February 10, 2025

Gov. Kevin Stitt kicked off the first session of the 60^th Legislature on Monday, February 3, with his seventh State of the State address before both chambers. Gov. Stitt is asking for an income tax cut, a pair of education reforms and the elimination of “fines, fees and court costs” to address “what is essentially debtors’ prison” for those in county jails and Department of Corrections facilities.

Also this week committee meetings in both chambers commenced, marking the first step in advancing the more than 3,000 bills eligible for consideration this session.

• Click here to view Gov. Stitt’s FY26 budget.
• Click here to read the State of the State transcript.

Calling on the Oklahoma Legislature to pursue an “energy abundance agenda” and to make Oklahoma “the high-tech data center capital of the world,” Gov. Kevin Stitt delivered his seventh State of the State address today, asking for an income tax cut, a pair of education reforms and the elimination of “fines, fees and court costs” to address “what is essentially debtors’ prison” for those in county jails and Department of Corrections facilities.

“Winston Churchill said, ‘The price of greatness is responsibility.’ That means sacrificing now for future benefit,” Stitt said. “The reality is there is going to be pain either way — the pain of discipline now, or the pain of regret later. Many of us have witnessed that over the last six years. In 2018, the state was facing massive budget deficits and we had nothing in savings. Over the next six years, we said ‘No’ to good ideas in the moment so we could say ‘Yes’ to the well-being of future generations of Oklahomans. Because of that discipline, we got to come together as Republicans and Democrats to say ‘Yes’ to cutting the grocery tax last year.”

Unlike his version last year, Stitt’s session-starting speech included no mention of his long-standing legal battles with sovereign tribal nations over criminal and civil jurisdictional uncertainty throughout the Indian Country reservations affirmed across eastern Oklahoma. He also omitted reference to a $150 million funding gap facing the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’s new OKC hospital and the Legislature’s looming decision on a proposed consent decree to settle a lawsuit and address allegedly unconstitutional delays in ODMHSAS’ provision of competency restoration services to pre-trial detainees deemed temporarily incompetent to stand trial.

Instead, Stitt’s oratory opined on economic development, conservative principles and a desire to limit the growth of government. Stitt stated four overarching goals:

• Protect Oklahoma taxpayers;
• Be the best state for business;
• Safeguard our savings; and
• Protect the Oklahoma way of life.

Stitt touted his “half and a path” request that asks the Legislature to pass 0.5 percent reductions to the state’s personal income tax rate and corporate income tax rate, as well as the establishment of a pathway to eventual elimination. Stitt said lawmakers should consider the dynamics of Oklahoma’s competition with other states that are either on the same path or that have already reached that goal.

“If we don’t act quickly, we are going to be left behind and we’ll be considered a high tax state,” Stitt said. “I like to remind the naysayers, when we cut taxes, the money doesn’t disappear. It simply stays in Oklahomans’ pockets and gets reinvested in our economy.”

Arguing that “Oklahomans should keep more of their hard-earned money,” Stitt referenced an infamous local steakhouse where legislators and lobbyists often meet to discuss policy proposals over drinks and complimentary bacon.

“It’s no secret,” Stitt said. “Left unrestrained, government will always grow and grow and grow. It’s just like the lobbyist bar tabs at Broadway 10.”

The governor’s bar tab jab received faint guffaws among the assembled legislators, 31 of are embarking upon their first session at a time when state revenues look to be declining.

“He brought up 2018 and not wanting to go back there. Well, we say the same thing,” House Minority Cyndi Munson said in response to Stitt’s speech. “In 2016, 2017 and 2018 (…) we had a $1.5 billion budget deficit, and that was due to Republican income tax cuts.”

Munson (D-OKC) discussed how the Legislature made major cuts to “things Oklahomans all care about.”

“Now, with his proposal to cut the income tax, he’s going to put us right back in that same position,” she said. “He only has two years left in his term, but those in the Legislature today have a longer way to go, and to leave that behind as his legacy is a huge disgrace.”

Lawmakers will know exactly how much money they have to spend on the state’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget buffet after the Board of Equalization certifies its final revenue estimates at its scheduled Feb. 14 meeting.

