March 17 - March 21

Lawmakers only met Monday and Tuesday last week because of most of Oklahoma’s schools observing spring break. They will return to the floor Monday, March 24, as they work toward the Thursday, March 27th deadline for House and Senate bills to be heard in their chamber of origin.

The state’s General Revenue Fund collections for February came in above the estimate but below the previous year, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) recently announced.

General Revenue Fund (GRF) collections in February totaled $462.7 million, which was $11.5 million or 2.6 percent above the monthly estimate but $9.5 million or 2.0 percent below collections in February 2024, the office reported. Total GRF collections for the first eight months of fiscal year 2025 were $5.3 billion, which was $51.9 million or 1 percent above the estimate but $42.8 million or 0.8 percent below prior year collections for the same period.

“The state’s general revenue remained on track with estimates last month, even pushing slightly ahead,” said State Chief Operating Officer and OMES Director Rick Rose. “Higher-than-expected collections in gross production taxes for gas and oil offset the decline in income and sales tax categories. With four months left in the current fiscal year, we anticipate the GRF will stay relatively aligned with the Board of Equalization’s current projections.”

The board forecasted current fiscal year, FY2025, revenue collections would come in $16.1 million below June’s revised estimate. The June revised estimate considered revenue changes implemented during the 2024 legislative session, including elimination of the state sales tax on groceries.

Net income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income tax collections, totaled $111.9 million in February. That amount was $5.6 million or 4.7 percent below the estimate but $4.9 million or 4.6 percent over the estimate. Individual income tax revenue for February was $109.5 million, which was $4.3 million or 3.8 percent below the estimate but $4.5 million or 4.2 percent above the estimate. Corporate income tax revenue for the month was $2.4 million, which was $1.2 million or 34.5 percent below the estimate but 0.5 million or 25.8 percent more than collections of one year ago.

Gross production tax collections on oil and gas were $77.2 million in February. That was $12.3 million or 18.9 percent above the estimate and $1.9 million or 2.6 percent above prior year collections. Gross production tax collections on natural gas totaled $31.6 million February, $5.2 million or 19.7 percent above the estimate and $3.1 million or 11.0 percent above the prior collections. Gross production tax on oil collections were $45.6 million, which was $7.1 million or 18.3 percent above the estimate but $1.2 or 2.6 percent below prior year collections.

Sales tax collections in February were $165.9 million, which was $5.4 million or 3.1 percent below the estimate and $25.1 million or 13.1 percent less than the same month one year ago. Use tax collections on out-of-state purchases, primarily on the internet, were $39.7 million, some 0.2 million or 0.6 percent more than the estimate and 3.8 million or 10.6 percent above collections of one year ago.

Other revenue sources, a combination of more than 50 other taxes and interest earnings of the State Treasurer, were $67.9 million in February. That was $10.0 million or 17.2 percent more than the estimate and $4.9 million or 7.8 percent more than the same month one year ago.

Students in Oklahoma would have to spend more time in school each year under mandates related to a bill supported by the Senate.

Senate Bill 409 would require the school year to be lengthened by one day for each additional $25 million appropriated by the state to support public education.

Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, who chairs the Senate Education Committee and authored SB 409, said students across the nation and around the world typically spend more days in classrooms each year than students in Oklahoma do. In some places, school years are weeks if not months longer than they are in the Sooner State, he said.

SB 409 and other measures being considered by the Legislature this session reflect efforts of lawmakers to lift Oklahoma’s ranking in public education from near the bottom among states.

The bill, which passed through the Senate on a 37-8 vote, would create a new link between funding and the number of days of instruction required on public school calendars. Oklahoma schools currently are required to be in session for 165 days, or 1,080 hours, each year.

“(SB 409) would require, every time an additional $25 million is put into the financial support of public schools, that one more day of school time would be required,” Pugh said in explaining the measure on the Senate floor.

Some Democrats, including minority party leader Sen. Julia Kirt and Sen. Mark Mann, both from Oklahoma City, raised questions about how passage of the bill could affect education in the long run. Mann pointed out that if the state might appropriate $50 million specifically to increase teacher salaries at some point in the future, that would make the addition of two calendar days of classroom instruction mandatory while providing no additional funding to cover utility or other significant daily operational costs of schools.

