Every vote counts: HD20 runoff decided by TWO votes

Don't let people tell you your vote doesn't matter. Here are the unofficial results from yesterday's runoff election in Oklahoma House District 20:

State Rep. Conley files bill requiring student communications to include parents

Conley Bill Would Require Student Communications to Include Parent

OKLAHOMA CITY - Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, has filed a bill that would require school personnel engaging in electronic or digital communication with a student to include the student's parent or guardians.

Exceptions to House Bill 3958 may be made in case of an emergency, subject to subsequent notification to the parent or guardian. The measure stipulates that school personnel shall make reasonable efforts to use school-approved platforms, systems, or applications that allow automatic inclusion of parents or guardians in communications with students.

State Rep. Conley will not seek reelection in 2024

Rep. Conley Announces She will not Seek Reelection in 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, announced Thursday she would not seek a fourth term in 2024. Conley, whose district covers parts of McClain and Cleveland counties, was first elected in 2018, and was reelected in 2020, and 2022.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve my family, friends and neighbors in House District 20,” Conley said. "I have had amazing successes and incredible challenges, which I know will allow me to continue to serve the state of Oklahoma and the communities I represent as I move into my next chapter.”

Bill requiring libraries to organize books into age-appropriate categories passes State Senate

Senate approves bill to organize books into age-appropriate categories

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 7th) – The full Senate has approved a bill to require school and public libraries to place books into sections labeled elementary, junior high, Under 16 or juniors and seniors.  Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, is the author of Senate Bill 397, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.

“There is a time and place for conversations about certain subjects, but some of those topics are not suitable for students to be reading about in school,” Hamilton said. “This bill will further efforts to protect children in Oklahoma by only allowing them to access books from libraries that are appropriate for their age.”

Carter: Career teachers are scant in the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame

There was an uproar - a tempest in a teapot, really - the other week over new State Superintendent Ryan Walters removing portraits in a hallway at the State Department of Education building placed in recognition of a non-governmental organization's "hall of fame". Instead of using government space to laud this one group's favorite people, he wanted to use the space to honor and recognize the parents and children that the Oklahoma State Department of Education is supposed to be working for. 

Read below for some excellent context to the kerfluffle:

CAREER TEACHERS ARE SCANT IN THE OKLAHOMA EDUCATORS HALL OF FAME

by Ray Carter | February 24, 2023

When reviewing the more than 100 individuals inducted into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame since 1985, Ruth Genevieve Hudson stands out—because Hudson, inducted in 1994, is one of the very few career classroom teachers to make the cut.

While Hudson spent 45 years primarily teaching music at Sand Springs, Tulsa, and Blackwell Public Schools, as well as in the state of Kansas, her lengthy classroom service is in stark contrast to many of the other people honored in the educators’ hall.

Instead, the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame is filled with the names of politicians, union leaders, lobbyists, consultants, and individuals who worked in college settings rather than in the K-12 school system.

The hall is also filled largely with men, even though the overwhelming majority of classroom teachers are women.

“To me, it wasn’t showing respect for the classroom teachers,” said Teresa Turner, who taught school for 26 years in rural Oklahoma before retiring. “It was just showing more respect for administrators and others instead of the ones that are in the daily grind doing the work with the children.”

State Rep. Conley comments on obscene materials in school libraries

Conley Comments on Obscene Materials in School Libraries

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, this week called on State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister to follow through on the announcement of pornography in Tulsa Public Schools.

"It's not enough to acknowledge the existence of this inappropriate material in the district and call for its removal, follow-through in all Oklahoma schools will be essential for this to be resolved," Conley said. "I want to reiterate that materials such as these are not just in Tulsa Public Schools but in other school libraries throughout the state as well."

Senate passes measure keeping Planned Parenthood out of classrooms

Senate passes measure keeping Planned Parenthood out of classrooms

OKLAHOMA CITY – The full Senate has given approval to Senate Bill 1544, which would prevent public, charter or virtual schools across the state from partnering with an individual or entity that performs, induces, or provides abortions.

Authored by Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, the measure aims to prevent organizations, like Planned Parenthood, from instituting curriculum and normalizing sexual activities, behavior, and abortion in the state’s public-school systems.

Group of State Reps call on Attorney General Hunter to investigate Robinhood stock trading app

Reps. Logan Phillips, Trey Caldwell Call on Attorney General Hunter to Investigate Robinhood Stock Trading App

OKLAHOMA CITY (January 29th) – Reps. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, and Trey Caldwell, R-Lawton, today called on Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter to open an immediate investigation into the recent actions of the stock trading and investing app, Robinhood. Yesterday, in response to a large online group of retail investors targeting specific securities, Robinhood restricted trading of the stocks for a full trading day.

“The trading restrictions implemented by Robinhood are a clear example of market manipulation designed to protect big banks and hedge funds,” said Phillips. “The app claims to want to ‘democratize finance,’ but their actions over the past 48 hours have served to silence individual investors, including thousands of Oklahomans. I am calling on Attorney General Hunter to open an immediate investigation into the actions taken by Robinhood.”

