Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-6-101.3: Definitions

As used in Section 6-101 et seq. of this title:

1. "Administrator" means a duly certified person who devotes a

majority of time to service as a superintendent, elementary

superintendent, principal, supervisor, vice principal or in any

other administrative or supervisory capacity in the school district;

2. "Dismissal" means the discontinuance of the teaching service

of an administrator or teacher during the term of a written

contract, as provided by law;

3. "Nonreemployment" means the nonrenewal of the contract of an

administrator or teacher upon expiration of the contract;

4. "Career teacher" means a teacher who:

a. is employed by a school district prior to the 2017-

2018 school year and has completed three (3) or more

consecutive complete school years as a teacher in one

school district under a written continuing or

temporary teaching contract, or

b. is employed for the first time by a school district

under a written continuing or temporary teaching

contract during the 2017-2018 school year and

thereafter:

(1) has completed three (3) consecutive complete

school years as a teacher in one school district

under a written continuing or temporary teaching

contract and has achieved a district evaluation

rating of "superior" as measured pursuant to the

TLE as set forth in Section 6-101.16 of this

title for at least two (2) of the three (3)

school years,

(2) has completed four (4) consecutive complete

school years as a teacher in one school district

under a written continuing or temporary teaching

contract, has averaged a district evaluation

rating of at least "effective" as measured

pursuant to the TLE for the four-year period, and

has received district evaluation ratings of at

least "effective" for the last two (2) years of

the four-year period, or

(3) has completed four (4) or more consecutive

complete school years in one school district

under a written continuing or temporary teaching

contract and has not met the requirements of

subparagraph a or b of this paragraph, only if

the principal of the school at which the teacher

is employed submits a petition to the

superintendent of the school district requesting

that the teacher be granted career status, the

superintendent agrees with the petition, and the

school district board of education approves the

petition. The principal shall specify in the

petition the underlying facts supporting the

granting of career status to the teacher;

5. "Teacher hearing" means the hearing before a school district

board of education after a recommendation for dismissal or

nonreemployment of a teacher has been made but before any final

action is taken on the recommendation, held for the purpose of

affording the teacher all rights guaranteed by the United States

Constitution and the Constitution of Oklahoma under circumstances

and for enabling the board to determine whether to approve or

disapprove the recommendation;

6. "Probationary teacher" means a teacher who:

a. is employed by a school district prior to the 2017-

2018 school year and has completed fewer than three

(3) consecutive complete school years as a teacher in

one school district under a written teaching contract,

or

b. is employed for the first time by a school district

under a written teaching contract during the 2017-2018

school year and thereafter and has not met the

requirements for career teacher as provided in

paragraph 4 of this section;

7. "Suspension" or "suspended" means the temporary

discontinuance of the services of an administrator or teacher, as

provided by law;

8. "Teacher" means a person defined as a teacher in Section 1-

116 of this title; and

9. "District evaluation rating" means the rating issued based

on the components of the TLE as set forth in subsection B of Section

6-101.16 of this title.