“So, would you not agree that, with the way this bill is written, we could feasibly be adding a very large unfunded mandate on schools?” Mann asked.

Pugh responded that many school districts in Oklahoma already pay more than the minimum salary required for teachers, so an increase in funding for salaries for them actually could enhance their ability to cover other costs.

Kirt asked if the long-term goal would be for schools in Oklahoma to be in session year-round.

Pugh responded that it would not, though he said the state’s goal should be to add more than just a few days to the school calendar.

“My intention with this bill is to catch Oklahoma up first to the national average, which we’re quite far behind. We’re about three weeks behind the national average,” Pugh said. “(And) the United States in general is about five weeks behind the worldwide average, so if you extrapolate that data, it would put Oklahoma literally at the bottom of the modern world when it comes to the amount of days in school.”

The bill states that, beginning July 1, 2025, and at the beginning of each succeeding state fiscal year, if the amount of money appropriated to the State Board of Education for the financial support of public schools in such fiscal year is at least $25 million greater than the amount appropriated in the prior fiscal year, school districts would be required to be in session for an additional day.

In an emailed statement, the Oklahoma Education Association said it has not taken a position on SB 409.

After its passage in the Senate, the bill advanced for consideration in the House of Representatives.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed House Bill 2263 this week, a measure authored by Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, to improve road safety by prohibiting handheld cell phone use in active school and construction zones.

HB2263 builds on Oklahoma’s existing ban on texting while driving by restricting handheld cell phone use in designated high-risk areas. The legislation allows drivers to continue using hands-free technology such as Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ensuring they can stay connected without taking their hands off the wheel.

“Distracted driving is a serious issue, and this bill is a straightforward, common-sense step to keep drivers’ focus where it belongs: on the road,” Miller said. “You can still take a call using hands-free technology but putting the phone down in these critical areas will help save lives. It’s a small change that makes a significant difference.”

The legislation establishes clear enforcement guidelines, mirroring penalties for existing texting and driving ban. Importantly, the bill also protects driver privacy by ensuring law enforcement cannot examine, confiscate or download data from a driver's phone without a warrant or probable cause of a crime.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, between 2017 and 2021, distracted driving led to 250 fatalities and 8,000 injuries in the state. Studies show drivers involved in crashes are twice as likely to have used their phones in the minute leading up to the accident.

HB2263 passed the House 59-24 and now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

The Oklahoma Senate today advanced legislation to enhance literacy education and ensure fu-ture educators receive training in the science of reading.

Senate Bill 841, the Strong Readers Act, authored by Senator Adam Pugh, who serves as the Senate Education Committee chairman, passed with strong support and now moves to the House for consideration.

“I am committed to ensuring every child in Oklahoma has the foundational literacy skills need-ed for lifelong success,” Senator Pugh said. “By expanding reading instruction to teachers in early childhood education, elementary education and special education with the latest re-search-based reading instruction, this legislation will help us move the needle on reading profi-ciency and overall academic achievement. Oklahoma’s future depends on our students being strong readers. Prioritizing evidence-based instruction gives both students and teachers the tools they need to succeed. This is a crucial step in ensuring every child, regardless of back-ground or learning challenges can reach their full potential.”

The measure strengthens the Strong Readers Act by refining how students with characteristics of dyslexia are identified. It also modifies the purpose of the Statewide Literacy Revolving Fund to better support literacy initiatives across the state.

Additionally, Senate Bill 841 directs the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to inte-grate science-based reading instruction into early childhood, elementary and special education teacher preparation programs. The legislation also continues the state’s recent emphasis on Education Preparation Programs and aligns curriculum with the Science of Reading.

Senate Bill 841 builds on the state’s ongoing efforts to improve literacy outcomes and ensure that every student has access to high-quality reading instruction.

A bill proposing to allow teachers to use their accrued sick leave to extend their statutorily-provided maternity leave passed the House on Monday afternoon.

“I believe this will allow them to continue bonding with their baby,” Rep. Emily Gise said in her introduction to HB1601.

HB1601, by Gise, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee, allows certain teachers to use up to six weeks of accrued sick leave to extend their six-week, statutorily-provided maternity leave. It clarifies that such a teacher’s maternity leave cannot exceed a total of 12 weeks, unless extra time is recommended by a licensed medical professional.

