Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-3-129.7

A. Upon approval of an empowerment plan for a school, zone, or

district, the State Board of Education shall waive any statutes or

rules specified in the approved empowerment plan as they pertain to

the empowered school, zone, or district; except that the State Board

shall not waive requirements for the following:

1. School district employee participation in the Teachers’

Retirement System of Oklahoma;

2. The Oklahoma School Testing Program Act;

3. The requirement for students enrolled in the school district

to demonstrate mastery of the state academic content standards as

set forth in Section 1210.523 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

4. The accountability system as set forth in Section 1210.541

of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and

5. The federal “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001”, 20 U.S.C.,

Section 6301 et seq.

B. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the State

Board of Education shall not waive any statute or rules specified in

the approved empowerment plan for an empowered school, zone or

district if the statute or rule relates to the implementation of or

requirements for any program or grant for which the school district

is receiving funds appropriated for the support of public school

activities. The State Board of Education may waive any statute or

rule that relates to the implementation of or requirements for any

program or grant only if the funding for the program or grant is no

longer allocated to the school district.

C. Designation as an empowered school, zone, or district shall

not affect the allocation of State Aid funding for the school

district as calculated pursuant to Section 18-200.1 of Title 70 of

the Oklahoma Statutes.

D. 1. If the school district board of education for an

empowered school, zone, or district revises an empowerment plan as

provided in Section 9 of this act, the school district board of

education may request, and the State Board shall grant, additional

waivers or changes to existing waivers as necessary to accommodate

the revisions to the empowerment plan unless the State Board

concludes that the waivers or changes to existing waivers would:

a. be likely to result in a decrease in academic

achievement in the empowered school, zone, or

district, or

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 70. Schools Page 177

b. not be fiscally feasible.

In requesting a new waiver or a change to an existing waiver,

the school district board of education shall demonstrate the consent

of a majority of the teachers and a majority of the administrators

employed at each school that is affected by the new or changed

waiver.

2. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 1 of this

subsection, a waiver that is granted pursuant to this section shall

continue to apply to a school, zone, or district as long as the

school, zone, or district continues to be designated as an empowered

school, zone, or district.