HB 3718: Special education; Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program; requiring certain meeting in certain time period; evaluations; exceptions; eligibility; calculation of scholarship; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House committee substitute to a Senate floor version, resulting in significant formatting and structural changes. The most substantive policy change is the reorganization of eligibility criteria, which now explicitly lists seven specific categories (including military families and homeless students) under which a student qualifies for the scholarship. Additionally, the timeline for school districts to provide consent forms and make eligibility decisions was clarified and standardized to specific day counts.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program, but the applicability of eligibility rules was refined to include specific scenarios like military transfers and out-of-home placements more clearly.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the eligibility criteria to explicitly list seven distinct categories (a through g) including military families, homeless students, and those in out-of-home placement.

TIMELINE

Standardized the deadline for school districts to provide evaluation consent forms to five days and the deadline to make eligibility decisions to forty-five school days.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document header from 'Committee Substitute' to 'Engrossed House Bill' and updated the page numbering and formatting to reflect Senate floor processing.

HB3718 (4-29-26) (DANIELS) FA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to extend the deadline for school districts to provide evaluation consent forms from five days to fifteen school days. It also clarifies that if the consent form is not provided within the initial five-day window, the 45-day evaluation clock begins on the sixth day rather than the original receipt date. These changes aim to reduce administrative pressure on districts while ensuring students with disabilities receive timely evaluations.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding evaluation timelines was modified to provide a more realistic window for school districts to process consent forms before starting the evaluation clock.

TIMELINE

Extended the deadline for providing evaluation consent forms from five days to fifteen school days.

Clarified that the 45-day evaluation period begins on the sixth day if the consent form is not provided within the initial five-day period.

REQUIREMENT

Removed language requiring school districts to schedule a meeting to review existing data with parents.

House Committee Substitute → HB3718 (4-29-26) (DANIELS) FA1.PDF · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to significantly speed up the timeline for school districts to provide consent forms and make eligibility decisions for special education services under the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program. The deadline for providing consent forms was reduced from five days to one day, and the deadline for making eligibility decisions was reduced from forty-five school days to fifteen school days. Additionally, the amendment clarifies that professional development days and parent-teacher conference days do not count toward these deadlines, ensuring the clock only ticks on actual school days.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's requirements for school districts was tightened by imposing stricter and faster response times for special education evaluations and eligibility determinations.

TIMELINE

The deadline for school districts to provide a written or electronic evaluation consent form to parents was reduced from five days to one day.

The deadline for school districts to complete an evaluation and make an eligibility determination was reduced from forty-five school days to fifteen school days.

Professional development days and parent-teacher conference days are now explicitly excluded from the count of school days used to calculate the eligibility determination deadline.

REQUIREMENT

School districts are now required to schedule a meeting to review existing data with a parent or legal guardian instead of simply providing a consent form.

The requirement for school districts to provide a consent form was removed, replaced by the mandate to schedule a data review meeting.

The phrase 'signed consent form' was changed to 'signed special education evaluation' to clarify the specific document involved in the process.

An exception was added stating that the forty-five-school-day period does not apply when federal law provides an exception.

Proposed Committee Substitute (sub committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from a proposed committee substitute to the official House Committee Substitute version, updating the header information and page numbering. The substantive policy language regarding scholarship eligibility, evaluation timelines, and funding calculations remains identical to the previous version.

Scope change

No change in the bill's scope or applicability; the changes are purely administrative formatting updates.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to reflect the official 'House Committee Substitute' status and corrected the page numbering sequence.

Replaced the 'Proposed Subcommittee Substitute' title with the standard legislative title format.

Adjusted the page footers to match the new document numbering scheme.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → Proposed Committee Substitute (sub committee) 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reclassified from a 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to a 'Proposed Subcommittee Substitute,' indicating it has moved to a more advanced stage of legislative review. The most significant substantive change shortens the deadline for school districts to decide on special education eligibility from 60 days to 45 school days. Additionally, the new timeline explicitly defines which days count toward this deadline, including professional days and parent-teacher conferences.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the timeline for special education evaluations has been narrowed to require a faster response from school districts.

TIMELINE

The deadline for school districts to determine special education eligibility was reduced from 60 days to 45 school days.

