School Rules Under House Scrutiny Today
The House Administrative Rules Committee will meet this afternoon. The outcome could shape the future of nearly every child in Oklahoma.
Agency rulemaking is not a spectator sport. It would be the epitome of governmental sausage-making, but grinding up pork and stuffing it into sheep intestines is a lot more fun to watch. The Legislature directs an agency to make rules. The agency’s lawyers get busy writing. The agency brass looks them over. The Legislature approves them. The governor nods.
For example, the Department of Environmental Quality wrote one last year that declared, in part, that the official average flow of a stream would be determined by a technical report from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board entitled “Estimation of Mean Annual Average Flows.”
And that was the exciting part.
The Department of Education in February adopted a set of rules so controversial the House Administrative Rules Committee separated them from all the other agency rules, which were approved en masse last week.
If the rules are approved, school accreditation will be tied to academic performance. The potential complication is that some very large districts such as Tulsa and Oklahoma City serve a high percentage of low-income or special education students, who don’t always get three years of high-priced preschool, a stay-at-home parent to guide homework and a private tutor when they’re struggling. It makes conquering standardized tests a steeper hill to climb.
If a district that size, or even a large high school were to come up short and lose accreditation, it would likely lose state funding. And that’s a death sentence for the school or district.
The rules would ban the use of state money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Oklahoma’s K-12 schools and eliminate what the superintendent called “sexually provocative behaviors,” including drag show performances, by teachers and administrators.
The rules would mandate silent time for prayer and end the department’s longtime association with three Oklahoma public school advocacy and service organizations.
More worth reading:
Budget Fight Continues
Stitt and legislative leaders met again Monday in public to negotiate a fiscal year 2025 budget. For the third day, they adjourned without an agreement, but are expected to reconvene. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tulsa Mayor Supports Latest Sidewalk Obstruction Measure
A proposed amendment would make it “unlawful and an offense for any person to obstruct any street, alley, crosswalk, sidewalk, or trail used for the passage of pedestrians … vehicles, or bicycles to which the public or a significant group of the public has access, unless allowed by the terms of a license or permit issued by the city.” [Tulsa World]
OU Fraternity Embroiled in Racist Incident
A member of OU’s chapter of Kappa Sigma was removed from the fraternity after yelling racist and homophobic language with two other men at people passing by the fraternity house on April 20. [OU Daily]
In 1960, Norman’s Jerrie Cobb became the first female astronaut trainee and passed all three testing phases with flying colors. NASA discontinued training women as astronauts in 1963.
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomaw
