Rural Oklahoman parents raise concerns over HB1088’s impact on school choice

House Bill 1088 is moving through the Oklahoma Legislature, and it’s raising concerns for families in rural school districts who fear it could limit their ability to choose the best high school for their children.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. What Does HB1088 Do?

1. Allows automatic transfers to adjacent school districts when a student’s home district doesn’t offer their next grade level.
2. No transfer portal or capacity limits are required for these adjacent moves.
3. However, non-adjacent transfers will now require:
4. Use of the open transfer portal
5. Compliance with standard transfer rules and capacity limits

 2. Why It Matters for Rural Families

1. Rural districts like Banner Public Schools only serve students through 8th grade.
2. Under current law, parents have the flexibility to pick any district offering high school, regardless of proximity.
3. HB1088 would limit that choice to only adjacent districts, in this case, Yukon, Union City, or El Reno.

“To me, it's just shifting the burden. It's not creating a solution," Jessica Johnson, a Banner parent, said.

Johnson's son currently attends Bethany High School, which is not adjacent to the Banner district.

“Jayden has found his home at Bethany... the teachers and other kids love him—he's really happy," Johnson said.

3. Who’s Affected?

1. 92 K–8 districts exist in Oklahoma.
2. Around 800 rural students per year could be affected by the new restrictions.

“The law has always protected us," said Dr. John Cox, President of Oklahoma Rural Elementary Schools. "We just don’t want to do anything that might hurt our parents or their ability to choose the best school for their kids.”

4. What Supporters Say

Supporters of the bill—including Senator Kelly Hines—argue the bill closes a loophole:

1. Currently, students can “force” transfers to distant districts by bypassing the open transfer system.
2. This allows them to avoid capacity limits and standard oversight.

"This bill closes a loophole in the current statute that allows a student to avoid the open transfer portal and avoid capacity limits to 'force' their transfer to a desired district, which could be two or more districts from their resident district, with no regard to capacity limits," according to Sen. Hines.

5. Legislative Status

1. House Education Committee: ✅ 11–0
2. House Oversight Committee: ✅ 9–0
3. House Floor: ✅ 80–7
4. Senate Education Committee: ✅ 8–2
5. Senate Floor: Not yet scheduled