Oklahoma City (April 15, 2009) State Capitol – Legislation that could seriously hamper Oklahoma’s ability to ensure a quality education for our children passed the House on Wednesday.

“For over 100 years, this legislature has worked to put more accountability in education and make our schools fair and free.  Suddenly, we’ve reversed course,” said Rep. Scott Inman, D-Del City.

SB834, which passed the House in a heavily partisan vote, would allow school districts to ignore state mandates for education.  These mandates include class size limits, alternative education options, hiring of guidance counselors and public input on changes to school-board policies.

“If a school district believes that a state mandate isn’t right for their community, they already have a process in place to become exempt from the mandate.  The only exception is teacher due process,” said Rep. Inman.  “This is unnecessary legislation, and its main effect will be to drive away our best teachers.”

Rather than giving school boards more freedom, one legislator believes this bill will actually burden them with more bureaucracy.

“My colleagues who support this bill claim that it will take some of the bureaucracy out of our education system, but I think it will do just the opposite,” Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, stated.  “There will be more bureaucracy to sort out state and federal mandates.  There will be more bureaucracy to decide which mandates to abandon and which to keep.  There will be more bureaucracy to clarify whether some requirements fall under the listed exceptions.  There will be more bureaucracy to decide how to adjust staffing needs and salaries.

“Many of my colleagues may think they know what effect this bill will have, but I am not sure they know how dangerous this legislation is.”

Though proponents of the bill claim it would ease restrictions for school districts to dismiss bad teachers, the measure also creates potential disincentives for school districts to retain their best teachers.

“The bill requires only a minimum salary for teachers.  Teachers could become ‘at-will’ employees, rather than having a contract,” Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, said.  “If school boards are able to decide which teachers to keep, unfortunately the most qualified and highly trained teachers – who usually command the highest salaries – could be the first to go, especially in a tight budget year.”

The same day the House passed SB834, they also passed SB394 – a mandate which would move the date school districts must notify teachers of their contract renewals.

Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Porum, believes it’s disingenuous to support legislation with mandates and also support SB834 – especially in the same legislative session.

“I don’t see how it’s possible to be in favor of SB834 and also support requiring school children to observe a moment of silence or recite the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Rep. Cannaday.  “We’ve passed at least seven education mandates in the House this session, and this bill would undo all of them.  I would welcome it if one of my colleagues could explain to me how this is meant to make any sense – or how it’s meant to benefit our students.”

Rep. Sam Buck, D-Ardmore, added that repealing state mandates will reduce accountability and weaken our schools – especially when it comes to teachers.

“‘Deregulation’ has become the code word for ’stripping away teachers’ rights,’” Rep. Buck stated.  “Surely everyone is familiar with this word after seeing what deregulation in our banking system has done to our economy.

“For years, there have been concerns that we are losing our best teachers to other states.  How do we expect to keep quality teachers in Oklahoma if we make it easier to take away their constitutionally protected property rights?  Perhaps the bill’s supporters are trying to move Oklahoma from 42nd in the nation in education back down to 50th.”

Rep. Buck added, “Our children will pay the price for this legislation in the future, and our professional teachers will pay the price right now.  This is a dangerous bill, and it will do nothing to help our children get a better education.”

“We’ve been told this bill is about freedom – sure it is, because it leaves our teachers free to leave and find a new job,” stated Rep. Inman.

Rep. Dorman added concerns that this kind of deregulation could lead to budget cuts that may cripple education.

“This will open the opportunity for the legislature to cut the budget for common education in the future,” said Rep. Dorman.  “Republican fiscal policies lead one to the conclusion, if there are fewer mandates, less money will be needed to provide for educational services, or lower taxes through less government.  While money is not the answer to all problems, investment is necessary to provide a proper education for our future students so they will have the opportunity to have a better life than the past generations.”