Minority Floor Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, asked Gise why she opted to use sick leave in her proposal rather than expanding the existing maternity leave program.

“This is something we can do, especially in a budget year as we are right now,” Gise reasoned. “If we were to expand the six [weeks] to twelve then the state would be eating the cost.”

Gise noted there were currently school districts declining extensions for maternity leave, leaving teachers to choose between bonding with their newborn or returning to work.

“I believe that this is factored in, the school has allocated this in as part of their pay,” she continued, adding she hopes to eventually expand her proposal to other state employees in a future legislative session. “This statute specifically addresses teachers…My scope of impact is just teachers, however…I do think that this should be expanded to state employees as well.”

HB1601 passed off the House floor on a vote of 58-27.

Universities would be allowed to commit millions of dollars to pay football players and other athletes under a bill that has gained momentum at the Capitol.

Senate Bill 490, which passed off the Senate floor on a 42-3 vote, arrived in the Legislature in the wake of Executive Order 2025-01, signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in January. The order set the stage for the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and other institutions to begin directly compensating athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses.

It was noted at the time Stitt signed the order that universities in other states had already been given the green light to pay athletes to play. Additionally, it was anticipated that a landmark national lawsuit, House v. NCAA, would be resolved by this summer, establishing NIL rules to be followed by NCAA member institutions across the country.

Under provisions of the resolution, there are two ways that a student athlete might be paid: either directly through a university or by a collective or booster organization.

Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, who authored SB 490, said its passage into law would help ensure an even playing field for universities in Oklahoma. The rules for OU need to be the same, he said, as they are for Alabama, Texas and other universities in the Southeast Conference. They also need to be consistent in Oklahoma so as not to allow for an advantage that might favor OU, as a member of the SEC, over OSU, a member of the Big 12.

Gollihare said that while SB 490 would allow universities to commit up to $20.5 million as pay for athletes, they would not be allowed to tap into any taxpayer funds appropriated by the state. The money would have to be generated through conference revenue streams based on things like season ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, donations, advertising or fundraisers.

According to the bill’s language, despite the pay they would receive, student athletes would not be considered employees either of universities or their collegiate athletic associations. Additionally, a university would be allowed to opt out of a pay deal if an athlete were to do something that would negatively impact or reflect adversely on the institution or its athletic program.

Gollihare described what would occur under the bill as a “revenue sharing agreement” between student athletes and their institutions.

Based on a formula determined as part of the House v. NCAA lawsuit, universities would be allowed to commit up to $20.5 million to athlete pay. That amount, representing 22% of certain classes of revenue, would be recalculated annually.

“The university only has control over $20.5 million, which they can distribute however they want to any of the sports or any of the athletes individually,” Gollihare said. “Further, there is a collective system which is apart from the university. (It) can be boosters or donors who can get together and offer a student athlete whatever they want to offer.”

In response to questions raised by Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, Gollihare said he didn’t believe the legislation would leave a university or the state vulnerable if an athlete were to file a lawsuit in the future over some NIL deal gone bad. He also expressed confidence that the system would require transparency to avoid any potential for a “shadow payroll system” resulting from inappropriate relationships between universities and booster organizations.

“Members, today you stand on the sidelines of history watching the end of an era, the end of an amateur athlete (era),” Gollihare said. “We are in a competition that has already started. This is also the start of a larger, far-reaching conversation on revenue sharing and equity between the sports and athletes.”

SB 490 advanced for consideration by the House of Representatives.

As Oklahoma prepared to set a new scoring method for statewide reading and math tests, state Superintendent Ryan Walters said he decided his administration would “not put our thumb on the scale in any way.”

He said he instructed his staff at the Oklahoma State Department of Education to give neutral oversight as it gathered committees of teachers over the summer who would recommend new performance expectations, called cut scores, which designate what skills students should demonstrate on state tests to be labeled proficient, advanced or below grade level in reading and math.

The resulting cut scores ultimately lowered the state’s expectations for on-grade-level performance, artificially inflating proficiency rates across Oklahoma. A lack of announcement from the Education Department about the change caused frustrations among educators and parents, who initially believed the rising test scores were the result of true academic improvement.

Although his stated goal was to limit the agency’s influence, the Education Department was anything but hands off during the cut score setting process, known as standard setting, according to a technical report that details what happened.

