Under Oklahoma law, public schools are required to provide either 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction per year.

But lawmakers indicate that many Oklahoma public schools are effectively defrauding state taxpayers by accepting payment for instructional days that never occur. Schools are instead substituting bogus “virtual learning” days that involve little—or even no—learning or instruction.

“We’ve got people sending packets home with no teachers available online,” said state Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton. “Two of my three kids had two virtual days last year where they had nothing—absolutely nothing.”

Recently, Moore said he had a high-school page who had a virtual day while serving at the Oklahoma Capitol.

“It was in AP Lit, one of the hardest classes you can take in high school,” Moore said. “And her virtual day assignment when she was here: ‘What book are you reading?’ Type it in. Enter. You’ve completed your assignment for the day.”

Senate Bill 758, by Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton and state Sen. Kristen Thompson, would limit brick-and-mortar public schools to just two days (or 12 hours) of virtual learning as part of the 180 days of instruction/1,080 hours of instruction required each school year, outside specific emergency circumstances, provided the two virtual days are approved by the state superintendent of public instruction or tied to an emergency order issued by the governor.

Under state law, school districts are allowed to meet as few as 165 days each year so long as they provide at least 1,080 hours of instruction. But schools must meet certain requirements to make that shift to a four-day school week. When SB 758 was debated in the Oklahoma Senate, lawmakers said many schools have used “virtual days” to effectively shift to a four-day week while still claiming to operate five days a week.

During Senate debate, Paxton referenced one virtual school-day assignment that consisted of “a senior in high school doing a third-grade math paper that took her five minutes to do.” He said many schools’ virtual days are “a fraud on our students’ education.”

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have argued that schools are effectively taking taxpayer payments for educational services never rendered or only partially rendered, at best.

“Would it surprise you to know that my grandson had a virtual day two weeks ago and it took him 45 minutes to get his work done?” said state Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay. “Is that counted as an entire school day for him?”

“Yes, it was,” Moore replied. “That’s one full instructional day that would have counted towards, at least six hours towards, his 1,080 hours.”

SB 758 has drawn opposition from groups representing the schools and/or officials accused of abusing the system, as well as the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition (PLAC), which declared that “virtual learning is part of a modern education.”

SB 758 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 53-32 vote on Tuesday. The bill previously passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 33-14 vote. The bill now proceeds to the governor.