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These Alerts are developing daily. Check back for the most recent information!
Current Issues
HB 1408 – Grego
Concerns: HB1408 unnecessarily mandates additional reporting for certain transfer students, including those withdrawing to homeschool. Schools already report these transfers without a standardized form, making this bill redundant.
Additionally, the bill creates an unnecessary distinction between truancy and lawful homeschooling, despite existing Oklahoma law requiring withdrawal notifications. The term “drop-out” misleadingly suggests an end to education, rather than a transition to home education. The bill references homeschooling without clear justification, raising concerns about its intent and potential impact.
We urge lawmakers to reject HB1408 to prevent confusion and undue burdens on homeschooling families.
Take Action: Contact your legislators to oppose HB1408 and protect homeschooling freedoms.
SB 229 – Daniels
UPDATE 3/22/25: This bill was not heard in committee before the deadline so it should not advance this year. Possibly still alive to be heard next February. We are keeping the information here in case another similar bill is proposed.
Concerns: This bill amends the Parental Choice Tax Credit passed two years ago to remove the monetary cap on funding the Parental Choice Tax Credit.
As the current Parental Choice Tax Credit stands, there is a money cap to prevent too many people from receiving the tax credit. If SB229 is passed, it would amend the bill as such, “For fiscal year 2027 and subsequent fiscal years, there shall be no limit to the amount of credits authorized by paragraph 1 of subsection C of this section.”
This bill removes the monetary cap that the original tax bill has. We should be concerned about the unlimited amount of funds this could potentially take from the state.
This could cause taxpayers to pressure politicians to regulate where that money is going and on what it is spent.
As usual, HSOK recommends NOT taking the parental choice tax credit.
Take Action: Contact your legislators to oppose SB 229 and protect homeschooling freedoms.
HB 2254 – Representative Waldron
UPDATE 3/22/25: This bill was not heard in committee before the deadline so it should not advance this year. Possibly still alive to be heard next February. We are keeping the information here in case another similar bill is proposed.
Concerns: Data collecting of homeschool parents’ and children’s names, regulation to file for intent to homeschool, overreach of government, early stages of homeschool regulation
HB 2254 is currently very short; please read it to understand some of the government’s ideas for regulation. Along with a letter of intent to homeschool, this bill mandates that all names of persons in the household must be submitted into a database.
It states, “parents making the decision to choose homeschooling, podschooling, or microschooling shall submit a letter of intent to the State Department of Education. The letter of intent shall include the parent or parents’ names, the child’s or children’s names, the home address, the names of any other individuals living within the home, the names of any associated individuals or organizations assisting with the child’s or children’s schooling, and a brief statement for the decision of schooling.”
The bill also states, “The State Department of Education shall compile a database of individuals, facilities, and organizations that perform and assist with homeschooling, podschooling, or microschooling.”
Currently, if a family wants to homeschool, they submit a letter of withdrawal to the school stating only the withdrawing student’s full name and the parent’s signature. No other information is required. This bill will extend that reach and start collecting a database.
Homeschool Oklahoma is against any legislation such as this that concerns taking away our homeschool freedom. Fragments of this short bill mimic the Make Homeschool Safe Act, a model bill which legislators are using to write homeschool regulation into law under the guise of helping children.
Take Action: Contact your legislators to oppose HB 2254 and protect homeschooling freedoms.
HB 1255 – Representative Strom
UPDATE 3/22/25: This bill was not heard in committee before the deadline so it should not advance this year. Possibly still alive to be heard next February. We are keeping the information here in case another similar bill is proposed.
Concerns: State testing will be required for those who take the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit
This bill is almost identical to Rep. Strom’s HB3585, which was introduced and failed last year. HB 1255 adds state assessments for students educated by other means whose parents have taken the Oklahoma Parental Tax Credit. If you have taken the credit and your student does not take the required assessment, you will have to repay the credit.
This bill would introduce state testing into homeschooling. If legislation of this nature were to become law, it could open the door for more measures to restrict and regulate homeschooling. In effect, it could extend into all of homeschooling in the future whether one chooses the tax credit or not.
Take Action: Contact your legislators to oppose HB1255 and protect homeschooling freedoms.
HB 1519 – Banning
UPDATE 3/22/25: This bill was not heard in committee before the deadline so it will not advance this year. Possibly still alive to be heard next February. HSOK was in favor of this bill.
HSOK SUPPORTS this bill. This bill, if passed, would amend the Parental Choice Tax Credit.
