{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-508.1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-508.1","heading":"Enactment of Agreement - Text","body":"The Interstate Agreement on Qualification of Educational\n\nPersonnel is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all\n\njurisdiction legally joining therein, in the form substantially as\n\nfollows:\n\nARTICLE I. PURPOSE, FINDINGS, AND POLICY\n\n1. The states party to this Agreement, desiring by common\n\naction to improve their respective school systems by utilizing the\n\nteacher or other professional educational person wherever educated,\n\ndeclare that it is the policy of each of them, on the basis of\n\ncooperation with one another, to take advantage of the preparation\n\nand experience of such persons wherever gained, thereby serving the\n\nbest interests of society, of education, and of the teaching\n\nprofession. It is the purpose of this Agreement to provide for the\n\ndevelopment and execution of such programs of cooperation as will\n\nfacilitate the movement of teachers and other professional\n\neducational personnel among the states party to it, and to authorize\n\nspecific interstate educational personnel contracts to achieve that\n\nend.\n\n2. The party states find that included in the large movement of\n\npopulation among all sections of the nation are many qualified\n\neducational personnel who move for family and other personal reasons\n\nbut who are hindered in using their professional skill and\n\nexperience in their new locations. Variations from state to state\n\nin requirements for qualifying educational personnel discourage such\n\npersonnel from taking the steps necessary to qualify in other\n\nstates. As a consequence, a significant number of professionally\n\nprepared and experienced educators is lost to our school systems.\n\nFacilitating the employment of qualified educational personnel,\n\nwithout reference to their states of origin, can increase the\n\navailable educational resources. Participation in this compact can\n\nincrease the availability of educational manpower.\n\nARTICLE II. DEFINITIONS\n\nAs used in this Agreement and contracts made pursuant to it,\n\nunless the context clearly requires otherwise:\n\n1. \"Educational personnel\" means persons who must meet\n\nrequirements pursuant to state law as a condition of employment in\n\neducational programs.\n\n2. \"Designated State official\" means the education official of\n\na state selected by that state to negotiate and enter into, on\n\nbehalf of his state, contracts pursuant to this Agreement.\n\n3. \"Accept\", or any variant thereof, means to recognize and\n\ngive effect to one or more determinations of another state relating\n\nto the qualifications of educational personnel in lieu of making or\n\nrequiring a like determination that would otherwise be required by\n\nor pursuant to the laws of a receiving state.\n\n4. \"State\" means a state, territory, or possession of the\n\nUnited States; the District of Columbia; or the Commonwealth of\n\nPuerto Rico.\n\n5. \"Originating State\" means a state (and the subdivision\n\nthereof, if any) whose determination that certain educational\n\npersonnel are qualified to be employed for specific duties in\n\nschools is acceptable in accordance with the terms of a contract\n\nmade pursuant to Article III.\n\n6. \"Receiving State\" means a state (and the subdivisions\n\nthereof) which accept educational personnel in accordance with the\n\nterms of a contract made pursuant to Article III.\n\nARTICLE III. INTERSTATE EDUCATIONAL\n\nPERSONNEL CONTRACTS\n\n1. The designated state official of a party state may make one\n\nor more contracts on behalf of his state with one or more other\n\nparty states providing for the acceptance of educational personnel.\n\nAny such contract for the period of its duration shall be applicable\n\nto and binding on the states whose designated state officials enter\n\ninto it, and the subdivisions of those states, with the same force\n\nand effect as if incorporated in this Agreement. A designated state\n\nofficial may enter into a contract pursuant to this article only\ntes providing for the acceptance of educational personnel.\n\nAny such contract for the period of its duration shall be applicable\n\nto and binding on the states whose designated state officials enter\n\ninto it, and the subdivisions of those states, with the same force\n\nand effect as if incorporated in this Agreement. A designated state\n\nofficial may enter into a contract pursuant to this article only\n\nwith states in which he finds that there are programs of education,\n\ncertification standards or other acceptable qualifications that\n\nassure preparation or qualification of educational personnel on a\n\nbasis sufficiently comparable, even though not identical, to that\n\nprevailing in his own state.\n\n2. Any such contract shall provide for:\n\n(a) Its duration.\n\n(b) The criteria to be applied by an originating state in\n\nqualifying educational personnel for acceptance by a receiving\n\nstate.\n\n(c) Such waivers, substitutions, and conditional acceptances as\n\nshall aid the practical effectuation of the contract without\n\nsacrifice of basic educational standards.\n\n(d) Any other necessary matters.