{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-10-105","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-10-105","heading":"Neglect or refusal to compel child to attend school -","body":"Exceptions - Enforcement.\n\nA. It shall be unlawful for a parent, guardian, or other person\n\nhaving custody of a child who is over the age of five (5) years, and\n\nunder the age of eighteen (18) years, to neglect or refuse to cause\n\nor compel the child to attend and comply with the rules of some\n\npublic, private, or other school, unless other means of education\n\nare provided for the full term the schools of the district are in\n\nsession or the child is excused as provided in this section. One-\n\nhalf (1/2) day of kindergarten shall be required of all children\n\nfive (5) years of age or older unless the child is excused from\n\nkindergarten attendance as provided in this section. A child who is\n\nfive (5) years of age shall be excused from kindergarten attendance\n\nuntil the next school year after the child is six (6) years of age\n\nif a parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child\n\nnotifies the superintendent of the district where the child is a\n\nresident by certified mail prior to enrollment in kindergarten, or\n\nat any time during the first school year that the child is required\n\nto attend kindergarten pursuant to this section, of election to\n\nwithhold the child from kindergarten until the next school year\n\nafter the child is six (6) years of age. A kindergarten program\n\nshall be directed toward developmentally appropriate objectives for\n\nsuch children. The program shall require that any teacher employed\n\non and after January 1, 1993, to teach a kindergarten program within\n\nthe public school system shall be certified in early childhood\n\neducation. All teachers hired to teach a kindergarten program\n\nwithin the public school system prior to January 1, 1993, shall be\n\nrequired to obtain certification in early childhood education on or\n\nbefore the 1996-97 school year in order to continue to teach a\n\nkindergarten program.\n\nB. It shall be unlawful for any child who is over the age of\n\ntwelve (12) years and under the age of eighteen (18) years, and who\n\nhas not finished four (4) years of high school work, to neglect or\n\nrefuse to attend and comply with the rules of some public, private,\n\nor other school, or receive an education by other means for the full\n\nterm the schools of the district are in session.\n\nProvided, that this section shall not apply:\n\n1. If any child is prevented from attending school by reason of\n\nmental or physical disability, to be determined by the board of\n\neducation of the district upon a certificate of the school physician\n\nor public health physician, or, if no such physician is available, a\n\nduly licensed and practicing physician;\n\n2. If any child is excused from attendance at school, due to an\n\nemergency, by the principal teacher of the school in which the child\n\nis enrolled, at the request of the parent, guardian, custodian, or\n\nother person having custody of the child;\n\n3. If any child who has attained his or her sixteenth birthday\n\nis excused from attending school by written, joint agreement\n\nbetween:\n\na. the school administrator of the school district where\n\nthe child attends school, and\n\nb. the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child.\n\nProvided, further, that no child shall be excused from\n\nattending school by the joint agreement between a\n\nschool administrator and the parent, guardian, or\n\ncustodian of the child unless and until it has been\n\ndetermined that the action is for the best interest of\n\nthe child and/or the community, and that the child\n\nshall thereafter be under the supervision of the\n\nparent, guardian, or custodian until the child has\n\nreached the age of eighteen (18) years;\n\n4. If any child is excused from attending school for the\n\npurpose of observing religious holy days if before the absence, the\n\nparent, guardian, or other person having custody or control of the\n\nchild submits a written request for the excused absence. The school\nent, guardian, or custodian until the child has\n\nreached the age of eighteen (18) years;\n\n4. If any child is excused from attending school for the\n\npurpose of observing religious holy days if before the absence, the\n\nparent, guardian, or other person having custody or control of the\n\nchild submits a written request for the excused absence. The school\n\ndistrict shall excuse a child pursuant to this subsection for the\n\ndays on which the religious holy days are observed and for the days\n\non which the child must travel to and from the site where the child\n\nwill observe the holy days;\n\n5. If any child is excused from attending school for the\n\npurpose of participating in a military funeral honors ceremony upon\n\napproval of the school principal; or\n\n6. If any child is excused from attending school for the\n\npurpose of receiving speech therapy, occupational therapy, or any\n\nother service related to the child’s individualized education\n\nprogram developed pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities\n\nEducation Act and the parent, guardian, or other person having\n\ncustody or control of the child submits a written request for the\n\nexcused absence. The school district shall excuse the child\n\npursuant to this subsection upon receipt of documentation from the\n\nprovider of the therapy or other service.