“We all agree in wanting Oklahoma taxpayers to keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible while being as prepared as possible for future budget uncertainty. We will continue budget discussions in earnest once we have final FY26 numbers from the Board of Equalization,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) said in a statement after the speech. “We have a lot of challenges ahead, but we are united in wanting to make Oklahoma better for future generations. That work officially begins today.”

Hilbert praised another of Stitt’s ideas as “a shared priority.” In saying state and federal governments are “overspending” and “causing inflation to rise rapidly,” Stitt announced he is following the lead of President Donald Trump by creating an Oklahoma version of the new Department of Government Efficiency.

“I was at Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago and talked to President Trump about DOGE at the state level. I’m excited about the momentum, and we’re going to build on it here in Oklahoma. Today, I’m launching DOGE-OK to keep the focus on flat budgets and limited government,” Stitt said. “For years, I’ve instructed my Cabinet secretaries and agency directors to shrink employee count and cut unnecessary contracts.”

During the middle of his speech, Stitt’s office distributed his executive order creating the new government department intended to shrink government.

“I am committed to having fewer state employees at the end of my term than when I took office in 2019,” Stitt said. “I also mandated an end to work-from-home policies for state employees to better serve the people of our state. Even still, we have public officials who have asked the Legislature to double the size of their budget. Our constituents voted for fiscal conservatism, not growing government.”

While Stitt did not mention it in his speech, his simultaneously released FY 2026 budget proposal includes support for Senate Bill 229, which would grow the fiscal impact of the tax credit created in 2023 for families who homeschool their children or send them to private schools. Filed by Senate Floor Leader Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville), SB 229 proposes eliminating the annual $250 million cap on the credit.

In saying the state should retain $4 billion in savings, Stitt’s budget also proposes turning the Revenue Stabilization Fund — which has a current balance of $664 million — into an invested account.

“By setting aside collections above the five-year average of volatile revenue sources, the state can utilize them during economic downturns,” Stitt’s budget proposal states. “The next step is to make this fund an invested asset, using its earnings to stabilize the budget rather than depleting the principal. In 20 years, the fund could produce enough earnings to replace oil and gas tax revenue. The additional recurring revenue and reduced budget volatility will also support the goal of eliminating income taxes for Oklahomans.”

In his 35-minute speech, Stitt also called for:

• he full development of the “business courts” promised as part of last year’s budget deal;
• A bell-to-bell ban on students having cell phones in Oklahoma public schools;
• The elimination of “virtual days” in public schools;
• Support of a state-sponsored religious charter school whose rejection is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court; and
• he deportation of undocumented immigrants currently incarcerated in Oklahoma prisons.

While it remains unclear to what extent Stitt may be willing to commute the sentences of undocumented prisoners to pave the way for their deportation, Stitt dedicated multiple portions of his address to calling for continued criminal justice reform.

In doing so, Stitt recognized a man named John Standfill, who was first incarcerated in 2005 and most recently released from prison in 2022. A series of family tragedies — including his mother’s murder — led to “bad choices” and Standfill’s incarceration, primarily for drug crimes.

Gesturing to Standfill in the House gallery, Stitt said the man — now 50 years old and working to support others seeking second chances — “reportedly owes nearly $30,000 in fines, fees and court costs.” He called the situation “simply unacceptable.”

“We know that high fees keep people trapped in this cycle and contribute to higher recidivism,” Stitt said. “That doesn’t make sense. I want to change that structure and make sure that a second chance is actually a second chance and get rid of fines, fees and court costs for good.”

After Stitt’s speech, Standfill called the proposal “a great thing.”

“With the way the fines and fees work (…) to come out of prison kind of puts people in a bad place because you’re weighed down by all the fines, the economy’s bad, and it causes people to go back to jail,” Standfill said. “Hopefully they could decrease the burden to make things a little bit more conducive to people’s success that want to do better. That way, people have an opportunity. Because I had to learn from my lessons, and today, it’s pushed me to do the things I’m doing.”