DEFINITION

A new provision clarifies that professional days and days with parent-teacher conferences count as 'school days' when calculating the 45-day eligibility deadline.

TECHNICAL

The bill's header was updated to reflect its new status as a 'Proposed Subcommittee Substitute,' and page numbering references were adjusted accordingly.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to replace the original text with a new version that simplifies the scholarship program and significantly extends the deadline for schools to decide on special education eligibility. The new version removes specific procedural requirements for scheduling initial review meetings and consolidates the timeline into a single 60-day period for the final eligibility decision. This change reduces administrative complexity for school districts and provides a longer window for families to receive a decision on whether their child qualifies for special education services.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing specific procedural steps (like the initial 15-day meeting requirement) and broadening the timeline for the final eligibility determination from 45 days to 60 days.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for school districts to schedule an initial data review meeting within 15 days of receiving an evaluation request.

Removed the specific exception clause regarding federal law delays that previously applied to the 45-day timeline.

TIMELINE

Changed the deadline for school districts to make an eligibility determination from 45 days to 60 days after receiving consent for evaluation.

ENFORCEMENT

Maintained the rule that if the school district fails to make a decision within the new 60-day window, the student is automatically deemed eligible for the scholarship.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill title and subject line to reflect the new focus on the 60-day decision timeline and removed references to the Lindsey Nicole Henry Act's original effective date context.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 4 edits · May 12, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized from its 'Engrossed' version to the 'Enrolled' version, which involves minor formatting corrections and a significant update to the timeline for special education evaluations. The most important policy change is the extension of the deadline for school districts to schedule a data review meeting from five days to fifteen school days after a parent requests an evaluation. Additionally, the law now explicitly states that if a school district fails to make an eligibility determination within the required timeframe, the student is automatically deemed eligible for the scholarship.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities, but the operational requirements for school districts were adjusted to allow more time for scheduling initial evaluation meetings.

TIMELINE

The deadline for school districts to schedule a meeting to review existing data with a parent was extended from five days to fifteen school days after receiving a request for a special education evaluation.

REQUIREMENT

A new provision clarifies that if a school district fails to make an eligibility determination within the forty-five-school-day period, the student is automatically deemed eligible for the scholarship.

TECHNICAL

The title of the act was updated to better reflect the content, changing 'education' to 'special education' and adding details about scheduling meetings and calculation methods.

Minor formatting corrections were made to the header and page numbering to finalize the bill for signature.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 5 edits · May 6, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify its purpose as a special education law and to significantly extend the timeline for school districts to respond to special education evaluation requests from five days to fifteen days. Additionally, new eligibility criteria were added to include students experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home placement with specific state agencies, and the definition of 'school days' was expanded to include professional development days and parent-teacher conference days.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened to explicitly include students experiencing homelessness and those in out-of-home placement with the Department of Human Services or the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

TIMELINE

The deadline for school districts to provide an evaluation consent form was extended from five days to fifteen school days after receiving a parent's request.

The deadline for completing an evaluation and making an eligibility determination was extended from forty-five days to sixty school days if the initial consent form was not provided on time.

ELIGIBILITY

New eligibility categories were added for students who are homeless or in out-of-home placement with the Department of Human Services or the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'school days' was updated to include professional development days and days used for parent-teacher conferences.

REQUIREMENT

The bill title was updated to more accurately reflect the specific duties regarding special education evaluations and timelines.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 4 edits · May 6, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to shift its focus from a general education reform act to a specific special education scholarship program. Key changes include extending the time for school districts to schedule initial evaluation meetings from five to fifteen school days and removing a requirement for districts to provide specific consent forms. These amendments streamline the evaluation process and reduce administrative burdens on districts while maintaining the core scholarship eligibility criteria.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed from a broad 'Education Reform Act' to specifically address the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program.

REQUIREMENT

Extended the deadline for school districts to schedule a meeting to review existing data with parents from five school days to fifteen school days after a request for evaluation.

Deleted a requirement for school districts to provide specific consent forms during the evaluation process.

Removed a provision requiring districts to submit specific forms related to the evaluation process.

SCOPE

Changed the bill title and description to reflect a special education focus rather than a general education reform initiative.

Special education; Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program; requiring certain meeting in certain time period; evaluations; exceptions; eligibility; calculation of scholarship; effective date.

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