{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-129.3","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-3-129.3","heading":"Public school, zone, or district empowerment plan","body":"A. 1. A public school, zone, or district may submit to its\n\nschool district board of education an empowerment plan as described\n\nin subsection C of this section.\n\n2. A school district board of education shall receive and\n\nreview each empowerment plan submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of\n\nthis subsection. The school district board of education shall\n\neither approve or disapprove the empowerment plan within sixty (60)\n\ndays after receiving the plan.\n\n3. If the school district board of education rejects the plan,\n\nit shall provide to the public school, zone, or district that\n\nsubmitted the plan a written explanation of the basis for its\n\ndecision. A public school, zone, or district may resubmit an\n\namended empowerment plan at any time after denial.\n\n4. If the school district board of education approves the plan,\n\nit shall proceed to seek approval of the school, zone, or district\n\nas an empowered school, zone, or district pursuant to Section 6 of\n\nthis act.\n\nB. A school district board of education may initiate and\n\ncollaborate with one or more public schools of the school district\n\nto create one or more empowerment plans, as described in subsection\n\nC of this section. In creating an empowerment plan the school\n\ndistrict board of education shall ensure that each public school\n\nthat would be affected by the plan has the opportunity to\n\nparticipate in the creation of the plan.\n\nC. Each empowerment plan shall include the following\n\ninformation:\n\n1. A statement of the mission of the school, zone, or district\n\nand why designation as an empowered school, zone, or district would\n\nenhance the ability of the school, zone, or district to achieve its\n\nmission;\n\n2. A description of the innovations the school, zone, or\n\ndistrict would implement, which may include, but not be limited to,\n\ninnovations in school staffing, curriculum and assessment, class\n\nscheduling, use of financial and other resources, and faculty\n\nrecruitment, employment, evaluation, and compensation;\n\n3. A listing of the programs, policies, or operational\n\ndocuments within the school, zone, or district that would be\n\naffected by the innovations identified by the school, zone, or\n\ndistrict and the manner in which they would be affected. The\n\nprograms, policies, or operational documents may include, but not be\n\nlimited to:\n\na. the research-based educational program to be\n\nimplemented,\n\nb. the length of school day and school year,\n\nc. the student promotion and graduation policies to be\n\nimplemented,\n\nd. the assessment plan,\n\ne. the proposed budget, and\n\nf. the proposed staffing plan;\n\n4. A description of any statutory, regulatory, or district\n\npolicy requirements that would need to be waived for the school,\n\nzone, or district to implement the identified innovations;\n\n5. A description of any provision of the collective bargaining\n\nagreement in effect for the personnel at the school, zone, or\n\ndistrict that would need to be waived for the school, zone, or\n\ndistrict to implement its identified innovation;\n\n6. An identification of the improvements in academic\n\nperformance that the school, zone, or district expects to achieve in\n\nimplementing the innovations;\n\n7. An estimate of the cost savings and increased efficiencies,\n\nif any, the school, zone, or district expects to achieve in\n\nimplementing the identified innovations;\n\n8. Evidence that both a majority of the administrators and a\n\nmajority of the teachers employed at the school, zone, or district\n\napprove the empowerment plan and consent to the designation as an\n\nempowered school, zone, or district. The determination of approval\n\nand consent of the plan shall be obtained by means of a secret\n\nballot vote;\n\n9. A statement of the level of support for designation as an\n\nempowered school, zone, or district demonstrated by the other\n\npersons employed at the school, zone, or district, the students and\n\nparents of students enrolled in the school, zone, or district, and\nred school, zone, or district. The determination of approval\n\nand consent of the plan shall be obtained by means of a secret\n\nballot vote;\n\n9. A statement of the level of support for designation as an\n\nempowered school, zone, or district demonstrated by the other\n\npersons employed at the school, zone, or district, the students and\n\nparents of students enrolled in the school, zone, or district, and\n\nthe community surrounding the school, zone, or district; and\n\n10. Any additional information required by the school district\n\nboard of education of the school district in which the empowerment\n\nplan would be implemented.\n\nD. Each plan for creating an empowered school zone or district\n\nwhether submitted by a group of public schools or created by a\n\nschool district board of education through collaboration with a\n\ngroup of public schools, shall also include the following additional\n\ninformation:\n\n1. A description of how innovations in the schools in the\n\nempowered school zone or district would be integrated to achieve\n\nresults that would be less likely to be accomplished by each school\n\nworking alone; and\n\n2. An estimate of any economies of scale that would be achieved\n\nby innovations implemented jointly by the schools within the\n\nempowered school zone or district.\n\nE. No employee of a school, zone, or district shall be\n\ndiscriminated against by the school district board of education, the\n\nsuperintendent of the school district, or any other administrative\n\nofficer of the school district or by any employee organization, an\n\nofficer of the organization, or a member of the organization for\n\nexercising or not exercising the rights provided for under the\n\nEmpowered Schools and School Districts Act. An employee of a school\n\ndistrict or an officer or member of an employee organization shall\n\nbe prohibited from impeding, restraining or coercing an employee of\n\na school, zone or district from exercising the rights provided for\n\nunder the act or causing an employer to impede, restrain or coerce\n\nan employee from exercising the rights provided for under the act.","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":"cde2020139c2ccfa37af2a37a87d906f93e6f6af2c14647239290d9f579ba9ad","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-129.2","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-129.4"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}