Currently, the Tax Credit is available to any parent or guardian who withdraws their child(ren) from public school and educates them through a private school or other means.
If HB1519 is passed, it would amend The Parental Choice Tax Credit by removing homeschooling from the eligible student section, thereby eliminating homeschooling from the tax credit altogether. This would keep homeschooling from possible regulation when future restrictions are imposed on the tax credit. Please ask your legislator to support this bill.
SB 247
UPDATE 2/3/25: Senator Deevers has withdrawn this proposed bill. We are keeping the information on this bill here in case another one similar creeps into this legislative session.
Concerns: Future regulation to verify the money is used on state certified material that meets their “qualified expenses” standard; terms are vague and will need interpreting by state representatives
This bill is about an Education Savings Account (ESA).
ESAs open the door to regulations for homeschoolers. The organization that provides the funding controls how that money is used. In other states where ESAs have been introduced, regulations were not far behind. Just ask Arizona homeschoolers.
This bill outlines the term “qualified expense,” which means the following services must be rendered by a participating educational provider:
- tuition and/or fees for curriculum and instruction
- instructional materials, textbooks, and supplies
- tutoring or educationally necessary occupational, physical, or speech therapy
- fees for nationally standardized assessments including, but not limited to, assessments used to determine college admission and advanced placement examinations
- fees for transportation related to travel to and from a participating educational service provider, up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per school year
- tuition for a curriculum or program offered by a technology center school
- fees associated with participation in extracurricular activities
- admission fees for state parks, museums, and other educational field trips
Many qualified expenses are vague and need interpreting. For example, the term instructional materials may or may not encompass religious texts, but that is up to the interpreter. The one to interpret the vagueness is the one providing the funds. This is one way regulation will be introduced to Oklahoma homeschooling families.
Homeschool Oklahoma opposes this legislation.
Interim Study – Representative Swope
Update: At the end of January 2025, Swope vacated her seat in the House of Representatives to work for the City of Tulsa in their Tribal division.
The issues in this study are still concerns, because they mimic a model bill influencers are using to push homeschool regulation into law.
Please watch this issue carefully along with us. Oklahoma is a prime target for homeschool regulation, and this interim study is building a case against parents to remove our homeschool liberties. Learn what you can to help do here.
Swope’s study is crafting language that will appeal to anyone wanting to fight for the safety of children but raises a false narrative that children aren’t safe without government oversight. The presentation begins with truancy, a public school issue, but quickly switches to the true focus of the study: homeschooling. Swope claims she doesn’t want to over-regulate homeschoolers, but much of the language in this presentation resembles the previous bill that died, HB 4130, which contained regulations that would violate our constitutional freedom. Homeschool Oklahoma is against any regulation that hinders the rights of parents to direct the education of their children as they see fit.
Points of Interest in the Interim Study
This study has several prominent themes. Check out our position on each argument by clicking on the links below.
- Regulation of homeschooling is necessary.
- Legislators are gaining credibility for a future bill.
- Parents of truant children are falsely claiming to homeschool.
- Children are slipping through the cracks.
- It is worth the costs of regulations to save just one child.
- A lack of oversight puts “our children” at risk.
Other Ways to Help:
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Our vision at Homeschool Oklahoma is to advance Christ-centered home education in Oklahoma. We focus on keeping homeschooling free in Oklahoma.
We examine the bills introduced each year and want you to know what could threaten your freedom to homeschool. You can find your local representatives here.
Previous Sessions
2024 Legislative Session Alerts
HB3585 – Rep. Strom
This bill will add a regulation to homeschooling families who take the tax credit provided by last year’s bill HB1934, which passed allowing homeschooling families to claim up to $1,000 for the year.
This new bill by Rep. Strom will require homeschooling families who take the tax credit to have the state assess their children through a state-certified testing facility. If the student “declines to complete the assessments required,” then the parent must pay back the money given to them through the tax credit. HSOK opposes this bill and advises homeschooling families to take two actions.
- Don’t take the tax credit.
- Contact your state representative and tell them you disapprove of this bill and ask them to vote “No.” You can find your local representatives here.
HB 3944 – Rep. Provenzano Waldron
This bill would require homeschooling families who receive the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit to submit an annual report to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The report would have to include “a detailed breakdown of how the tax credit dollars were allocated and spent, including a description of expenses and their respective amounts.” and “an explanation and rationale for the use of the tax credit funds, demonstrating their direct impact on educational programs, facilities, or resources.”
