This year the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Catholic Church cannot sponsor the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, declaring the church would be a “state actor” using taxpayer funds for religious purposes.
The case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oklahomans should hope justices agree to take up this important case.
There are good policy reasons to hope St. Isidore ultimately prevails.
When it comes to religion, many on the left twist the principle of government neutrality into a doctrine of government suppression.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently ruled the Catholic Church cannot operate a state charter school. The decision is the latest in which an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision is at odds with simple logic.
Oklahoma City, Okla (March 28th) – At today’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the creation of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) Office of School Choice. The new division will function as a one-stop shop for all things related to school choice and parental empowerment in Oklahoma.
This is from the 20th, but it's newsworthy enough to go ahead and post despite being "old news" at this point. Attorney General Gentner Drummond is once again lining up against Governor Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters, this time over the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board's approval of a Catholic public charter school, which is touted (or decried, depending on the perspective) as the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation.
Drummond thinks the approval violates the state and federal constitutions, while Stitt and Walters disagree and think it would instead violate religious liberty to deny the charter.
The Catholic Church wants to open the nation’s first religious public charter school here in Oklahoma. After reviewing the application, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has voted to approve creation of the online St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
That decision has drawn pushback from some, but opponents’ arguments are weak.
Oklahoma City, Okla (Sept. 20th) – Today, the Oklahoma State Department of Education filed a Motion to Dismiss in OKPLAC, INC., d/b/a Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, et al., v. STATEWIDE VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD, et al. – concerning the approval of a religious charter school.
“Religious freedom is at the very bedrock of our nation,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. “Those who would sue to abridge the freedom of Americans to freely exercise their religion stand against 400 years of religious tolerance in America, predating the United States itself. I will fight to protect the freedom of all Oklahomans enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and Oklahoma laws, especially in our schools.”
The following op-ed was submitted by Carrie Bertrand. Carrie is a conservative political activist, a founding board member of the Constitutional Home Educators Alliance, and homeschooled two children for eighteen years.
How could any thinking person oppose “school choice?” – or so goes the familiar argument.
The debate continues this year, like last, in the Republican-majority state legislative session just begun, as school choice – also known as school vouchers, and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) – stirs intense conflict. The Left opposes school vouchers because they take money from public school funding; true conservatives don’t like vouchers because they expand government and threaten the autonomy of private and home education.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 19th) - Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, released his public education agenda Wednesday, which he believes will improve public education outcomes for Oklahoma children.
State Sup Hofmeister trading Epic donations for??
Oklahoma City, October 19th | Governor Kevin Stitt tonight questioned State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister why she has not given back more than $50,000 in donations from Epic Charter School administrators to her campaigns.
The reason is clear. From 2016-2018, State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister was taking donations from Epic Charter Schools to pay down her debt simultaneously while Superintendent Hofmeister was considering an application by Epic Charter’s administrators to expand their operations in Oklahoma.
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 21, 2022) – An extensive investigation into Epic Charter Schools by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has uncovered significant problems, including dubious attendance data that may have resulted in $780,000 in improperly obtained state funds and the improper disbursal of more than $8.5 million in bonuses to school administrators. The investigation was prompted by a complaint made against Epic in December 2021 by a former member of Epic’s governing board, Community Strategies Inc.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said she will recommend in the coming weeks that the State Board of Education place the virtual charter on probation and require it to undergo comprehensive corrective action. Findings in the OSDE report will also be shared with law enforcement to determine if further action is warranted.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 20th) – A bill protecting K-12 school-aged children from access to pornographic or obscene material in schools or libraries or through online digital libraries was signed into law by the governor this week.
Press release from U.S. Sen. James Lankford:
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK –Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Scott (R-SC), and 10 colleagues urged the Department of Education to reconsider the proposed rule redefining the Charter Schools Program, stripping parents of their ability to choose the best school for their child.
This is instructive in the debate over SB 1647 as it relates to the school choice lobby's failure to acknowledge the concerns that were raised by the homeschooling community before the measure was amended in committee to preclude homeschool participation in the proposed Oklahoma Empowerment Accounts program.
I was told by proponents of the measure that there was no reason for concern because, among other things, SB 1647 was written to prevent regulation of homeschooling. Their viewpoint made no allowance for the distinct likelihood of future alteration of the bill by future legislatures, which is one of the homeschool community's long-standing issue with legislation that seeks to "help" home educators out with vouchers or similar funding.
Epic Charter School and other virtual charter schools were all the rage a few years ago, until things came crashing down with Epic. Now, just a few years removed from the inauguration of a school choice fad, the rules have and continue to be changed. The same thing absolutely can happen with SB 1647.
Here is Dills' press release on new charter school reforms:
Dills' Charter School Reform Bills Pass House
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 14th) – Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, won unanimous House passage of a trio of bills that promise increased transparency over expenditures, attendance and oversight policies by Oklahoma public charter schools.
"Charter schools play a vital role in providing school choice options for students and parents in Oklahoma," Dills said. "Still, we must ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected and that we have an accurate and transparent accounting of how they are spent. We also need policies that ensure the academic needs of students are being met."
OKLAHOMA CITY (February 15th) – Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, today won unanimous passage of a trio of bills in the House Common Education Committee that focus on modifying various aspects of the Oklahoma charter school law.
