SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — School choice is a big topic at the capitol, not just this legislative session but the last few.
Governor Kevin Stitt has been a staunch supporter of giving more power to parents when it comes to their children's schools.
There's a new law that's making it easier for students to change schools. The open transfer law was signed by Stitt in 2021 and took effect in January 2022.
That law allows parents to transfer their students to any school district in the state. There are some restrictions to it, as a student can only transfer up to twice a year, and a district must have the capacity to bring in the student. Capacity is calculated at each grade level, not as a district-wide number.
A district can also take into consideration a student's behavior and attendance when deciding whether to accept the transfer.
2 News Oklahoma spoke to people with districts across Green Country, including Bixby, Claremore, and Sand Springs, to see how that law has affected enrollment, as well as parents who say they love the new freedom.
“The whole thing about making sure that your kids fit and succeed is huge,” said Mindy Hall, a parent with two kids in Sand Springs Public Schools.
“I feel like it's really important to do what's best for your kids, and I love that that that choice is there for your kids,” said Claremore Public Schools parent Haley Young.
Mindy Hall and Haley Young said their students are adjusting well to their new schools. Each of them transferred from a larger district to a smaller one.
“For my daughter, she's had some class opportunities that she didn't necessarily have in Owasso that were a little bit easier to get into and just be able to have those smaller class sizes,” said Hall.
Class size is just one reason a family may use the new transfer law to change districts.
For the Young family, it gave them an opportunity to test the waters in Claremore before ultimately moving to the town.
“We lived in Owasso and we were making the drive for about a year to Claremore every day," Young said. "As we spent more time here, we fell in love with the school, we fell in love with the community.”
Another might be the types of opportunties a district offer. That's something people at Sand Springs Public Schools said helps them stand out.
"In Sand Springs, we have really robust programs through project lead the way and our stem programming from Pre-K all the way up to 12th grade," said Carrie Schlehuber, Sand Springs Public Schools enrollment center director. "It gives students an opportunity to find their niche or an area that is something special to them, something they enjoy.”
People in that district tell 2 News since the law took effect, they've seen transfers increase by about 21%.
"We were actually really pleasantly surprised because we have traditional accepted 700 transfer students, and this year, we have over 850 students that have transferred into our district, so it has really been a great benefit for us,” Schlehuber said.
Over in Claremore, people with that school district say they haven't seen a huge enrollment boost since the law passed. However, they rely on transfers because they’re landlocked.
“We do that to maintain enrollment. We have to have a certain level of enrollment for our financial stability," said Bryan Frazier, Claremore Public Schools Superintendent. "So that's a huge component for us, the ability to be able to take those transfers in.“
For larger districts, like Bixby, already bursting at the seams with students in the zip code, they don't have many spots for transfers to begin with.
“We would have a lot more people that would request and be accepted on open transfer if we had the capacity, classroom space,” Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller said.
Open transfers work on a first-come, first-serve basis after serving those who live within the district boundaries.
In Bixby, the few openings they have are in the high school senior grade level.
“Most students aren’t going to want to transfer their senior year," Miller said.
If you’re thinking about transferring your student to another district, Hall suggests you find out a district's requirements to transfer, class availability, and …
“Be sure to research, what you're looking for, whether it be more sports opportunities in a smaller school or the classes that they may be able to take in high school,” she said.
"If you feel like you could benefit from a school transfer, I 100% would recommend it because I get to watch my kids love going to school every day, and they're so excited to be there,” Young said.
We did attempt to include Tulsa Public Schools, the state's largest school district, in this story, but after two weeks, they declined an interview.
Transfer application requests for all school districts for the 2023 - 2024 school year open June 1st.
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