This chapter addresses Article XIII of the Oklahoma constitution, which concerns education. Section 1 mandates establishment and maintenance of a public school system but does not guarantee an equal educational opportunity in the sense of equal expenditures of money for each and every pupil in the state. Section 2 states that “the Legislature shall provide for the establishment and support of institutions for the care and education of persons within the state who are deaf, deaf and mute, or blind.” Meanwhile, Section 3—which was entitled “Separate Schools for White and Colored Children”—was repealed on May 3, 1966. Section 4 states that “the Legislature shall provide for the compulsory attendance at some public or other school, unless other means of education are provided.” Section 5 grants power to the State Board of Education to supervise the instruction in public schools. Section 6 provides for the establishment of a uniform system of textbooks to be used in the public schools, making it clear that the books must be free to students.
