Latest news with #Pogemiller
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmaker asks for AG's opinion on potential Supt. Walters ethics violation
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A freshman Oklahoma lawmaker has brought up a new possible ethics complaint centered around State Superintendent Ryan Walters. In an interview with Non-Doc, Representative Ellen Pogemiller (D-Oklahoma City) said she not only asked Attorney General Gentner Drummond for his opinion, but also filed another complaint with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Pogemiller said she believes that because Walters seemingly endorsed an alternate organization to what he called 'woke teachers' unions' through the use of his state letterhead, he probably violated an ethics rule. 'I knocked on several doors and most of the people told me that their main concern is holding Ryan Walters accountable,' said Pogemiller. In his press release, he promoted the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a program founded in March by the Freedom Foundation, a right-wing think tank. Walters already accepted a settlement agreement this year for an ethics violation where he pushed politically charged opinions while using his state profile on 'X.' Ethics Commission still asking for Ryan Walters' campaign donor information There he was told to take an ethics training course and to pay $5,000. Pogemiller believes that in this instance Walters issued written communications on official state letterhead and using state resources, advocating for TFA and positioning it as a preferable alternative to other labor organizations and professional organizations representing educators in Oklahoma. 'So it's (the letterhead) an official capacity as state superintendent. And so I feel like that went beyond the scope of what he was able to do and I wanted to get clarification,' said Pogemiller. Specifically, she listed two reasons the communications violated ethics rules: State officers are prohibited from using state resources to promote private interests. State officers may not use their position to provide preferential treatment to a specific private entity. State dollars have already been used to pay the Freedom Foundation. In July 2023, an Open Records Request found that Walters billed Oklahoma over $500 for airfare, mileage, and per diem for an appearance as the keynote speaker at the Freedom Foundation's Teachers for Freedom Summit in Denver, Colorado. Walters in the past, has been admittedly against teachers' unions and at one point even called them 'terrorist organizations.' The AG's office told News 4 on Friday that Pogemiller's request for an opinion is still being reviewed. News 4 reached out to an OSDE spokesperson via email on Friday and asked what specifically was woke about the teachers' unions in Oklahoma if he believes what Pogemiller is saying is against ethics rules, and for a statement. Another question we asked is if the Teachers Freedom Alliance can provide the same sort of things that other teachers' unions in our state can. News 4 also reached out to a person listed on a recent press release as being a part of the Teachers Freedom Alliance and asked if they provide liability insurance coverage to teachers or have the legal right in Oklahoma to negotiate working conditions. As of Friday evening, we have not heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bills aim to change how Oklahoma schools are graded on chronic absenteeism
Grading public schools based on students' poor attendance has gained bipartisan opposition in the Oklahoma Legislature. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle said they support tracking chronic absenteeism rates, but they called it unfair to penalize schools for it. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year. Chronic absenteeism is one of six factors that can impact a school's A-F grade on the Oklahoma State Report Cards. Federal law requires states to track and report chronic absenteeism rates, and at least 36 states use it while grading school performance. The head of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposed replacing chronic absenteeism on state report cards with a climate survey of a school's students, parents and employees. Under Pugh's Senate Bill 711, attendance rates could count as a bonus for a school's A-F grade. Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, filed similar legislation in the House with House Bill 1131 and House Bill 1412 to add a school climate survey to state report cards in place of chronic absenteeism. Changing a factor on the report cards requires approval from the U.S. Department of Education. Pugh and Pogemiller said chronic absenteeism is important to measure, but they agreed student attendance is not something districts entirely control. 'Schools aren't in charge of bringing kids to school. Parents are,' Pogemiller said. 'I know that districts across the state are trying their best to address chronic absenteeism and so that still should be a priority, but I don't think they should be evaluated by it on a metric that's so prominent on our state report card.' Chronic absenteeism is worth 10 points on state report cards, the same point value as a high school's graduation rate, the progress of students learning English as a second language and post-secondary opportunities exposure. State testing performance, called academic achievement, carries the heaviest weight in a report card score followed by academic growth, which measures how much state test results have improved. Pugh said it would be more logical for a school's A-F grade to reflect what students, parents, faculty and staff say about how their school is performing and how it could improve. He said poor attendance reflects challenges existing in the broader community, and it's an issue every state is trying to tackle. 'I just feel it's unfair to hold the school district accountable for something that might be a much bigger macro-level problem than just what's happening inside the school district,' Pugh said. Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@ Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma bill could change schools' grading for chronic absenteeism
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bills would kick chronic absenteeism from Oklahoma school evaluations
A student raises her hand at Mayo Demonstration School in Tulsa on April 8. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Grading public schools based on students' poor attendance has gained bipartisan opposition in the Oklahoma Legislature. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle said they support tracking chronic absenteeism rates, but they called it unfair to penalize schools for it. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year. Chronic absenteeism is one of six factors that can impact a school's A-F grade on the Oklahoma State Report Cards. Federal law requires states to track and report chronic absenteeism rates, and at least 36 states use it while grading school performance. The head of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposed replacing chronic absenteeism on state report cards with a climate survey of a school's students, parents and employees. Under Pugh's Senate Bill 711, attendance rates could count as a bonus for a school's A-F grade. Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, filed similar legislation in the House with HB 1131 and HB 1412 to add a school climate survey to state report cards in place of chronic absenteeism. Changing a factor on the report cards requires approval from the U.S. Department of Education. Pugh and Pogemiller said chronic absenteeism is important to measure, but they agreed student attendance is not something districts entirely control. 'Schools aren't in charge of bringing kids to school. Parents are,' Pogemiller said. 'I know that districts across the state are trying their best to address chronic absenteeism and so that still should be a priority, but I don't think they should be evaluated by it on a metric that's so prominent on our state report card.' Chronic absenteeism is worth 10 points on state report cards, the same point value as a high school's graduation rate, the progress of students learning English as a second language and post-secondary opportunities exposure. State testing performance, called academic achievement, carries the heaviest weight in a report card score followed by academic growth, which measures how much state test results have improved. Pugh said it would be more logical for a school's A-F grade to reflect what students, parents, faculty and staff say about how their school is performing and how it could improve. He said poor attendance reflects challenges existing in the broader community, and it's an issue every state is trying to tackle. 'I just feel it's unfair to hold the school district accountable for something that might be a much bigger macro-level problem than just what's happening inside the school district,' Pugh said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
