STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

SENATE BILL 537	By:	Shortey

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to schools; creating the Quality of Education Assessment for Oklahoma Citizens Act of 2011; providing legislative findings and intent; requiring elementary and secondary schools to determine citizenship status of enrolled students; providing guidelines for making determination; requiring parents notify school of citizen or immigration status of child under certain circumstances; directing school or school districts to collect and compile certain data; directing school districts to submit certain data to State Department of Education; directing State Superintendent of Public Instruction to compile certain information and prepare certain annual report; requiring certain data be contained within report; directing State Board of Education to prepare and issue certain rules; authorizing the Board to contract for certain services; prohibiting public disclosure of certain information; making disclosure of certain information unlawful; making an exception; providing for waiver of confidentiality under certain circumstances; providing civil remedy for certain disclosure under certain circumstances; providing for enforcement; defining term; providing for codification; providing for noncodification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law not to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Quality of Education Assessment for Oklahoma Citizens Act of 2011”.
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-111 of Title 70, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
The State of Oklahoma has a compelling interest and strong public policy that each school district shall account for its annual expenditures to the State Department of Education.  Additionally, the State of Oklahoma recognizes the compelling interest of the federal government in ensuring that the provision of public services by agencies of the state does not encourage or abet illegal immigration.
The State of Oklahoma determines that the costs incurred by public school districts for the elementary and secondary education of children not lawfully present in the United States can have adverse impacts on the availability of public education resources to students who are lawfully present in the state and thereby adversely affect the quality of education and educational opportunities available to such children.
The State of Oklahoma determines that there is a compelling need for the State Department of Education to accurately measure and assess the population of students who are not lawfully present in the United States, in order to forecast and plan for any impacts the presence of that population may have on publicly funded education in this state.
SECTION 3.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-112 of Title 70, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  Every public elementary and secondary school in this state shall, at the time of enrollment in any grade offered by the school, determine whether the child enrolling in the public school:
1.  Was born outside the jurisdiction of the United States; and
2.  May be identified as bilingual or an English language learner and may qualify to participate in a language instruction program.
B.  The public school shall rely, when making the determination required by paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section, upon presentation of the original birth certificate of the child or a certified copy of the birth certificate.
C.  If upon review of the birth certificate of the child it is determined that the child was born outside the jurisdiction of the United States or if the birth certificate of the child is not available for any reason, the parent, guardian or legal custodian of the child shall notify the school, within thirty (30) days of the date of the enrollment of the child, of the actual citizenship or immigration classification of the child under federal law. Notification shall consist of:
1.  The presentation for inspection to a designated school official at the school in which the child is enrolled of official documentation establishing the citizenship or immigration status of the child, or alternatively by submission of a notarized copy of the documentation to the designated official; and
2.  Attestation by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian, under penalty of perjury, that the document states the true identity of the child.
D.  Each public school district shall compile the information collected as required by this section by school site in an aggregate form that does not allow for identification of individual students.
E.  Each public school district shall submit to the State Department of Education an annual report listing the information compiled pursuant to this section.
F.  The State Superintendant of Public Instruction shall compile the information submitted by each public school district into an annual statewide report that shall be made available to the public.  The report shall contain, aggregated by public school district, the numbers of students who are citizens, the number of students who are noncitizens by immigration classification, and the number of students identified as bilingual or English language learners who are eligible to participate in a language instruction program and are enrolled in each public school district.  The report shall analyze and identify the impacts upon the standard or quality of education provided to children who are citizens of Oklahoma that may have occurred, or are expected to occur in the future, as a consequence of the enrollment of children who are not lawfully present in the United States.
G.  The State Board of Education shall prepare and promulgate rules to establish objective baseline criteria for identifying and assessing the educational impacts of noncitizen enrollments on the quality of education provided to students who are citizens of Oklahoma, in addition to the statistical data on the citizenship and immigration status of students and participation in language instruction programs as required by this act.
H.  In preparing draft rules in compliance with subsection G of this section, the State Board of Education may contract with reputable scholars and research institutions to identify and validate the baseline criteria.
I.  1.  Public disclosure of any information obtained pursuant to this section which individually identifies any student shall be unlawful, except for purposes permitted pursuant to 8 U.S.C., Sections 1373 and 1644.  Any person intending to make a public disclosure of information that is classified as confidential under this act, on the ground that the disclosure constitutes a use permitted by federal law, shall first apply to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and receive a waiver of confidentiality from the requirements of this subsection.
2.  A student whose personal identity has been negligently or intentionally disclosed in violation of this subsection shall be deemed to have suffered an invasion of the right to privacy of the student.  The student shall have a civil remedy for the violation against the agency or person that has made the unauthorized disclosure.
3.  The provisions of this section shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.
J.  For purposes of this section, “lawfully present” shall mean the status of having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with immigration laws if that status has not changed, having been lawfully accorded the privilege of temporarily living in the United States as a nonimmigrant in accordance with immigration laws if that status has not changed, having United States citizenship, or having United States nationality.
SECTION 4.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2011.

53-1-1195	AM	1/19/2011 1:42:20 PM