Eliminating fines and fees by appropriating new revenues to the state’s Judicial Revolving Fund would cost about $15 million, according to legislative leaders. But despite Stitt’s call to eliminate fines and fees paid by criminal defendants and those incarcerated, his executive budget proposal includes no new money for the Department of Corrections or the state court system (other than the $2 million proposed for business courts).

Still, lawmakers ultimately make the building’s budgetary decisions, and reducing the burden of court costs has been supported by Republicans and Democrats alike in recent years.

“That’s potentially an area of agreement with the governor. We have supported his criminal justice efforts in the past,” said Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-OKC). “The big concern is, ‘Is it a shell game?’ If we cut taxes over here, how are we to pay on the other side?”

For his part, Standfill is still trying to figure out what “to pay” to clear his ledger.

“They can’t even tell me how much I owe,” he said. “Before, they told me it was $300,000, but now it’s changed, and I still don’t know if that’s right, and finding out how much I actually owe is impossible. Because they send me to different places, and after being gone for so long, I’m left in the dark.”

The distance between proposing such a lofty policy proposal and finding a way to fund it represents the proverbial marathon the Legislature started Monday. With miles to go, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) said cooperation among state leaders “can build a stronger, more prosperous Oklahoma for generations to come.”

“Gov. Stitt laid out his vision and outlined a plan to move Oklahoma forward in a positive trajectory that we can all agree with,” Paxton said. “The Senate shares his commitment to growing our economy, improving education, ensuring safe, thriving communities and improving the lives of Oklahomans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money. This session, the Senate looks forward to working alongside the governor and our colleagues in the House to advance policies that will strengthen our workforce, create new opportunities for business investment and make strategic investments in core services.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday called on Oklahoma lawmakers to spend nearly $1.4 billion less in the upcoming budget while cutting two key funding streams. 

The Republican governor’s executive fiscal year 2026 budget unveiled Monday proposes slightly more than $11 billion in spending, and includes a .50% cut in the state’s personal and corporate income taxes as well as an amnesty program that gives Oklahomans the opportunity to pay past-due taxes without penalty.

Reducing the state’s 4.75% income tax rate would cost $202.6 million, while an identical cut to the corporate income tax rate would cost $34.7 million in fiscal year 2026, the Governor’s Office projected.

The budget, which serves as a starting point for lawmakers, proposed a tax amnesty program to generate an additional $75 million.

The last such program was in 2015 and brought in $139 million.

Stitt’s budget also includes: 

• $2 million to fund a business court system and hire judges that “will be specially equipped to understand corporate and complex litigation.
•  The removal of the $250 million cap for the Parental Choice Tax Credit for tax year 2027 and beyond. The program, which provides up to $7,500 to help families cover private school expenses, is capped at $250 million in budget year 2026 and all subsequent years. 
• A slight increase for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education;
•  And, flat budgets for the State Department of Education; the Governor’s Office; the House and Senate; the Oklahoma Department of Corrections; District Attorneys Council; Attorney General; Oklahoma Indigent Defense System; and Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

Legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle Thursday expressed reluctance to fully embrace a cut in the state’s income tax rate championed by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Republican leaders said they were concerned about the timing of Stitt’s proposed half-a-percent cut given the expected $600 million price tag and because they entered session with an estimated $300 million less to spend just to keep the budget flat. 

Stitt is urging legislators to reduce the 4.75% income tax rate by .50% with a path toward elimination, and he has insisted it will cost the state coffers $202 million in revenue.

Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said estimates show a half-percentage cut will cost as much as $600 million. He said Stitt’s calculations only include a partial year.

He doesn’t want to pass any monetary policy that could destabilize budgeting for future Legislatures.

“If I leave the Legislature and three to four years after I’m gone, the Legislature has inherited major budget deficits with no savings because of some action that I took, that I will feel like my entire 12 years here was a complete failure, so I don’t want to do that,” Paxton said. 

He said it wasn’t long ago that the state had billion dollar budget deficits and no savings.

Paxton said he supports a recurring income tax cut, but does not want to pay for it using savings.

Stitt’s office said Oklahoma has about $4.6 billion in reserves and unspent revenues.

“I am a very staunch opponent of using savings to pay for anything, whether it be a tax cut or more spending,” Paxton said.