\n\n3. No contract made pursuant to this Agreement shall be for a\n\nterm longer than five (5) years but any such contract may be renewed\n\nfor like or lesser periods.\n\n4. Any contract dealing with acceptance of educational\n\npersonnel on the basis of their having completed an educational\n\nprogram shall specify the earliest date or dates on which\n\noriginating State approval of the program or programs involved can\n\nhave occurred. No contract made pursuant to this Agreement shall\n\nrequire acceptance by a receiving state of any persons qualified\n\nbecause of successful completion of a program prior to January 1,\n\n1954.\n\n5. The certification or other acceptance of a person who has\n\nbeen accepted pursuant to the terms of a contract shall not be\n\nrevoked or otherwise impaired because the contract has expired or\n\nbeen terminated. However, any certificate or other qualifying\n\ndocument may be revoked or suspended on any ground which would be\n\nsufficient for revocation or suspension of a certificate or other\n\nqualifying document initially granted or approved in the receiving\n\nstate.\n\n6. A contract committee composed of the designated state\n\nofficials of the contracting states or their representatives shall\n\nkeep the contract under continuous review, study means of improving\n\nits administration, and report no less frequently than once a year\n\nto the heads of the appropriate education agencies of the\n\ncontracting states.\n\nARTICLE IV. APPROVED AND ACCEPTED PROGRAMS\n\n1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to repeal or\n\notherwise modify any law or regulation of a party state relating to\n\nthe approval of programs of educational preparation having effect\n\nsolely on the qualification of educational personnel within that\n\nstate.\n\n2. To the extent that contracts made pursuant to this Agreement\n\ndeal with the educational requirements for the proper qualification\n\nof educational personnel, acceptance of a program of educational\n\npreparation shall be in accordance with such procedures and\n\nrequirements as may be provided in the applicable contract.\n\nARTICLE V. INTERSTATE COOPERATION\n\nThe party states agree that:\n\n1. They will, so far as practicable, prefer the making of\n\nmultilateral contracts pursuant to Article III of this Agreement.\n\n2. They will facilitate and strengthen cooperation in\n\ninterstate certification and other elements of educational personnel\n\nqualification and for this purpose shall cooperate with agencies,\n\norganizations, and associations interested in certification and\n\nother elements of educational personnel qualification.\n\nARTICLE VI. AGREEMENT EVALUATION\n\nThe designated state officials of any party states may meet from\n\ntime to time as a group to evaluate progress under the Agreement,\n\nand to formulate recommendations for changes.\n\nARTICLE VII. OTHER ARRANGEMENTS\ne shall cooperate with agencies,\n\norganizations, and associations interested in certification and\n\nother elements of educational personnel qualification.\n\nARTICLE VI. AGREEMENT EVALUATION\n\nThe designated state officials of any party states may meet from\n\ntime to time as a group to evaluate progress under the Agreement,\n\nand to formulate recommendations for changes.\n\nARTICLE VII. OTHER ARRANGEMENTS\n\nNothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent or\n\ninhibit other arrangements or practices of any party state or states\n\nto facilitate the interchange of educational personnel.\n\nARTICLE VIII. EFFECT AND WITHDRAWAL\n\n1. This Agreement shall become effective when enacted into law\n\nby two states. Thereafter it shall become effective as to any State\n\nupon its enactment of this Agreement.\n\n2. Any party state may withdraw from this Agreement by enacting\n\na statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take\n\neffect until one (1) year after the Governor of the withdrawing\n\nstate has given notice in writing of the withdrawal to the Governors\n\nof all other party states.\n\n3. No withdrawal shall relieve the withdrawing state of any\n\nobligation imposed upon it by a contract to which it is a party. The\n\nduration of contracts and the methods and conditions of withdrawal\n\ntherefrom shall be those specified in their terms.\n\nARTICLE IX. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY\n\nThis Agreement shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate\n\nthe purposes thereof. The provisions of this Agreement shall be\n\nseverable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this\n\nAgreement is declared to be contrary to the Constitution of any\n\nstate or of the United States, or the application thereof to any\n\nGovernment, agency, person, or circumstance is held invalid, the\n\nvalidity of the remainder of this Agreement and the applicability\n\nthereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance shall not\n\nbe affected thereby. If this agreement shall be held contrary to\n\nthe Constitution of any state participating therein, the Agreement\n\nshall remain in full force and effect as to the state affected as to\n\nall severable matters.","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":"9137cfd61f38b27da2739a45150a2ff38b37e73ed26b88b4bf4b3280f2f24d07","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-506.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-508.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}