Walters’ administration and its testing vendor, Cognia, developed benchmark scores that teacher committees used as an optional reference point when setting the final cut scores. Those benchmarks suggested lowering Oklahoma’s standard for reading and math proficiency, the technical report shows.

As Oklahoma public schools approach the next round of annual state testing, Walters is calling for the cut scores to be recalibrated immediately to align with high national standards. He said another state agency involved is responsible.

“This is an issue that really needs to be fixed,” Walters told Oklahoma Voice. “(It) really needs to be fixed moving forward so we don’t find ourselves in this place again. The students of Oklahoma and parents should know in a crystal-clear way that standards and expectations on academic success in Oklahoma will always be high.”

Education Department methods ‘influences cut scores,’ expert says

If the Education Department wished to remain neutral, it shouldn’t have created its own suggested cut scores, said Marianne Perie, a testing expert who has helped Oklahoma and other states set cut scores and design student assessments.

She said the state could have given the teacher committees a blank slate without a target range to set the new expectations.

“It looks like it was a well-done standard setting, but decisions were made,” Perie said. “And decisions were made about how to engage with the educators (in a way) that influences cut scores. Good, bad or indifferent, it influences them.”

Rather than adhere to the state’s suggestions, the teacher committees set expectations for reading performance even lower than what the Education Department proposed.

The committees’ recommended cut scores labeled 51% of third graders as proficient or advanced in reading while the state’s benchmark suggested 44%, according to the technical report. The state’s previous cut scores would have found only 28% of the same group of third graders to be proficient, the report shows.

At the end of the process, the Education Department presented the committees’ exact recommendations, without making any changes to them, to the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, a separate state board responsible for giving final approval. CEQA voted in July to approve the cut scores with no adjustments.

Walters said his administration had faced false accusations of exerting an improper level of influence in other elements of Oklahoma’s public education system. That’s why he said he was determined his administration would not tamper with the cut scores for state tests.

“As a state Department of Education, we really oversee a process and allow this to play out,” Walters said. “Not tell the teachers where to set cut scores, not try to push them in a direction, but utilize their expertise, their understanding.”

Oklahoma commission responds to Walters’ accusation of ‘political interference’

After the teacher committees recommended certain cut points, Walters said it was up to CEQA to “then go in and calibrate those accordingly” with national standards.

State law requires CEQA to vote on the cut scores and conduct a review of the standard setting process.

The CEQA is now preparing to carry out that review and could change the cut scores, if it deems it necessary to do so, said Megan Oftedal, who leads the small state agency that answers to the commission. Commissioners last week discussed hiring a vendor to conduct the cut score study and give them training on the standard setting process.

Walters accused the commission and Gov. Kevin Stitt, who appoints its members, of undermining the integrity of state test results by not completing the review before approving the cut scores. State law doesn’t mandate a specific time the review must take place, only that it be “ongoing.”

Walters said the state Legislature should clarify the law to ensure the review takes place in advance of a commission vote.

The CEQA’s chairperson, Oklahoma Education Secretary Nellie Tayloe Sanders, said last week the board is establishing a training regimen on standard setting “so that no matter what, this never happens again.”

A week after Walters accused the board of “political interference” in test results, Sanders said during the board’s meeting that CEQA is in a “knock-down, drag-out fight” for the future of Oklahoma’s children, and “there’s not one agency that was designed to fight for them more than this one.”

“We also know that our agency has a lot of work to do to get our structure even better so we can fight harder and have even more transparency (and) more truth because we have parents that are desperate for honest answers about whether their kids are ready for life,” Sanders said during the meeting. “And you know what? We’re going to be the agency that can answer that question for them.”

New Oklahoma cut scores are reversal from 2017 goals

The procedure Walters envisioned for Oklahoma’s standard setting is distinctly different from what happened the last time the state had a major cut score change.

In 2017, the Education Department had an expressed goal of raising its cut scores to align with standards found in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. NAEP tests students in all 50 states every two years and compiles the results in the Nation’s Report Card.

The Education Department set this policy goal after convening a task force and conducting town halls across the state, according to the 2017 technical report.

“Because it is critical that Oklahoma have national comparability in its assessments, the (state Education Department) is intent on closing the honesty gap — the discrepancy between proficiency as defined by a state and proficiency as defined by NAEP,” the agency wrote in a 2017 report to the U.S. Department of Education detailing its state plan for public schools.

