{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-136","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-3-136","heading":"Written charter contract requirements — Employment","body":"contracts.\n\nA. Beginning July 1, 2024, a written contract entered into\n\nbetween the Statewide Charter School Board and the governing board\n\nof a charter school or statewide virtual charter school or a written\n\ncontract entered into between a sponsor and the governing board of a\n\ncharter school shall ensure compliance with the following:\n\n1. Except as provided for in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act,\n\na charter school and virtual charter school shall be exempt from all\n\nstatutes and rules relating to schools, boards of education, and\n\nschool districts; provided, however, a charter school or virtual\n\ncharter school shall comply with all federal regulations and state\n\nand local rules and statutes relating to health, safety, civil\n\nrights, and insurance. By January 1, 2000, the State Department of\n\nEducation shall prepare a list of relevant rules and statutes which\n\na charter school and virtual charter school must comply with as\n\nrequired by this paragraph and shall annually provide an update to\n\nthe list;\n\n2. A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs,\n\nadmission policies, employment practices, and all other operations.\n\nA sponsor may not authorize a charter school or program that is\n\naffiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or religious\n\ninstitution;\n\n3. The charter contract shall provide a description of the\n\neducational program to be offered. A charter school or virtual\n\ncharter school may provide a comprehensive program of instruction\n\nfor a prekindergarten program, a kindergarten program, or any grade\n\nbetween grades one and twelve. Instruction may be provided to all\n\npersons between four (4) and twenty-one (21) years of age. A\n\ncharter school or virtual charter school may offer a curriculum\n\nwhich emphasizes a specific learning philosophy or style or certain\n\nsubject areas such as mathematics, science, fine arts, performance\n\narts, or foreign language. The charter of a charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school which offers grades nine through twelve shall\n\nspecifically address whether the charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool will comply with the graduation requirements established in\n\nSection 11-103.6 of this title. No charter school shall be\n\nchartered for the purpose of offering a curriculum for deaf or blind\n\nstudents that is the same or similar to the curriculum being\n\nprovided by or for educating deaf or blind students that are being\n\nserved by the Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School\n\nfor the Deaf;\n\n4. A charter school or virtual charter school shall participate\n\nin the testing as required by the Oklahoma School Testing Program\n\nAct and the reporting of test results as is required of a school\n\ndistrict. A charter school or virtual charter school shall also\n\nprovide any necessary data to the Office of Accountability within\n\nthe State Department of Education;\n\n5. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be subject\n\nto the same reporting requirements, financial audits, audit\n\nprocedures, and audit requirements as a school district. The State\n\nDepartment of Education or State Auditor and Inspector may conduct\n\nfinancial, program, or compliance audits. The Statewide Charter\n\nSchool Board may request that the State Auditor and Inspector\n\nconduct a financial, program, or compliance audit for any charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school it oversees. A charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school shall use the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System\n\nto report financial transactions to the State Department of\n\nEducation. The charter school or virtual charter school shall be\n\nsubject to the limitations on spending, including provisions of the\n\nOklahoma Constitution, for any funds received from the state, either\n\nthrough the State Department of Education or other sources;\n\n6. A charter school or virtual charter school shall comply with\n\nall federal and state laws relating to the education of children\nof\n\nEducation. The charter school or virtual charter school shall be\n\nsubject to the limitations on spending, including provisions of the\n\nOklahoma Constitution, for any funds received from the state, either\n\nthrough the State Department of Education or other sources;\n\n6. A charter school or virtual charter school shall comply with\n\nall federal and state laws relating to the education of children\n\nwith disabilities in the same manner as a school district;\n\n7. A charter school or virtual charter school shall provide for\n\na governing board for the school which shall be responsible for the\n\npolicies and operational decisions of the charter school or virtual\n\ncharter school. All of the charter school or virtual charter school\n\ngoverning board members shall be residents of this state and shall\n\nmeet no fewer than ten (10) months of the year in a public meeting\n\nwithin the boundaries of the school district in which the charter\n\nschool is located or within this state if the governing board\n\noversees multiple charter schools in this state or oversees a\n\nvirtual charter school. The governing board of a charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school shall be subject to the same conflict of\n\ninterest requirements as a member of a school district board of\n\neducation including but not limited to Sections 5-113 and 5-124 of\n\nthis title. Members appointed to the governing board of a charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school shall be subject to the same\n\ninstruction and continuing education requirements as a member of a\n\nschool district board of education and pursuant to Section 5-110 of\n\nthis title shall complete twelve (12) hours of instruction within\n\nfifteen (15) months of appointment to the governing board and\n\npursuant to Section 5-110.1 of this title shall attend continuing\n\neducation;\n\n8. A charter school or virtual charter school shall not be used\n\nas a method of generating revenue for students who are being home\n\nschooled and are not being educated at an organized charter school\n\nsite or by a virtual charter school;\n\n9. