State Board of Education Rules— NOT SO FAST!

from Better Schools Winter 2025

READ TO LEAD

Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director deering@ccosa.org

The Oklahoma State Board of Education (SBE) passed their Administrative Rules at the January 28, 2025, meeting. After many comments submitted by CCOSA and other organizations, they passed the rules with no substantive changes. Our members are concerned about the rules. Remember, the SBE approval is only one step in the overall approval process before the rules become permanently added to the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC).

Though approved by the State Board of Education, these rules are not yet in effect; they do not become law until they make their way through the entire process. A review of the process for rules to become law can help us better understand the timeline for implementation.

Step 1: In K-12 education, the process for rules to become law and entered into the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) begins with Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and State Board of Education (SBE) approval. OSDE proposes a new Administrative Rule in response to legislation that calls for the agency to promulgate rules, or the agency may propose an amendment to an existing rule.

Step 2: OSDE must submit the final rule to the Oklahoma Legislature for review. This is where the process is now for these rules. The Legislature then has the authority to approve or disapprove the rule. The Legislature’s role is clearly laid out in 75 O.S. § 250.2 (OSCN 2025), and it has “a right to disapprove a proposed permanent, promulgated, or emergency rule at any time if the Legislature determines such rule to be an imminent harm to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or the state or if the Legislature determines that a rule is not consistent with legislative intent.”

Oklahoma has approximately 150 regulatory agencies. According to current law, all agency rules, including those from the OSDE as well as other state agencies, are reviewed through the House and Senate Administrative Rules Committees and then submitted to the full bodies with all or some rules identified for approval and some identified for disapproval. The two chambers consider the committees’ recommendations and vote on the rules through a Joint Resolution.

Step 3: The Legislature has the power to approve Administrative Rules from state agencies, reject them, or allow the governor to decide. Upon approval or disapproval by the Legislature, the rules package then moves to the Governor for consideration.

Step 4: Final approved rules must then be published in the Oklahoma Register and will not become effective until at least 10 days after publication. In the past, most OSDE rules that make it through the process have not become effective until September based on the timeline described above. When the rule goes into effect on the specified date, from that point forward, it carries the force of law and must be followed by affected parties. Most rules impacting Oklahoma public schools are published through the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC), Section 210.

You can access those Rules here. You can access CCOSA’s submitted comments to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) here

Looking Ahead to This Legislative Session Ref: SBE Rules

Several bills that have been introduced for the 2025 Session propose a review and possible change to the process for administrative rulemaking, so there may be the opportunity to make changes in the rules process this year. Bills that have been introduced to date could change the rules process in several ways, including a bill that stipulates that the Legislature must vote to approve a rule for it to go into effect. If no action is taken or it is specifically disapproved, then the Governor could not approve on his own or override the Legislature.

We will continue to monitor legislation regarding the rules and the rules process and will keep you advised and aware when advocacy is needed on any of these rules or bills.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Pam Deering, Ph.D. CCOSA/OASA Executive Director ■

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