House Bill 3643 would update requirements for virtual charter school governing boards that contract with educational management organizations (EMOs), creating greater transparency for state funds. In addition, the State Board of Education would be authorized to demand repayment of any monies illegally expended by an EMO and to withhold any unreturned amount from state funding allocations.
House Bill 3644 would update oversight requirements for charter school sponsors and governing boards.
House Bill 3645 would update virtual charter school attendance and truancy policies.
"Charter schools – both brick-and-mortar and virtual – have a role in our public school offerings to expand choice and to meet the individual needs of students and their parents," Dills said. "Unfortunately, however, we've had instances of outright fraud or abuse of taxpayer dollars when it comes to organizations that manage the administrative functions of these schools. These bills seek to tighten our laws, protecting public funds and increasing transparency over how they are expended. We also have a duty to ensure our students are receiving the public education promised them in our state Constitution."
Dills held several studies during the interim that helped guide the legislation. It's part of her ongoing effort to improve charter school law.
Public charter schools operate with greater flexibility than traditional schools under state law in exchange for greater accountability requirements. It's these requirements that Dills has been intent on clarifying since taking public office. She's been particularly focused on reform involving for-profit EMOS.
In 2019, she secured passage of House Bill 1395, which created greater oversight and increased transparency of the amount of taxpayer funding going to an EMO. The law change required the amounts being paid as well as a breakdown of all expenditures through the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System (OCAS). The owners of EMOs also now must make certain disclosures in public meetings.
The measures passed in committee today are now eligible to be considered by the full House.
Sheila Dills, a Republican, serves District 69 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Her district includes Jenks, South Tulsa and Bixby in Tulsa County.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, Attorney General John O’Connor announced Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater will take back the investigation into Epic Charter Schools.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Epic and its founders since 2013. This investigation originated with and was overseen for several years by District Attorney Prater who was working with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. During the course of the investigation, the Attorney General’s office in 2020 began working with the OSBI through special counsel. In May of 2021, the Multi-County Grand Jury released an interim report. Last Friday, our office received the final report from the OSBI. District Attorney Prater reached out to the Attorney General’s office in recent months requesting that he be the one to take back the investigation once the OSBI finished its investigation, as he had the investigation for many years. Prater will now resume his lead on this investigation and decide whether any charges are warranted.
Democrats Join Auditor’s Call for Attorney General to Act on Epic
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Several House Democrats released a joint statement praising Auditor Cindy Byrd’s investigation into EPIC Youth Services and joining her call for Attorney General John O’Connor to act in response to the auditor’s findings of possible criminal activity.
“It has become clear, after hearing from Auditor Byrd on multiple occasions, that millions of taxpayer dollars flowed through EPIC and into the pockets of the school’s founders.
OKLAHOMA CITY – After a thorough review of the investigative audit of Epic Charter Schools conducted by the State Auditor’s office last year, and a ruling by the State Board of Education (SDE), Epic Charter Schools has agreed to repay $9.11 million to the state.
“I want to commend SDE for its work to determine Epic’s administrative costs,” said State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd. “Because of our audit, Epic will return approximately $20 million in total to the State.
“Epic Charter Schools is a public school district, funded 100% by taxpayers, and my office has a duty to make sure they are spending the money properly. We asked for records and its hired education management company (EMO) refused to fully comply. Our audit findings verified the numbers based on the information the company did provide. Today’s agreement confirms that Epic’s EMO abused millions of taxpayer dollars by hiding its excessive administrative costs.”
Under the operating agreement between Epic Charter Schools and its hired management company, owners Ben Harris and David Chaney were taking 10% of every dollar Epic received to provide administration and management to the school. Their 10% fee exceeds the 5% administrative cap in state law.
In a late 2020 interview with Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, conducted as Betsy DeVos was nearing the end of her tenure as federal Secretary of Education for President Trump, Hess asked Devos for an anecdote that captured the experience.
DeVos responded, “I remember talking with a group of young African American students in a school where they were benefiting from the Milwaukee voucher program and looking outside at a sea of middle-aged white protestors who apparently thought those students didn’t deserve that opportunity. I think that’s a pretty good microcosm of what my experience in office was like.”
Unlike her detractors, DeVos never forgot to place students first in policy debates. That’s why the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs chose DeVos as this year’s recipient of our organization’s Citizenship Award.
That award is provided to those who make great contributions to our state and nation. It’s hard to imagine anyone more deserving than DeVos. Thanks to her leadership and hard work—which long preceded her time in Washington—the lives of countless children have been changed for the better through school choice and the conversation on education today is increasingly child focused.
In the free market, those who provide the best products or services are usually rewarded with greater pay or profit. But in government, the opposite often occurs.
Those who want Oklahoma’s educational outcomes to improve must change that dynamic. Fortunately, the State Board of Education has taken an important step towards achieving that goal.
Charter schools are public schools that operate under a legal agreement with a sponsor. If the charter school fails to live up to the terms of its agreement, it can be shut down. Charter enrollment is also the result of student families’ proactive choice, while traditional school enrollment is a passive process in which students are assigned based on geography. In exchange, the charter is granted certain flexibility in how it operates.
The public-school charter system has worked as hoped. Poor performers have closed, but the best schools have become islands of success. Review the state’s A-F report cards for schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and you’ll notice a trend. Nearly all A and B schools are charter schools. Nearly all F schools are traditional public schools. One of Oklahoma’s charter schools is even ranked among the best schools in the United States.
Yet those public charter schools are serving the same basic demographic groups as their lower-performing traditional counterparts.
