Gov. Stitt approves all of Walters’ new Education Department rules

Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks at a news conference on May 31, 2024, at the state Capitol. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt has approved a controversial set of rules from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, as expected after the Legislature declined to take action on the regulations.

Stitt approved the rules on Friday, giving them the force of law. His office did not respond to a request for comment on them.

The package of about 20 regulations comes from state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ administration. Among them is a rule that will downgrade a school district’s accreditation status if fewer than half of its students score at a basic performance level in reading and math tests. The district’s standing with the state would continue to drop if it fails to show 5% improvement on annual test scores.

Other rules create a potential punishment for schools that continue to employ educators under investigation of wrongdoing and would allow schools to fire teachers for engaging in acts that “promote sexuality” in the presence of a minor or in a manner available to a minor online.

“This is a great day for Oklahoma students and their parents,” Walters said in a statement Monday. “Oklahoma is leading the nation in education reform and these new rules hold our schools accountable for results. We are leaving behind failed policies and are completely focused on empowering parents, protecting our students from predators, and improving academic outcomes for our kids.”

House Democrats criticized the rules and the Legislature’s lack of action. They and some education advocates said tying accreditation to test scores would unfairly punish schools that serve mostly students living in poverty or who are learning English as their second language.

But the House Republican supermajority decided not to bring the regulations to a vote by the full chamber. Rather than voting and possibly sending the rules to the Senate, the House GOP caucus allowed the governor to decide whether to approve them.

Before that, the House Administrative Rules Committee had passed all but one of the regulations. The lone exception was a provision to allow scores from the Classic Learning Test to apply to academic scholar and seal of biliteracy awards, adding it to the list of eligible tests with the ACT and SAT. But the lack of a House floor vote meant the governor had the final decision on all of the rules, even one the committee rejected.

Some Republicans opposed it because the Classic Learning Test isn’t accepted by many Oklahoma universities. It was developed in 2015 and tests reading, grammar and math with an emphasis on classic literature and historical texts.

Other rules establish “foundational values” for the Education Department, including references to “the Creator,” and implement Stitt’s executive order banning state funds from applying to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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