Eliminating the state’s portion of the sales tax on groceries last year also dug into state coffers to the tune of about $450 million for a full year, he said.

“So, if we didn’t have the grocery sales tax cut, we wouldn’t be underwater,” Paxton said.

Likewise, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said he would like to do a tax cut, but the state must pass a responsible budget.

House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said it under Stitt’s predecessor, former Gov. Mary Fallin, that lawmakers had to raise taxes to stabilize state coffers.

“I don’t see why we would want to take ourselves back to that position, especially when there are so many needs still for Oklahomans when it comes to education, our healthcare system, our roads and bridges and things that are so critical to just living life here in our state,” she said.

As the Legislative session gets underway, budget negotiators are examining state agency budget requests. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Chuck Hall is opening up the process to show the public how that Chamber arrives at its budget figures.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission will present to the Committee this Thursday how the agency generates its revenue estimates. The Senate relies on these estimates from the Tax Commission to build its state budget proposal.

“Transparency in the budget process is essential for building trust with Oklahomans and ensuring accountability in government,” Hall said. “The Senate is still committed to fostering an open environment where everyone can understand how we craft a state budget and participate in the process. If Oklahomans want to learn more about how revenue estimates are developed and how they shape our budget decisions, I encourage them to tune in Thursday when the Oklahoma Tax Commission presents a breakdown of these key figures.”

The Senate’s working budget proposal spreadsheet can be found here. It will be updated throughout budget negotiations.

As state officials anticipate a smaller budget in the next fiscal year, lawmakers on Tuesday appeared doubtful of requests to spend millions on Bibles for public schools and salary increases at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The agency’s leader, state Superintendent Ryan Walters, again asked for $3 million to purchase copies of the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to place in every public school classroom. He also requested $2.3 million for a 6% cost-of-living salary bump for Education Department employees, who last saw a pay raise in 2019.

Although his total budget request would increase the agency’s funding by $113 million, Walters hinted at “potential staff cuts” to limit the Education Department’s operational expenses during a meeting Tuesday with the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I​​do believe we can save $1.3 million in some of the costs that we’ve been able to absorb through rolling positions together, cutting positions that are duplicated in their services,” Walters said during the meeting.

Members of the influential appropriations committee heard Walters’ budget requests for the 2026 fiscal year. The state is required to pay some of the projected expenses, such as an extra $88.6 million for the rising cost of health insurance for public school employees.

Another $4 million would increase the teacher maternity leave fund, which Walters said is growing in popularity. He also asked for $500,000 to offer firearms training to teachers.

Senators of both parties questioned Walters’ request for $3 million to buy 55,000 copies of the King James Version Bible, which they suggested could be donated to schools or found for free online. 

House lawmakers had similar questions during a hearing with Walters last week. 

The state superintendent has advocated for more instruction on the Bible to help contextualize American history and the beliefs of the country’s founding fathers. He said he doesn’t intend for schools to preach Christianity to students.

Last year, he ordered all school districts in the state to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans and proposed new academic standards for social studies that would mandate instruction on biblical stories. His agency already spent under $25,000 on 532 copies of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA Bible, which is informally known as the Trump Bible because it has the president’s endorsement.

Walters’ Bible instruction mandate already faces a legal challenge on church-state separation grounds.

Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, said she never encountered a classroom that didn’t have a Bible available to students during her 43-year career in education. 

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, encouraged Walters to exhaust all resources for Bible donations before having the Legislature consider spending $3 million.

“We could take the $3 million elsewhere, if somebody is willing to make those available to us at no cost,” Rader said during the hearing.

The Senate committee also appeared dubious of funding a COLA increase for an agency that has lost dozens of employees over the past two years. Walters told the committee the Education Department employed 520 people when he took office in January 2023 and that it now counts 460 employees.

“If you have decreased your (full-time employees), it would appear to me that there are already dollars inside your operating budget to offer salary increases,” Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, told Walters during the hearing.

Walters disagreed that staff departures would be enough to fund the increase. A complicating factor is the large number of federally funded salaries at the agency, he said.

The department has considered reducing its staff even further after the state Board of Equalization projected the Legislature will have $119 million less to spend in the 2026 fiscal year, Walters said.