The stocks restricted from purchase on Thursday included AMC; Bed, Bath and Beyond; Gamestop; Nokia; BlackBerry; Express; Koss and Naked Brand Group. The purchase of these stocks, which had been shorted by Wall Street investment firms, was encouraged on the popular Reddit page “r/wallstreetbets.” Due to the increase in purchase of these stocks among retail investors, the investment firms lost billions on their return, and Robinhood blocked the purchase of the stocks. Limited purchase power was restored as of Friday morning, and Robinhood cited “market volatility” as their reasoning for the restriction

Gov. Stitt announces $10M in funding to supply OK schools with PPE

GOVERNOR STITT, SEC. BROWN, EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS ANNOUNCE PPE ASSISTANCE FOR OKLAHOMA SCHOOLS

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 30, 2020)— Governor Kevin Stitt announced today the State of Oklahoma is allocating $10 million in federal CARES Act funding to supply Oklahoma schools with PPE in order to open safely for in-person learning.

Joined by Secretary of Human Services and Early Childhood Initiatives Justin Brown and education stakeholders from across the state, Gov. Stitt stressed the importance of the health and safety of students and teachers while highlighting the need for schools to resume.

“Schools are an essential part of our society,” said Gov. Stitt. “It is critically important that they operate safely and effectively for all students. I am committed to providing our schools with the resources and support they need in order to welcome students back to the classroom while also prioritizing their health.”

Based on personnel data and requests from the State Department of Education, the State will be providing the following PPE to Oklahoma schools:

State Reps call on State Dep't of Education to protect rural schools, revisit four-day school week limits

Conley calls on SDE to protect rural schools and revisit four-day school week rules

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, is calling on the State Department of Education to cancel and resubmit its proposed rules on waivers from new school year calendar requirements limiting four-day school weeks that are favored by many rural districts.

Last year, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 441, which requires school districts to use school years with a minimum of 165 days and at least 1,080 hours, beginning in the 2021-22 school year. The change essentially prevents four-day school weeks unless a waiver is obtained. Many rural districts are relying on the waiver to continue school weeks that work best for their communities.

The waiver rules required by SB 441 that were produced by the State Department of Education and Board of Education have not been finalized by the Legislature.

State Rep. Conley files bills to improve literacy rates for Oklahoma students

Conley Files Bills to Improve Literacy for Oklahoma Students

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 7th, 2020) – State Rep. Sherrie Conley (R-Newcastle) today discussed legislation she has filed this session to improve literacy rates among Oklahoma students.

Conley is running legislation that would add training requirements for teacher candidates to be trained in the science of reading and help them understand the characteristics of dyslexia, a measure that would require school boards to adopt a phonics curriculum for school districts, and a bill that would require an academic language counselor at all K-5 school sites.

“We have the tools to help every child in Oklahoma learn to read at an early age in our public schools,” Conley said. “My legislation would help teachers have easy access to these tools so they can recognize students who struggle earlier and get them the instruction they need to succeed at this most important skill.”

House Bill 3320 would amend the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act to require teacher candidates in early childhood, elementary and special education to study dyslexia characteristics in students and classroom instruction techniques as part of their competency-based preparation. The measure also would require training to include methods to identify potential manifestations and issues associated with dyslexia in students in order to both recognize and meet the needs of these students.

Conley said she has heard about and seen heartbreaking instances of children who struggled for years with dyslexia under teachers who did not understand the characteristics of this disorder. Once a child is properly diagnosed, however, rapid improvement in reading and other subjects is seen, and the child is put on a trajectory for educational success.

House Bill 3322, a new section of law, would require school districts to adopt a phonics curriculum with courses of instruction for kindergarten through third-grade students enrolled. School districts would still exclusively determine instruction, specific course curricula, reading lists and instructional materials to best meet the needs of their students.

Conley said phonics is the proven method to teach children to read. Yet, Oklahoma has allowed other methods such as whole language or balanced literacy that are not backed with evidenced-based research showing the same results.

House Bill 3326, amends the Oklahoma Teacher Requirement Act to require teacher candidates to study the science of reading, phonics instruction, not just what it is, but why it’s effective.

“Phonics will help all children succeed, including those with dyslexia and other reading difficulties, so we need to get back to teaching it in all Oklahoma schools,” Conley said.

House Bill 3325, a new section of law, would require school districts to have an academic language counselor at all sites that serve students in grades K-5. Academic language therapists, also known as, dyslexia therapists, are specifically trained to help address the struggles of students who have been identified as having manifestations of dyslexia.

“This addition to our schools will help those students struggling to read,” Conley said.

“Reading is not just another school subject,” Conley said. “It is the foundation for all other learning. This legislation will help us move the needle in regards to outcomes in our schools. If we teach a child to read, we see better success in the workforce, better pay, better healthcare outcomes, lower incarceration rates and so many more benefits to the individual and society.”