Committee approves bill to remove higher ACT threshold for homeschooled students in Oklahoma Promise

Representative West urged the committee to advance HB 2963, saying the bill “restores parity” by removing what she described as an unequal gatekeeping mechanism that requires homeschooled students to meet a higher ACT threshold to access Oklahoma's Promise (OLAP). She said homeschooled students already submit transcripts, GPAs and college admissions and that colleges, not the state, ultimately assess readiness.

Opponents pressed for more data and fiscal clarity. Representative McCain argued the change would “weaken this bill” because it removes a uniform measure of academic ability, and asked the sponsor to consider alternatives such as applying the ACT requirement to students from accredited schools instead. Several members, including Representative Waldron, urged laying the measure over until staff could produce estimates of how many additional students would qualify and the associated fiscal impact; the sponsor said she did not have those figures and could not estimate how many students would be affected.

The sponsor said the program’s accountability largely relies on colleges’ admissions decisions. She told the committee that if a college accepts a homeschooled applicant, “the college has determined that we believe you can do the work in college.” Members repeatedly pressed whether the bill would remove end‑of‑instruction assessments for homeschooled students; the sponsor said it would not eliminate existing transcript and admissions requirements.

After one minute of debate for and against, the committee opened the roll call. The record shows several members voting in favor and others opposed; the committee chair announced the bill as passed out of committee by a vote of 7 aye and 3 nay.

Next steps: HB 2963 will move from the subcommittee to the full committee/House calendar for further consideration; staff follow‑up on fiscal impact and counts of affected homeschooled students was requested during the hearing.