The projection is preliminary, and the Board of Equalization will meet again this month for updated numbers.

“After the last Board of Equalization meeting, we really went in and tried to do a deep dive into can we continue to see cuts, and we believe that we do need to be able to do that,” Walters said.

Legislative leaders are preparing to limit expenses in light of the budget projections, especially as Gov. Kevin Stitt pushes for further tax cuts, flat agency budgets and “eliminating wasteful government spending.”

The governor suggested no funding increases to public schools nor to the state Education Department in a budget proposal he released Monday.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said Monday that he shares many of the governor’s priorities “as we seek to tighten our belt fiscally this year.” Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, echoed Stitt’s tax-cut message when he endorsed “improving the lives of Oklahomans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

As the 2025 Oklahoma legislative session kicks off, lawmakers have filed thousands of bills that now will begin the process of becoming a law or not.

Each year, some of the proposals that capture the most attention and have the biggest impacts are those focused on Oklahoma’s schools. In recent years, that’s been raising teacher salaries or creating a tax credit for Oklahomans who pay for private school.

This year is no exception, with a new slate of bills that could significantly impact Oklahoma schools if passed. Here are a few notable Oklahoma education bills to watch this legislative session.

Senate Bill 139 would ban cellphone use during school day

Exam with uniform school student doing educational test with using smartphone

One issue plaguing schools is the question of whether or not to allow students to use their cellphones, and if so, when to allow it.

At the moment, this decision is left up to each school district. Some schools have banned cellphone use while others allow it between classes.

Senate Bill 139 would require school districts to ban all cellphone use while on school campuses, starting with the first bell of the day until the bell that dismisses students in the afternoon. Exceptions would include using cellphones in emergencies and monitoring health issues.

The bill would also create an up to $2 million grant program to provide middle school and high schools with equipment to store students cellphones during the day.

Senate Bill 1017 would cut special education services for some, audit IEPs

.

One bill that has garnered widespread attention is Senate Bill 1017 from Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin.

The bill targets Individualized Education Plans and would eliminate special education services like speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy for students it isn’t deemed “educationally necessary.”

Deevers, in a statement made Sunday, called for a “forensic audit” of all IEPs in Oklahoma to determine if there are more than needed for Oklahoma students. Deevers suggests students have been “far over-diagnosed,” and that resources may be being diverted from those who need it most.

House Bill 1232 would allow chaplains in public schools

A controversial bill that passed the House last year but failed in the Senate has been refiled as House Bill 1232 and would allow school districts to employ or accept volunteer chaplains to provide support and services to students.

The bill would not require chaplains to be certified by the State Department of Education, but would prohibit schools using chaplains who are required to register as a sex offender.

Senate Bill 19 would cut funding to schools who don’t comply with book regulations

Many books stacked with blurred background of bookstore full of books. Photo with copyspace

What books are available in Oklahoma schools has been a hot-button issue in recent years, and it appears that will only continue.

With Senate Bill 19, public schools would be required annually to submit a comprehensive list or online catalogue of every item available in its library. The schools would be prohibited from having any pornographic or sexualized content available for students under the age of 18.

Violations would result in a deficiency rating on the schools accreditation report and a 5% cut in state funding for the following fiscal year.

House Bill would require students to provide parents proof of citizenship or legal immigration status

With immigration being an issue at the top of mind for many in the United States, one bill proposes to require Oklahoma school districts to obtain proof of each student’s parents or legal guardians citizenship or legal immigration status.

House Bill 1165, written by Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, would also require schools to submit an annual report with the number of students enrolled who provided proof of citizenship, proof of legal immigration or failed to provide either.

The bill says the annual report would exclude any personally identifiable information, and that nothing in the bill “shall be construed to prohibit, or inhibit, any child from receiving the education they are entitled to receive under state or federal law.”

Senate Bill 201 would raise minimum teacher salaries to $50,000

In 2023, the Oklahoma legislature approved a $3,000 to $6,000 raise for public school teachers.

But the state is still significantly behind some of its neighbors, and lawmakers continue to file bills that would again raise teacher salaries.