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be as\n\nequally free and open to all students as traditional public schools\n\nand shall not charge tuition or fees;\n\n10. A charter school or virtual charter school shall provide\n\ninstruction each year for at least the number of days or hours\n\nrequired in Section 1-109 of this title;\n\n11. A charter school or virtual charter school shall comply\n\nwith the student suspension requirements provided for in Section 24-\n\n101.3 of this title;\n\n12. A charter school or virtual charter school shall be\n\nconsidered a school district for purposes of tort liability under\n\nThe Governmental Tort Claims Act;\n\n13. Employees of a charter school or virtual charter school may\n\nparticipate as members of the Teachers’ Retirement System of\n\nOklahoma in accordance with applicable statutes and rules if\n\notherwise allowed pursuant to law;\n\n14. A charter school or virtual charter school may participate\n\nin all health and related insurance programs available to employees\n\nof a public school district;\n\n15. A charter school or virtual charter school and their\n\nrespective governing boards shall comply with the Oklahoma Open\n\nMeeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act;\n\n16. The governing board of a charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool shall notify the sponsor within ten (10) business days in the\n\ninstance of any significant adverse actions, material findings of\n\nnoncompliance, or pending actions, claims, or proceedings in this\n\nstate relating to the charter school, the virtual charter school, or\n\nan educational management organization with which the charter school\n\nor virtual charter school has a contract;\n\n17. No later than September 1 each year, the governing board of\n\neach charter school or virtual charter school formed pursuant to the\n\nOklahoma Charter Schools Act shall prepare a statement of actual\nceedings in this\n\nstate relating to the charter school, the virtual charter school, or\n\nan educational management organization with which the charter school\n\nor virtual charter school has a contract;\n\n17. No later than September 1 each year, the governing board of\n\neach charter school or virtual charter school formed pursuant to the\n\nOklahoma Charter Schools Act shall prepare a statement of actual\n\nincome and expenditures for the charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool for the fiscal year that ended on the preceding June 30, in a\n\nmanner compliant with Section 5-135 of this title. The statement of\n\nexpenditures shall include functional categories as defined in rules\n\nadopted by the State Board of Education to implement the Oklahoma\n\nCost Accounting System pursuant to Section 5-145 of this title.\n\nCharter schools and virtual charter schools shall not be permitted\n\nto submit estimates of expenditures or prorated amounts to fulfill\n\nthe requirements of this paragraph; and\n\n18. A charter school or virtual charter school contract shall\n\ninclude performance provisions based on a performance framework that\n\nclearly sets forth the academic and operational performance\n\nindicators that shall be used by charter school and virtual charter\n\nschool sponsors to evaluate their respective schools. The sponsor\n\nmay develop a separate performance framework to evaluate a charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school that has been designated by the\n\nState Department of Education as implementing an alternative\n\neducation program throughout the school. The sponsor shall require\n\na charter school or virtual charter school to submit the data\n\nrequired in this subsection in the identical format that is required\n\nby the State Department of Education of all public schools in order\n\nto avoid duplicative administrative efforts or allow a charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school to provide permission to the\n\nDepartment to share all required data with the Board. The\n\nperformance framework shall serve as the minimum requirement for\n\ncharter school and virtual charter school performance evaluation and\n\nshall include, but not be limited to, the following indicators:\n\na. student academic proficiency,\n\nb. student academic growth,\n\nc. achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth\n\nbetween major student subgroups,\n\nd. student attendance,\n\ne. recurrent enrollment from year to year as determined\n\nby the methodology used for public schools in\n\nOklahoma,\n\nf. in the case of high schools, graduation rates as\n\ndetermined by the methodology used for public schools\n\nin Oklahoma,\n\ng. in the case of high schools, postsecondary readiness,\n\nh. financial performance and sustainability and\n\ncompliance with state and Internal Revenue Service\n\nfinancial reporting requirements,\n\ni. audit findings or deficiencies,\n\nj. accreditation and timely reporting,\n\nk. governing board performance and stewardship including\n\ncompliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and\n\nterms of the charter contract, and\n\nl. mobility of student population for the virtual charter\n\nschool framework.\n\nThe sponsor including the Statewide Charter School Board shall\n\nannually evaluate its charter schools or virtual charter schools\n\naccording to the performance framework. The results of the\n\nevaluation shall be presented to the governing board of the charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school and the governing board of the\n\ncharter school sponsor in an open meeting.