{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-509.7","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-509.7","heading":"Impasses - Procedure","body":"A procedure for resolving impasses will be developed by the\n\nboard of education and the representatives of the organization.\n\nSaid procedure shall include the actions set forth in this section\n\nand may include such other actions as are agreed to by both parties.\n\nUnless otherwise provided for by law, \"days\" means calendar days.\n\nTime limits set forth herein may be extended by mutual agreement of\n\nthe parties.\n\nA. If negotiations are not successfully concluded by the first\n\nday of school, impasse shall exist. At any earlier time, either\n\nparty may declare impasse. Upon reaching of impasse, the items\n\ncausing the impasse shall be referred to a three-member fact-finding\n\ncommittee. This committee shall consist of:\n\n1. One member who shall be selected by the representatives of\n\nthe organization within five (5) days after the reaching of impasse;\n\n2. One member who shall be selected by the local board of\n\neducation within five (5) days after the reaching of impasse; and\n\n3. One member who shall serve as chairperson of the committee\n\nand shall be selected as follows:\n\na. The State Board of Education shall appoint as fact-\n\nfinders not less than twenty nor more than thirty\n\npersons to be placed on the State Superintendent's\n\nlist of fact-finders. The appointees must reside in\n\nOklahoma, must be neutral and unbiased and must be\n\nknowledgeable in the fields of school operations,\n\nschool finance, personnel management, dispute\n\nresolution and hearing procedures. The appointees\n\nshall not currently be elected public officers or\n\nemployees of a board of education or officers or\n\nemployees of an organization of education employees.\n\nNo person who is related within the second degree by\n\nconsanguinity or affinity to an elected public\n\nofficer, to an employee of the local board of\n\neducation that is involved in the impasse, or to an\n\nemployee of an organization of education employees\n\nshall be eligible to serve as a fact-finder.\n\nb. An appointee shall serve until such appointee resigns\n\nor is removed by the State Board of Education from the\n\nState Superintendent's list of fact-finders. An\n\nappointee must be removed immediately if he or she\n\nbecomes an elected public officer or employee of a\n\nboard of education or an officer or employee of an\n\norganization of education employees.\n\nc. Within ten (10) days of being notified that a fact-\n\nfinder is needed, the State Superintendent of Public\n\nInstruction or designee shall provide the names of\n\nfive potential fact-finders selected at random from\n\nthe list of appointees who are available to serve as a\n\nmember and the chairperson of the committee. The\n\nparties shall select the fact-finder from the five\n\nnames within fifteen (15) days after receiving the\n\nlist of fact-finders.\n\nd. It shall be the responsibility of the State Board of\n\nEducation to establish rules, regulations, training,\n\nhearing procedures, and payment schedules to implement\n\nthe provisions of this paragraph.\n\nB. Within five (5) days after the selection of the chairperson,\n\nthe representatives who have been negotiating for the board and for\n\nthe organization shall meet to exchange written language on each\n\nitem at impasse. The exchanged documents shall also be furnished by\n\neach party to the chairperson and other members of the committee.\n\nC. The chairperson shall convene the committee for fact\n\nfinding. This committee shall meet with the representatives of both\n\nparties. Within twenty (20) days after the chairperson is selected,\n\nthe committee shall present written recommendations to the local\n\nboard and to the organization.\n\nD. If either party decides it must reject one or more of the\n\ncommittee's recommendations, said party must, within seven (7) days\n\nafter the committee has presented its recommendations, request a\n\nmeeting of the representatives who have been negotiating for the\n\nboard and for the organization. The parties shall meet within seven\nwritten recommendations to the local\n\nboard and to the organization.\n\nD. If either party decides it must reject one or more of the\n\ncommittee's recommendations, said party must, within seven (7) days\n\nafter the committee has presented its recommendations, request a\n\nmeeting of the representatives who have been negotiating for the\n\nboard and for the organization. The parties shall meet within seven\n\n(7) days of the request, unless both parties deem it unnecessary.\n\nAt such meeting, the representatives shall exchange written\n\nstatements expressing each party's rationale for rejecting each\n\nrecommendation found unacceptable and shall attempt to clarify any\n\nremaining differences. The representatives shall then resume good\n\nfaith effort to resolve the remaining differences; provided, after\n\nfourteen (14) days after the exchange of the written statements,\n\neither party may discontinue such effort.\n\nE. The local board shall file a copy of the fact-finding report\n\nwith the office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.\n\nIf the effort to resolve differences is successful, the parties\n\nshall draft a written agreement and present the agreement to both\n\nparties for ratification, and such agreement shall also be forwarded\n\nto the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. If the effort to\n\nresolve differences is unsuccessful, the local board of education\n\nshall forward to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in\n\nwriting its final disposition of the negotiations impasse process\n\nwithin thirty (30) days of the effective date of implementation.","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":"90e8366a808d943c026951ee8df7a1200b124fc4bd5ec467b8fc7bb765e7373d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-509.6","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-509.8"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}