\n\nC. It shall be the duty of the attendance officer to enforce\n\nthe provisions of this section. In the prosecution of a parent,\n\nguardian, or other person having custody of a child for violation of\n\nany provision of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense\n\nthat the parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the\n\nchild has made substantial and reasonable efforts to comply with the\n\ncompulsory attendance requirements of this section but is unable to\n\ncause the child to attend school. If the court determines the\n\naffirmative defense is valid, it shall dismiss the complaint against\n\nthe parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child\n\nand shall notify the school attendance officer who shall refer the\n\nchild to the district attorney for the county in which the child\n\nresides for the filing of a Child in Need of Supervision petition\n\nagainst the child pursuant to the Oklahoma Juvenile Code.\n\nD. Any parent, guardian, custodian, child, or other person\n\nviolating any of the provisions of this section, upon conviction,\n\nshall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished as follows:\n\n1. For the first offense, a fine not less than Twenty-five\n\nDollars ($25.00) nor more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00), or\n\nimprisonment for not more than five (5) days, or both such fine and\n\nimprisonment;\n\n2. For the second offense, a fine not less than Fifty Dollars\n\n($50.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), or\n\nimprisonment for not more than ten (10) days, or both such fine and\n\nimprisonment; and\n\n3. For the third or subsequent offense, a fine not less than\n\nOne Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty\n\nDollars ($250.00), or imprisonment for not more than fifteen (15)\n\ndays, or both such fine and imprisonment.\n\nEach day the child remains out of school after an oral and\n\ndocumented or written warning has been given to the parent,\n\nguardian, custodian, child, or other person or the child has been\n\nordered to school by the juvenile court shall constitute a separate\n\noffense.\n\nE. At the trial of any person charged with violating the\n\nprovisions of this section, the attendance records of the child or\n\nward may be presented in court by any authorized employee of the\n\nschool district.\n\nF. The court may order the parent, guardian, or other person\n\nhaving custody of the child to perform community service in lieu of\n\nthe fine set forth in this section. The court may require that all\n\nor part of the community service be performed for a public school\n\ndistrict.\n\nG. The court may order as a condition of a deferred sentence or\ncourt by any authorized employee of the\n\nschool district.\n\nF. The court may order the parent, guardian, or other person\n\nhaving custody of the child to perform community service in lieu of\n\nthe fine set forth in this section. The court may require that all\n\nor part of the community service be performed for a public school\n\ndistrict.\n\nG. The court may order as a condition of a deferred sentence or\n\nas a condition of sentence upon conviction of the parent, guardian,\n\nor other person having custody of the child any conditions as the\n\ncourt considers necessary to obtain compliance with school\n\nattendance requirements. The conditions may include, but are not\n\nlimited to, the following:\n\n1. Verifying attendance of the child with the school;\n\n2. Attending meetings with school officials;\n\n3. Taking the child to school;\n\n4. Taking the child to the bus stop;\n\n5. Attending school with the child;\n\n6. Undergoing an evaluation for drug, alcohol, or other\n\nsubstance abuse and following the recommendations of the evaluator;\n\nand\n\n7. Taking the child for drug, alcohol, or other substance abuse\n\nevaluation and following the recommendations of the evaluator,\n\nunless excused by the court.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"2a6b571f0e2a9e7367858349a148020312c8ca10e9c39689b09ec5fe49c4f9cc","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-10-104","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-10-105.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}