The honesty gap state officials had sought to avoid appeared again last year when state test results suggested reading and math levels were on the rise, but NAEP found Oklahoma had made no significant progress academically.

The state’s goal of matching national standards was evident as the 2017 teacher committees started outlining their expectations of student performance. The teachers used NAEP’s proficiency score as a reference point while setting Oklahoma’s cut scores.

That process resulted in NAEP-aligned recommendations that needed only limited adjustments from the Education Department after the committees finished their work, said Perie, who worked with Oklahoma during the 2017 standard setting.

Making sweeping changes at the end of the process, like what Walters has demanded, is rare for states to do, Perie said.

“Their priority is usually to respect what the teachers did,” Perie said. “They want to respect the teachers’ expertise and the process they went through. So I have rarely seen major changes after a standard setting.”

Oklahomans who are paying attention already know how state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters feels about President Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Walters wrote on X on Wednesday night, as word spread that Trump would sign an executive order Thursday that directs his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.” The order also calls for “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Since Trump was elected in November, Walters has posted on social media about his support of abolishing the federal Education Department at least 30 times.

Governors and state education leaders were scheduled to be in attendance when Trump signed the order, although neither spokespeople for Walters or Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt responded to messages asking if either of the men were present in Washington. Stitt did issue a statement about the order, which he supports.

“President Trump has delivered a major turning point for education in America — and it’s a win for parents, students, and the states,” Stitt said. “The Department of Education has pushed radical agendas, top-down mandates, and trapped students in failing schools. Now, states have more freedom to build a system that reflects our values, families will have more options, and students have more opportunities to succeed.”

By himself, Trump does not have the authority to close the federal Education Department, which Congress created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. To close the agency would require action from Congress. Trump can streamline it, though, which he’s done by firing about half of the agency’s employees last week, and with the issuance of an executive order.

While Stitt and Walters — who leads Oklahoma’s K-12 common education system — are enthused about Trump’s order, others involved in Oklahoma education — including the leaders of Oklahoma’s higher education and CareerTech systems — are taking a more measured, wait-and-see approach.

Leaders of higher education, CareerTech express more caution

Common education is one of the three pillars of Oklahoma’s education system, along with higher education and CareerTech. It’s too early to determine the full implications of Trump’s executive order on career and technology education, said Oklahoma CareerTech Director Brent Haken, but any significant changes to education funding, regulations or oversight could impact the state system.

Haken said federal funding’s role in supporting CareerTech programs across Oklahoma includes money under the Perkins statute, from which Congress appropriates $1.4 billion in state formula grant funds to develop technical skills of CareerTech students.

“Additionally, our partnerships with federal agencies help ensure that Oklahoma’s workforce remains competitive in a rapidly evolving job market,” Haken said. “As more details emerge, we will continue to assess how this executive order might affect our programs, funding and long-term strategy.

Similarly, Oklahoma higher education Chancellor Sean Burrage’s initial thoughts centered around the potential financial implications of the order, most notably the administration of Title IV federal financial aid.

He noted a March 14 letter from acting Undersecretary of Education James Bergeron indicated the recent reduction in force at the federal agency would not directly impact students and families and that funding and operations for higher education programs will not be disrupted for current grantees.

“If changes are enacted at the federal level that negatively impact Oklahoma higher education, our team will work with state leaders and our public colleges and universities to examine the information available, determine potential implications, and identify action steps, as appropriate,” Burrage said.

State Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, the chair of the Senate’s Education Committee, said Trump’s order will give Oklahoma a unique opportunity to bring accountability and transparency to the state.

“I am all for ending the heavy-handed, one-size-fits all approach that has been going on for decades through federal mandates from the U.S. Department of Education, Pugh said. “Returning more power to the states, with no interruption in services to kids that need it most, will allow more flexibility in education and create innovation, which is something I have been working on for years.”

A Sand Springs middle-school art teacher wonders about how federal money meant for individual schools, classrooms and/or students will reach its destination without the federal Education Department, and about who will monitor the overall quality of education from state to state.

