§ 70-1-113. School district residency.

A.  When used in this section, the residence of any child for school purposes shall be:

1.  The school district in which the parents, guardian, or person having legal custody holds legal residence.

Each school district board of education shall adopt a policy establishing the requirements for student residency for that district which provides for residence as described in this paragraph.  Within the discretion of each school district's board of education, the policy may but is not required to allow for establishment of residency by affidavit when an adult, whether a relative or not, who does not fall within one of the categories listed above, who holds legal residence in the school district, and who has assumed permanent care and custody of the child files an affidavit with the school district attesting that they have assumed custody and the reasons for assuming custody.  Any policy allowing the establishment of residency by affidavit shall require the adult who provides the affidavit to affirm in such affidavit that the custody arrangement is permanent and that the adult contributes the major degree of support to the child.  If the school district policy allows establishment of residency by affidavit, any person who willfully makes a statement in the affidavit which the person knows to be false shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or both such fine and imprisonment.  Each school district shall include in its policy on residency any documentation necessary for the administration of the policy; or

2.  The foster home, as defined in Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, except a therapeutic foster home or a specialized foster home where a child is in voluntary placement as defined in subsection D of this section, in which the child has been placed:

a.by the person or agency having legal custody of the child pursuant to a court order, or

b.by a state agency having legal custody of the child pursuant to the provisions of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes; or

3.  Any orphanage or eleemosynary child care facility having full-time care and custody; or

4.  Any eleemosynary child care facility in which a child is placed by a parent or guardian for full-time residential care; provided, the provision of this paragraph shall apply only to children who attend a district school by joint agreement of the school district and facility and who are not placed in the facility through a state contract.  For purposes of this paragraph, "eleemosynary child care facility" means a facility:

a.where child care and services are provided, and

b.which is funded predominantly by benevolent or charitable funds and is exempt from taxation pursuant to the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C., Section 501(c)(3); or

5.  Any state-operated institution in which a child has been placed by a parent or guardian or by a state agency having legal custody of the child pursuant to the provisions of Title 10A or Section 3-101 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes for care and treatment due to a physical or mental condition of the child; or

6.  The district in which a child who is entirely self-supporting resides and attends school; or

7.  A state-licensed or operated emergency shelter.

B.  No school district shall bear the cost of educating children who are not residents of this state; provided, a school district may furnish educational services pursuant to contract as elsewhere provided by law.  A school district may furnish educational services pursuant to a contract to children who do not reside in the United States of America; provided, the children shall not be counted in the average daily membership of the school district.

C.  For the purpose of ensuring that a child placed in a therapeutic foster care home, as defined in Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, receives an appropriate education, no receiving school district shall be required to enroll such a child if the enrollment would cause the proportion of students in therapeutic foster care homes as compared to the average daily membership of the receiving district for the preceding school year to exceed two percent (2%).  Children served by Head Start may not be counted for the purpose of this paragraph unless the child is on an individualized education program provided by the school district.  Any school district may enroll such students who are outside the student's resident district in therapeutic foster care home placements which exceed this limit if the school determines it possesses the ability to provide such child an appropriate education.

D.  When a child does not meet the criteria for residency provided in subsection A of this section and is placed in any of the following entities which is out of the child's home and not in the school district in which the child legally resides:  a residential facility; a treatment program or center, including the facility operated pursuant to Section 485.1 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes; a therapeutic foster home as defined in Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes; or, a specialized foster home, which is a specialized foster home or an agency-contracted home under the supervision of and certified as meeting the standards set by the Department of Human Services and is funded through the Department of Human Services Home and Community-Based Waiver Services Program, the entity shall, if the child contends he or she resides in a school district other than the district where the entity is located, within seven (7) days of admittance, notify the school district in which the entity is located of the admittance.

Upon provision of educational services to such children pursuant to the provisions of subsection F of this section, the receiving school district shall receive the State Aid as defined in subsection C of Section 18-110 of this title for those students.

Access to the due process procedure guaranteed to children with disabilities shall be available to resolve disagreements about the appropriateness of placements of children with disabilities.

