shall be accorded the same protection of the laws that accorded the certified teacher.

"Suspension" or "suspended" means temporary discontinuance of a teacher or administrator certification pursuant to 75 O.S. § 314, upon a finding by the State Board of Education that public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action .

"Teacher " means any individual who has been issued a certificate by the Board in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Board, and who falls under the definition of "Teacher" at 70 O.S. § 1-116 .

History

• Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2695, eff 6-25-93; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 65, eff 10-5-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 1315, eff 5-13-96; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 3297, eff 5-5-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2212, eff 6-11-98
• Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 37, Issue 24, September 1, 2020, eff. 9/11/2020

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:1-1-3 Powers, duties, and officers

(a) Agencies of the department. In Oklahoma, the State Department of Education is that department of the State Government in which the agencies created or authorized by the Constitution or Legislature are placed and charged with the responsibility of determining the policies and directing the administration and supervision of the public school system of the state. These agencies are the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and such divisions and positions as may be established by law and by the State Board of Education [70-1-105].

(b) Composition of Board. The State Board of Education is that agency in the State Department of Education which is the governing Board of the State Department of Education and the public school system of the state [70-1-105]. This Board consists of seven members. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction who is elected for a four-year term by the people, serves as a voting member and the President of the Board. The remaining six members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate and serve staggered, overlapping six-year terms. A term expires each year on April 1 [70-3-101].

(c) State Board members also members of State Vo-Tech Board. The State Board of Education members and the Superintendent of Public Instruction are also ex-officio voting members of the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is chair of the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education [70-14-101].

(d) Policies, rules, and regulations of State Vo-Tech Board. Policies, rules, and regulations adopted by the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education are published in a separate manual. This manual entitled, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION is published by and may be obtained from the State Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater.

History

• Amended at 13 Ok Reg 65, eff 10-5-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 1315, eff 5-13-96; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 3297, eff 5-5-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2212, eff 6-11-98