Without the agency, Christie Cannon said, “there is no safeguard in place to ensure that students across the U.S. will earn comparable educations. Each state will be left to their own whims when it comes to spending any federal funds that might still exist. There will be no standard set of guidelines or expectations. We are led by people who are focused on ‘rights,’ but have forgotten the ‘responsibility’ or who have misplaced that word in their vocabulary.”

She’s not the only teacher with concerns about the aftereffect of Trump’s order. Randi Weingarten, the leader of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions, had a simple message for Trump concerning his executive order: “See you in court.”

The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which oversees federal contributions to schools, monitors education outcomes, administers financial aide and ensures a “free appropriate public education” for all students in the United States.

It would take an act of Congress to completely eliminate the agency and its functions, but the White House has already begun efforts to dramatically slash its workforce. A preliminary tally of most of the cuts shows most of the jobs eliminated were in the Federal Student Aid Office, which handles student loan and financial aid disbursement, and the Office for Civil Rights, which protects students and teachers from discrimination.

One of the positions eliminated in this round of cuts was a civil rights attorney based in Edmond.

Will student loans be affected by federal education cuts?

Unless Congress takes action, the federal government will still be required to administer student loans. If it’s not under the umbrella of the federal Education Department, the executive branch would have to place its responsibilities in another agency.

Newly confirmed U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has stressed that congressionally appropriated money, including financial aid, won’t be affected by the Trump administration’s plans to downsize the Education Department.

President Donald Trump has already proposed moving the Federal Student Aid office, and management of $2 trillion worth of student loans, into the Small Business Administration.

How will Education Department cuts affect Oklahoma?

It’s too early to definitively say how Oklahoma’s education landscape would change if there were no federal education agency, but some analysts are warning that mass firings and employee buyouts will make it harder to investigate civil rights violations and could delay functions of the student aid office.

Oklahoma’s state superintendent has aligned himself with Trump on virtually every policy, especially on the elimination of the Education Department. Since Trump was elected in November, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has posted on social media dozens of times about it.

Walters was especially at odds with the federal agency when former President Joe Biden was in office after an Oklahoma Republican lawmaker asked the agency to investigate the Oklahoma State Department of Education. In the waning days of the Biden administration, Walters sued the federal agency concerning the cost of illegal immigration to Oklahoma schools.

The most significant recent action taken by the federal Education Department in Oklahoma was in November, when the agency determined that Owasso Public Schools was “deliberately indifferent” to student rights by not responding to multiple allegations of sexual harassment against children.

What happens to student IEPs and disability protections?

Many of the functions of the Education Department are mandated by Congress, so they should be protected. Public schools are required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, to provide a “free appropriate public education” to all students with disabilities.

That includes protecting the rights of parents who obtain an Individualized Education Program, which is a document that clearly describes a student’s special needs and how the school will meet those needs.

McMahon has proposed moving disability rights enforcement to the Health and Human Services Department, which is now overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

However, it may become harder for people to file complaints or seek justice because of rapid downsizing and mass firings. There are also serious questions about whether Trump is disregarding Congress as he asserts “positions about its own authority that is inconsistent with constitutional tradition,” according to one constitutional expert.

During his first month after returning to office, Trump moved swiftly to dismantle federal agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides humanitarian and development assistance overseas, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, which protects consumers from questionable banking practices.

A change in presidential administrations has resulted in the dismissal of an appeal by the federal government of an injunction granted to Oklahoma over a new interpretation of Title IX.

Last May, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit against then-U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and the U.S. Department of Education concerning a new Title IX rule interpretation announced by the federal agency the previous month.

The interpretation, under the administration of former President Joe Biden, added gender identity as a protected class under the law. Cardona had announced the new Title IX rule interpretation on April 19.

In his lawsuit, Drummond argued that interpretation was unconstitutional and ignored the language within Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program that receives financial assistance from the federal government. U.S. District Judge Jodi Dishman — an appointee of President Donald Trump during his first term — agreed and issued an injunction against the rule’s enforcement in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is applauding a federal appeals court decision to dismiss an appeal of an injunction against a new interpretation of Title IX.

Cardona and the federal agency appealed that ruling to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. However, now under Trump’s current administration, that appeal was dropped on Friday.

“I appreciate President Trump’s willingness to dismiss the misguided appeal filed by the Biden Administration,” Drummond said in a statement. “Oklahoma students can now rest assured they will be protected from invasions of privacy and other unnecessary harm, thanks to this responsible resolution.”