HSOK opposes this bill because of the required reporting homeschooling families must submit. We are concerned that this bill would lay the foundation for future legislation, such as HB4130, to regulate homeschooling families further.
The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit acts like a state voucher distributed uniquely (tax credit). HB3944 would give it more characteristics of a voucher because of the requirement to report all expenditures and exactly how the money was used. Again, the best way to fight this bill is to contact your legislators and tell them to vote no on this bill. The best way to maintain homeschool freedom is to refuse to take the tax credit. You can find your local representatives here.
HB4130 – Rep. Swope
Update: This bill was not heard in committee and will not progress further. We will continue to be vigilant about new bills that pop up.
This bill, as we understand it, represents a huge threat to the freedom of homeschooling. This bill presents itself as an amendment to the Juvenile Code relating to deprived children. However, it appears to us that its reach goes far beyond that. We updated our statement after Representative Swope made statements in an interview that she does plan for this bill to apply to all homeschooling families, whether they are currently under DHS investigation or not. You can read that interview here.
This bill is a direct threat to your homeschooling freedom in Oklahoma. This bill presents itself as an amendment to the Juvenile Code relating to children in protective custody. But its aim is farther reaching than that.
Although the bill focuses on the state’s definitions and procedures when dealing with children in protective custody in its 32 pages, the last two pages will establish regulations for families who want to homeschool in Oklahoma. The process goes as follows:
- Submit a letter of intent to DHS
- The letter of intent must contain the parent’s name and SSN, the child’s name, home address, names of anyone else living in the home, names of anyone helping in the child’s schooling, and a brief statement of the reason why the decision for this type of schooling was made.
- Any changes from the initial decision must be submitted in another letter.
- DHS then performs a background check on parents and the other adults in the letter.
- DHS will maintain a system of biannual database checks and compile a database of individuals, facilities, and organizations that perform and assist with homeschooling, podschooling, and microschooling.
- If abuse is determined, then permission to homeschool is denied with an explanation.
This bill’s author is alarmed by the freedom homeschoolers have in the state. She believes the state needs regulations in place to keep track of homeschoolers in the state to protect children from abuse. Yet, we already have laws in place to protect children from abuse in the home, so why do we need more laws?
This bill, in its entirety, duplicates what’s already in place within the state’s DHS. On Oklahoma.gov, it states, “Homeschooling is an educational option for the child in DHS custody. Permission to allow homeschooling is made on a case-by-case basis after assessment of the request and consultation with the district director. The consultation and the decision are documented in the KIDS Contacts screen by the CW specialist, and the child’s Education screen is updated.”
If this bill is passed, we will see, in one fatal swoop, homeschooling in Oklahoma go from a state constitutional right to a Department of Human Services preference. Every homeschooling parent and grandparent, tutor, co-op teacher and leader, coach, and provider of extracurricular services in the state will potentially be open to state-provided background checks.
HSOK opposes this bill because of the direct proposal to regulate homeschooling in Oklahoma, removing our parental right to do so. We ask that you contact your Representative and Senator and tell them to vote NO on this bill. You can find your local representatives here.
HB2983 – Rep. Kane
UPDATE: Rep. Kane requested that his bill not be heard in committee. On Feb. 8, 2024, his office told an HSOK Representative that “the bill is dead.” HOWEVER, we are watching to see if these ideas pop up in another bill. Continue to look for updates.
If passed, HB2983 is an equal access bill that would allow homeschooled students to participate in extra-curricular activities in their public school district. This bill seems to benefit the homeschooling student because it permits them to be involved in activities unavailable to them because of their rural location in the state. But there are co-ops and support groups that plan events, activities, and sports all across our state (See Local Listings and Support Groups). The bill, on page 3, section D, states that homeschoolers will meet academic standards by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the student’s parent and the resident district’s superintendent. The method of evaluation may include a review of the student’s work by a certified teacher employed by the resident district, the student’s performance on a nationally recognized standardized test, or an evaluation of grades earned through correspondence courses. This kind of assessment allows the state to step in and regulate homeschooling families, something that hasn’t been authorized since the conception of this state. If this bill passes, it will set a foundation for the state to determine if your child is being taught correctly by the state’s standards. HSOK opposes this bill and asks that homeschooling families in Oklahoma contact their representatives and tell them they do not want what this bill offers and ask them to please vote “no.” You can find your local representatives here.
ACT NOW!
Contact your state legislators by phone and email to share your opposition or approval of these bills. If you don’t know who they are, find out here! Politely tell them what you oppose or approve, and concisely include why you feel that way. You can find your local representatives here.