\n\nB. An applicant or the governing board of an applicant may hold\n\none or more charter contracts. Each charter school or virtual\n\ncharter school that is part of a charter contract shall be separate\n\nand distinct from any other charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool. For the purposes of this subsection, “separate and\n\ndistinct” shall mean that a charter school or virtual charter school\n\ngoverning board with oversight of more than one charter school or\nmay hold\n\none or more charter contracts. Each charter school or virtual\n\ncharter school that is part of a charter contract shall be separate\n\nand distinct from any other charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool. For the purposes of this subsection, “separate and\n\ndistinct” shall mean that a charter school or virtual charter school\n\ngoverning board with oversight of more than one charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school shall not combine accounting, budgeting,\n\nrecordkeeping, admissions, employment, or policies and operational\n\ndecisions of the charter schools or virtual charter schools it\n\noversees.\n\nC. The charter contract of a charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool shall include a description of the personnel policies,\n\npersonnel qualifications, and method of school governance. A\n\ncharter school or virtual charter school shall not enter into an\n\nemployment contract with any teacher or other personnel until a\n\ncontract has been executed with its sponsor. The employment\n\ncontract shall set forth the personnel policies of the charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school including, but not limited to,\n\npolicies related to certification, professional development,\n\nevaluation, suspension, dismissal and nonreemployment, sick leave,\n\npersonal business leave, emergency leave, and family and medical\n\nleave. The contract shall also specifically set forth the salary,\n\nhours, fringe benefits, and work conditions. The contract may\n\nprovide for employer-employee bargaining, but the charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school shall not be required to comply with the\n\nprovisions of Sections 509.1 through 509.10 of this title.\n\nUpon contracting with any teacher or other personnel, the\n\ngoverning board of a charter school or virtual charter school shall,\n\nin writing, disclose employment rights of the employees in the event\n\nthe charter school or virtual charter school closes or the charter\n\ncontract is not renewed.\n\nNo charter school or virtual charter school may begin serving\n\nstudents without a contract executed in accordance with the\n\nprovisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act and approved in an\n\nopen meeting of the governing board of the sponsor or the Statewide\n\nCharter School Board. The governing board of the sponsor or the\n\nStatewide Charter School Board may establish reasonable preopening\n\nrequirements or conditions to monitor the start-up progress of newly\n\napproved charter schools or virtual charter schools and ensure that\n\neach brick-and-mortar school is prepared to open smoothly on the\n\ndate agreed and to ensure that each school meets all building,\n\nhealth, safety, insurance, and other legal requirements for the\n\nopening of a school.\n\nD. The charter of a charter school or virtual charter school\n\nmay be amended at the request of the governing board of the charter\n\nschool or virtual charter school and upon the approval of the\n\nsponsor.\n\nE. A charter school or virtual charter school may enter into\n\ncontracts and sue and be sued.\n\nF. The governing board of a charter school or virtual charter\n\nschool shall not levy taxes or issue bonds. A school district that\n\nproposes a bond shall include any charter school established\n\npursuant to subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title and located\n\nwithin the school district in planning conversations regarding the\n\nbond.\n\nG. The charter of a charter school or virtual charter school\n\nshall include a provision specifying the method or methods to be\n\nemployed for disposing of real and personal property acquired by the\n\ncharter school or virtual charter school upon expiration or\n\ntermination of the charter or failure of the charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school to continue operations. Except as otherwise\n\nprovided, any real or personal property purchased with state or\n\nlocal funds shall be retained by the sponsor. If a charter school\nto be\n\nemployed for disposing of real and personal property acquired by the\n\ncharter school or virtual charter school upon expiration or\n\ntermination of the charter or failure of the charter school or\n\nvirtual charter school to continue operations. Except as otherwise\n\nprovided, any real or personal property purchased with state or\n\nlocal funds shall be retained by the sponsor. If a charter school\n\nthat was previously sponsored by the board of education of a school\n\ndistrict continues operation within the school district under a new\n\ncharter sponsored by an entity authorized pursuant to Section 3-132\n\nof this title, the charter school may retain any personal property\n\npurchased with state or local funds for use in the operation of the\n\ncharter school until termination of the new charter or failure of\n\nthe charter school to continue operations.","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":"386d794f936fa2d38a1ba8c50555085f20bf9e98d2504a24959fdfe56d4dc734","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-134","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3-137"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}