E.  The governing body of any state institution for children operated pursuant to the provisions of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes or Section 3-101 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes and the board of education of the school district in which the institution is located or any other school district in the state willing to provide necessary educational services may enter into a contract whereby the district will maintain a school for the children of the institution, in which event the residence of such children for school purposes will be considered as being in the district maintaining the school.  The governing body of the state institutions specified in this subsection shall pay the costs for educating students placed in the state institution less any amount of funds received for such students by the school district contracting with the state institution to provide necessary educational services.

F.  1.  The school district in which an entity as described in subsection D of this section exists to serve children in out-of-home placements shall, upon request of the individual or agency operating the entity, provide the educational services to which the children in the entity are entitled subject to the limitations provided in subsection C of this section.  No person operating such an entity may contract for the provision of educational services with any school district other than the school district in which the entity is located unless the school district in which the entity is located agrees in writing to allow another school district to provide the educational services or unless the person operating the entity contracts with another school district for the provision of educational services to be provided through remote Internet-based courses.  No person operating such an entity may contract for the provision of educational services with more than one school district.

2.  Prior to location in a school district, the individual or agency operating an entity described in subsection D of this section which requires provision of educational services from the school district shall notify the local board of education of its anticipated educational needs.  No school district shall be required to provide educational services for students in the entity until at least sixty (60) calendar days have elapsed from the time in which the local board of education was initially notified of the need unless the school district so agrees to provide the educational services sooner.  The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to therapeutic or specialized foster homes.

3.  Educational services provided shall meet or exceed state accreditation standards.  No school district shall be responsible for any expenses for students in an entity described in subsection D of this section which are not directly related to the provision of educational services.  A school district shall not be obligated for expenses of those students in an entity in the current school year for whom educational services are requested after the district's first nine (9) weeks of the current school year if educational services are requested for twelve or more students than were served in the first nine (9) weeks, unless the school district chooses to provide educational services for the current school year.  Contracts and agreements for provision of educational services may allow for the use of public and private sources of support which are available to share the costs of educational services and of therapies, treatments, or support services.  Otherwise valid obligations to provide or pay for such services, such as Medicaid, shall remain in effect for children who are eligible for the services from sources other than the school district.

4.  Upon the request of any residential facility which has contracted with the Office of Juvenile Affairs to provide either a regimented juvenile training program or a high-impact wilderness camp to a minimum of forty students who have been adjudicated, a school district may contract for the facility to provide the educational services to those students.  Under such a contract, the facility shall operate in accordance with all applicable laws, including compliance with Section 18-114.7 of this title.  Such contract shall include the State Aid generated by the students, less a fee for administrative services which may be retained by the school district, not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the total on an annual basis.  The school district shall exercise supervision over the educational program in the facility and bear all responsibility for required educational reporting.  The school district shall maintain access to all educational records for students in the facility, and shall provide for the appropriate academic credit and diplomas.  The school district shall be indemnified against any actions or penalties on the part of the facility which result in adversity for the school district.

G.  Any question as to the place of residence of any child for school purposes shall be decided pursuant to procedures utilized by the State Department of Education.

H.  The receiving district shall notify the district of residence immediately upon finding that the student requires special education and related services and the district of residence shall participate in planning the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) and in subsequent reviews of the program in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Added by Laws 1971, c. 281, § 1-113, eff. July 2, 1971.  Amended by Laws 1983, c. 150, § 1, operative July 1, 1983; Laws 1984, c. 182, § 1, emerg. eff. May 7, 1984; Laws 1985, c. 336, § 1, operative July 1, 1985; Laws 1986, c. 102, § 1, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1987, c. 122, § 1, eff. July 1, 1987; Laws 1989, c. 250, § 2, operative July 1, 1989; Laws 1992, c. 262, § 3, emerg. eff. May 22, 1992; Laws 1994, c. 168, § 1, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 231, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 319, § 1, eff. July 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 343, § 1, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 362, § 1, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 2002, c. 453, § 2, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2009, c. 234, § 154, emerg. eff. May 21, 2009.