A bill that grants a one-year exemption from penalties for school districts that have excess carryover dollars due to the COVID-19 pandemic was passed by the House of Representatives. Without this change, some Oklahoma school districts would have been subject to fines for having too large of a carryover balance.

House Bill 3964, by State Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, prohibits the State Department of Education from assessing a penalty against a school district that exceeds the general fund carryover limits for the current fiscal year.

If districts exceed limits placed in statute for two years in a row, however, they are assessed a penalty from the State Department of Education.