SECTION 210:35-3-47. School reports and records

  Well-delineated policies and procedures for records and reports shall be developed and kept current. School districts may store all documents and information in student records either electronically or in paper format.

(1)   Records and reports needed for effective planning, operation, evaluation, and reporting shall be kept relative to the following components of the educational program:

(A)   Administrative operations

(B)   Curriculum

(C)   Guidance

(D)   Health services

(E)   Instructional supplies

(F)   Media services

(G)   School Plant

(H)   Staff

(I)   Student activities

(J)   Student personnel

(2)   The permanent record of the student, including social security number as permitted by law, shall be current and filed in the superintendent's or principal's office. Standardized test results, student's school activities, attendance and citizenship dates shall be included as a part of the permanent records. Proper safeguards shall be taken with these records to protect the confidentiality of individuals and the human rights of all students. Health and immunization records should be kept separately.

(3)   One person in each school shall be responsible for all personally identifiable information to assure that no unauthorized person will be able to obtain the information without written parental permission.

(4)   Students shall be officially enrolled upon receipt of their immunization records as required by law and transcripts or grade cards. Information pertaining to grades, graduation tests, college admission test, rank in class of graduating seniors, and other pertinent information required under 70 O.S. § 24-114 shall be recorded on the transcript. A student's transcript shall be maintained by the school district for not less than eighty (80) years following the graduation, transfer, or withdrawal of the student from the district. Because of the likelihood of changes to electronic data storage systems and practices during the timeframe that transcripts must be maintained, districts that store student records electronically are encouraged to make any necessary format conversions of student transcript records each time the district makes a significant change to its electronic data storage system, so that transcripts will be retrievable if the original storage format becomes obsolete.

(5)   Principals shall furnish transcripts and immunization records of students within three business days when requested to do so by school officials.

(6)   School administrators shall be familiar with and assure compliance with state attendance laws.

(7)   Attendance records shall be completed and made available for auditing at the close of the school year. The principal or a competent person under his or her supervision shall record the attendance daily.

(A)   Pupils absent from school in which they are regularly enrolled may be considered as being in attendance if the reason for such absence is to participate in scheduled school activities under the direction and supervision of a regular member of the faculty.

(B)   Closing classroom work early for seniors for commencement or other activities is prohibited by the State Board of Education. Any school district which does not require students to attend school for the full term shall be in violation of the State Board of Education policy and shall be cited for the violation on the final accreditation report as presented for approval by the State Board of Education for the upcoming school year.

(C)   Classroom activities and instruction shall continue until the end of the school term. Students given excused absences during examination periods, for sickness or any other reason, shall not be counted as being in attendance.

(8)   Attendance records and teachers' grade books shall be filed with the district superintendent or his/her designee at the close of the school year.

(9)   Permanent records of staff and students shall be retained in the school.

(10)   Except for transcript records as defined in 70 O.S. § 24-114, school districts shall dispose of information in a student record at a time established by district policy that is between five (5) and seven (7) years after the student has graduated, transferred, or withdrawn from the district. Prior to the destruction of student records under this provision, school districts shall provide notification to the student or, if the student is under eighteen (18), to the student's parent or guardian, that the student's non-transcript records are scheduled to be destroyed. Notifications may be sent to the student or parent/guardian's last known mailing address and/or email address. Such notification must include an option for the student/parent to request the physical records, if in hard copy format, or a copy of the records if they are stored electronically. Students/parents shall be allowed at least thirty (30) days following notification to request the records before the records may be destroyed by the school district. If a district's policy includes the option for students/parents to request the student records scheduled for destruction by postal mail, the district may require the student/parent to pay the necessary postage, provided that no fee shall be charged if the student/parent retrieves the records in person. A school district shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirement to notify a student/parent prior to the destruction of student records if notification is directed to the last known contact information available to the district.

(11)   Any person who has completed at least thirty (30) hours of college credit at an accredited college or university in Oklahoma may be awarded a high school diploma by the State Department of Education, upon written request and verification of supporting documentation.

(A)   A person wishing to apply for a diploma under these provisions must submit a written request to the State Department of Education. This request must be submitted with an official copy of the diploma applicant's transcript from an Oklahoma college or university showing at least thirty (30) credit hours earned.

(B)   An official copy of the applicant's transcript may be submitted in either hard copy or electronic form. Acceptance of an official transcript in electronic form may require direct submission to the State Department of Education by the diploma applicant's college or university.

(C)   Any person who has previously been an Oklahoma student and has earned at least thirty (30) hours of college credit at an accredited college or university may apply for a diploma under this section, regardless of whether the credits were earned at an institution located in Oklahoma. A former Oklahoma student applying for a diploma after earning credits from an accredited college or university outside Oklahoma must submit an official transcript showing credits earned, as well as documentation showing that the applicant was previously an Oklahoma student.

[Source: Added at 8 Ok Reg 2159, eff 5-17-91 (emergency); Added at 9 Ok Reg 2371, eff 7-13-92; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 3361, eff 5-5-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2306, eff 6-11-98; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2910, eff 7-13-00; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 929, eff 8-27-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1098, eff 9-11-17]