Senate Bill 201, flied by State Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposes raising the minimum starting teacher salary to $50,000. This would line up with neighboring states like New Mexico and Arkansas, and would be an increase from the current $39,601 minimum.

Following heat from educators, parents and advocates, a bill regarding school-based medical services in schools is being pulled.

Senate Bill 1017 by Elgin Republican Dusty Deevers would have disallowed medical services like occupational therapy and speech therapy from being written into students’ Individualized Education Programs, which are federally backed documents that prescribe goals and methods of attainment for students with disabilities.

It also would have pulled Medicaid coverage of those kinds of therapies, as well as services like eye and health exams.

Opponents say the bill conflicted with federal laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act, and would have forced some parents to pay out-of-pocket for services. A petition to reject the bill has gathered more than 3,000 signatures in three days.

Deevers issued a news release Wednesday afternoon announcing he was canning the bill.

“It has become evident that the language of SB1017 needed to more precisely reflect my intent — protecting the necessary services for our special needs students while ensuring that parental rights remain intact,” Deevers said. “I regret any confusion or concern this has caused and sincerely apologize for the turmoil it has created.”

He said the intent of the bill was to prevent Oklahoma from providing reproductive and gender-affirming care, such as in California, where students can access birth control without parental consent.

Deevers said he still wants an audit of school-based Medicaid funds, and has “secured a commitment” from OSDE to “take a closer look” at its audits.

A major priority for Oklahoma lawmakers and the governor was the first item on the House Common Education Committee’s agenda Wednesday.

In its first meeting of 2025, the committee voted 11-2 to pass House Bill 1276 with bipartisan support. The bill, from Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, would require public schools to ban students from using cellphones and smart watches while on campus. It would take effect July 1 and start applying in the 2025-26 school year.

It advances to the Education Oversight Committee, which must pass the legislation before it could be heard on the House floor.

Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders have said one of their top goals this year is curbing student cellphone use to reduce distractions in the classroom.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, voted in favor of the bill at the committee meeting.

“It’s time our classrooms return to being places of learning, not distractions,” Hilbert said in a statement afterward. “House Bill 1276 gives Oklahoma’s schools the flexibility to set policies that fit their needs while reinforcing a simple goal — to let kids be kids and let teachers teach.” 

Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, and Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, were the only committee members to vote against the bill.

Banning noted in his line of questions to Caldwell that schools already can implement a cellphone ban voluntarily. The number of districts enacting similar policies has increased in recent years as the popularity of these prohibitions grows nationwide.

Caldwell said the bill would prompt all districts to develop their own cellphone-free policy.

“Candidly, I wish more of our schools would have already done that, but we’re going to help our schools do the right thing to go phone free,” he said during the committee meeting.

The state Senate will consider similar legislation in Senate Bill 139 from Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore.

House Common Education Committee Chair Rep. Dick Lowe said HB1522 offered clarification to the Open Transfer Act passed in 2021, but Rep. Chad Caldwell did not agree.

HB1522, by Lowe, R-Amber, modifies the appeals process under the Education Open Transfer Act. The bill passed out of committee 9-2.

Lowe said the bill would clarify that districts set their transfer limits, and those limits are then to be audited by the Office of Educational Accountability and Quality, and if OEAQ holds the limits set by the district then it is final.

Caldwell, R-Enid, questioned if this would remove a family’s right to appeal a transfer denial to the Oklahoma Board of Education. Lowe said that review, according to current law, should be done by OEAQ.

Lowe said his reading of the statute puts the responsibility of reviewing limits set by local districts with OEAQ. He also said he did not believe Open Transfer would have passed without local control from districts over how many students can transfer into a district.

Caldwell held that the right to appeal is an important aspect of the Open Transfer Act, not a point of confusion as Lowe suggested. Lowe suggested Caldwell run his own bill on the subject, though he believed Caldwell would need to make drastic changes to the law to enact his vision of the transfer statutes.

The largely partisan clash over whether to abolish the U.S. Department of Education came to the forefront at a Wednesday hearing by a U.S. House education panel, as rumors continue to circulate over President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the federal agency that’s just four-and-a-half decades old.