The Oklahoma State Department of Education, led by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, filed a separate lawsuit over the new Title IX rule interpretation on the same day as Drummond. Dishman dismissed that lawsuit in January, “(b)ecause Plaintiff did not timely serve Defendants within 90 days of the filing of this action and did not comply with the Court’s order giving Plaintiff additional time to effect service.”

Nicole McAfee, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma — an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization — expressed disappointment in Drummond’s statement about the dismissal of the appeal.

“It’s a shame to see our attorney general and other state leaders celebrate a decision that will further harm some of our most vulnerable youth, when we know that allowing gender-based violence against 2STGNC+ students is deadly,” McAfee said. “I wish the politicians putting out celebratory statements like this cared about all kids, including the thousands of trans youth who call Oklahoma home, as much as they do their personal, political platforms.”

State Superintendent Ryan Walters has agreed to pay $5,000 and stop using his state social media account for personal reasons, according to a settlement agreement with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission released Monday.

Walters used the account to publish information on social media that “tended to advocate” for the election of Republican President Donald Trump and the defeat of Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the settlement agreement. The two were running for president.

Ethics rules prohibit the use of social media maintained in the name of the state officer to advocate for the defeat or election of a candidate for elective office, according to the settlement.

The agreement said there is no evidence or finding that Walters intended to violate any ethics rule.

“Superintendent Walters has always committed to following all guidelines and transparency in his political operations,” said Grace Kim, a Walters’ spokesperson. 

Walters was also directed to remove his state photo from his personal account, according to the settlement agreement.

Walters and those involved with running the agency’s social media account will undergo training concerning ethics rules, the settlement said.

Walters agreed to pay a $4,000 civil penalty to the state’s general revenue fund and $1,000 to cover attorney fees and costs to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.

Oklahoma Ethics Commission Executive Director Lee Anne Bruce Boone said last week the commission will also pursue Walters in Oklahoma County District Court for alleged violations of campaign finance rules from Walters for State Superintendent 2022 Committee.

House lawmakers on Thursday approved a measure along partisan lines that would create a new felony for being in the country illegally, despite critics calling it “un-American” and saying it would create unnecessary fear.

House Bill 1362 would allow an individual to be arrested and charged with a new felony punishable by five years in prison if they are apprehended for a violation of Oklahoma’s criminal law and are determined to be an undocumented immigrant. But in lieu of imprisonment, they could agree to be returned to their country of origin by federal immigration enforcement if they have no other felony charges or previous convictions for a violent offense.

“America was built by immigrants coming in, but legally,” said Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, the bill’s author. “And everybody is welcome into this country as long as they’re legal, that’s the end of the story. So all this bill does is it gives us a mechanism to align with the Trump administration.”

The effort would repeal a controversial law signed by the governor in 2024, House Bill 4156, that created the crime of “impermissible occupation” and is in limbo following court challenges.

Hardin’s legislation comes as immigration and the push for mass deportations remain a priority of Oklahoma’s Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration.

The bill, which passed along party lines, leaves determining a person’s immigration status up to the “discretion” of law enforcement, Hardin repeatedly said, but the officer must be “sure” and “without a doubt” when detaining someone for being undocumented.

In response to questions about how this bill could lead to racial profiling, Hardin said that is not the intent of his legislation and that law enforcement goes through training to prevent this.

Oklahoma set to work with ICE to deport incarcerated migrants

Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Operation Guardian in November to deport undocumented immigrants held in Oklahoma’s correctional facilities and recently said the deportation of these 525 incarcerated people will be weighed against the severity of the crime committed and the amount of the sentence served.

The Republican governor also signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to grant three state law enforcement agencies the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. This agreement gives specially trained officers from each agency the power to interrogate people over immigration status, serve and execute arrest warrants for immigration violations.

Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, called the bill “un-Oklahoman and un-American.” He said being in the U.S. illegally is a civil violation, so escalating the penalty to a felony with a minimum cost of $35,000 to bond out of jail is a “big jump.”

“I wish that the United States had an immigration system that actually works, but the reality is that that’s not the case right now. Our immigration system is broken,” he said. “… But the bill itself is just flawed in so many different ways. It’s unconstitutional, and each one of us swore an oath to the Constitution.”

 March 2025

• 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