Trump campaigned heavily on a pledge to get rid of the department, which, among many responsibilities, administers funding for key programs, including for low-income school districts and special education, and also administers federal student aid.

Trump is reported to possibly issue some sort of executive order that seeks to diminish the department internally and calls on Congress to abolish the agency. He alone does not have the authority to close the department, and the effort would require congressional approval.

Lawmakers clashed at a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing focused on “the state of American education,” particularly school choice, parental rights in education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The president’s sweeping plan outlined throughout his campaign to “save American education” has already burst out of the floodgates since he took office last month.

He issued a series of education-related executive orders last week focused on prioritizing school choice funding, ending what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling” and taking “additional measures to combat anti-semitism.”

Trump also signed executive orders in January that gut DEI programs and activities across the federal government.

Restoring ‘common sense’

Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the House education panel, said he is “pleased to see that the Trump administration is taking excellent steps to restore common sense, personal responsibility and parental choice through our education system.”

“In K-12 education, there’s much work that needs to be done,” the Michigan Republican said, pointing to the latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The report found that average math and reading scores in 2024 for pupils in fourth grade and eighth grade were lower compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, in 2019.

Nicole Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, a parents’ rights group, said “American education is in crisis.”

“For far too long, U.S. schools have focused on everything but educating children, and as last week’s NAEP scores have shown, our children are bearing the brunt of these bad decisions,” she said.

‘We will fight any attempt’

Meanwhile, Democrats on the panel warned over the repercussions of dismantling the Education Department.

“The irony is not lost on me that we’re here to discuss the state of American education while the current administration is actively discussing how to dismantle the main federal agency responsible for ensuring safe, quality education for all students,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the panel.

“We will fight any attempt to dismantle the department, and so, we don’t know what the plan will be, but count on our opposition to any plan that will abolish the Department of Education and the programs in it,” the Virginia Democrat added.

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes noted that since being created in 1979, the Education Department “has been committed to ensuring high-quality education for children across the country.”

“As (Chairman Walberg) noted, there are about 1 million children who participate in private school choice programs, but 49.6 million children participate in public school education — what about them? Who is advocating for them?” Hayes said.

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said Trump’s executive orders to “restrict teaching and learning in inclusive and supportive environments and his threats to dismantle the Department of Education and upend critical enforcement of federal civil rights laws will demolish the very foundation of good citizenship.”

“We must reject these proposals out of the Project 2025 playbook and approach public education with common sense and common purpose, not separatism and self-dealing,” Nelson said.

Project 2025, the nearly 900-page policy proposal from the Heritage Foundation, outlines a vast conservative blueprint that, among many education-related priorities, calls for eliminating the Education Department.

February 2025

• Thursday, Feb. 13: Deadline to file shell bill language and to change top 8 bill preference
• Thursday, Feb. 20: Deadline for House Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from House Policy Committees and Appropriations Subcommittees

March 2025

• Thursday, March 6: Deadline for Senate Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Committee
• Thursday, March 6: Deadline for House Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Oversight, Admin Rules, Appropriations and Rules Committees
• Thursday, March 27: Deadline for Third Reading and Final Passage of Bills and Joint Resolutions by the Chamber of Origin (House and Senate) 

April 2025

• Thursday, April 10: Deadline for House Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Policy Committees and Appropriation Subcommittees
• Thursday, April 24: Deadline for House Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Oversight, Admin Rules, Appropriations and Rules Committees
• Thursday, April 24: Deadline for House Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Committee (Senate)

May 2025

•   Thursday, May 8: Deadline for Third Reading and Final Passage of Bills and Joint Resolutions by the Opposite Chamber (House and Senate) 
•  Friday, May 30 (no later than 5:00 p.m.): Sine Die Adjournment of the First Session of the 69^th Legislature

OkACTE tracks and monitors legislative bills. These bills can vary from CareerTech education policy, common education policy, education funding, teacher pay raise, tax credits, licensing, Ad Valorem, retirement, state employee pay raise, guns, economic development and much more.

Of these bills, we've compiled a listing of CTE Priority Measures linked below.

Visit oklegislature.gov to view entire text of the measures.

CTE Priority Measures