Latest news with #SenateEducationCommittee
Axios
3 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Yee challenges Horne in GOP primary for state superintendent
State Treasurer Kimberly Yee is taking on state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in the Republican primary, challenging him from the right over Arizona's school choice system. State of play: Yee, who is termed out, will attempt to wrest the GOP nomination from Horne as he seeks reelection. She announced her candidacy from the state Capitol Wednesday, touting her career-long dedication to education issues and pledging to "build a stronger and higher-achieving school system." Yee criticized Horne for what she called "government overreach" in his administration of the voucher-style Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and argued that he's exceeded his legal authority in imposing restrictions on it. She also dismissed the types of excesses by some ESA parents that critics focus on as a minute fraction of a percentage of the total program. Background: Yee chaired the Senate Education Committee and focused on education issues during her 2010-2018 legislative career, as a legislative staffer and as an aide to former California Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson. The intrigue: State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who leads the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, told reporters last month he wanted to find a GOP primary challenger for Horne, whom he called "the single greatest threat" to the ESA program. Hoffman is backing a slate of candidates for statewide offices and introduced Yee at Wednesday's press conference. Yee said parents in the school choice community had been asking her to run for superintendent well before Hoffman's recruitment efforts. Between the lines: The superintendent proposes changes to the handbook that governs the ESA program. Horne's Arizona Department of Education in March proposed changes to require a curriculum for supplemental materials; impose spending caps for expenses like computers, musical instruments and home economics appliances; and ban expenses like smartwatches, multi-person kayaks, Amazon Prime fees and certain appliances like espresso machines and freeze-dryers. The State Board of Education postponed a vote on the new handbook after about three dozen ESA parents spoke out against the changes. Horne last month asked the board to again push back the vote, saying he wanted to meet with state lawmakers who had voiced concerns to him. The other side: Horne, a longtime school choice advocate who previously served as superintendent from 2008-2011, said in a press statement Wednesday that the state education department is strongly in favor of parental choice and ESAs. But he rejected the notion that the program should be unrestricted, pointing to expenditures he's rejected like a $5,000 Rolex watch, a $24,000 golf simulator and a vasectomy testing kit. If the department approved such expenditures, it would provoke a negative public reaction and threaten the program's survivability, he said. Horne added he has a duty to responsibly manage taxpayer funds, which includes limiting ESA expenses to reasonable educational purposes.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Oklahoma Senate approves governor's new education board members
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, left, sits next to Oklahoma State Board of Education member Mike Tinney, right, before supporting Tinney's confirmation during a Senate Education Committee meeting May 20, 2025, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday confirmed Gov. Kevin Stitt's four new appointees to the State Board of Education along with picks for several other state leadership posts. With no discussion, senators approved the appointments of Mike Tinney, of Norman, Christopher K. Van Denhende, of Tulsa, Ryan A. Deatherage, of Kingfisher, and Becky Y. Carson, of Edmond, to serve on the state board tasked with governing the state's public school system. Gov. Kevin Stitt in February removed three prior members from the board and criticized them for creating 'needless political drama' following their vote requiring schools to collect students' immigration status. Stitt then named Deatherage, Tinney and Van Denhende to fill the vacancies, saying the board needed fresh eyes. State Superintendent Ryan Walters accused Stitt of firing the three former board members for political purposes. The three booted members had voted in line with Walters since he took office in January 2023. They approved Walters' budget requests, which included $3 million to spend on Bibles, along with controversial new rules that would require the student citizenship checks and require teachers to pass a naturalization test in order to be licensed. During the session, the Republican-controlled Legislature rejected all three proposals. In April, Stitt appointed Carson, a retired educator, to fill a seat representing Congressional District 5 that has been vacant for two years. Walters and six members appointed by the governor make up the board. During the committee vetting process, some Republican senators objected to Stitt's decision to overhaul the board's membership. Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, carried Tinney's nomination after his hometown senator, Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, declined to do so. Standridge told some media outlets she was friends with Kendra Wesson, who served on the board before being booted. In other business, the Senate confirmed John Budd of Oklahoma City to serve as the Department of Commerce CEO. Richard L. Rose of Oklahoma City was confirmed as Office of Management and Enterprise Services director. Jeffrey Cartmell of Edmond was approved to serve as Department of Human Services director. Timothy N. Tardibono of Oklahoma City was confirmed as Office of Juvenile Affairs executive director. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel begins negotiations with the House over how to scrap the STAAR test
A Senate panel early Friday unveiled its rewrite of the House bill that would scrap STAAR, the state standardized test widely criticized for taking instructional time away from teachers and putting pressure on students. The Senate changes kick off formal negotiations with the lower chamber as the clock is running out on the legislative session. The Senate Education Committee's rewrite reflects a gap in what the two chambers want to see out of the new state assessment — and the A-F accountability ratings that are largely calculated based on assessment results. House Bill 4 would swap the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test for a shorter test that aims to better support student learning. Students would be tested at the beginning, middle and end of the year to monitor their progress. 'By the time we get to a shorter end-of-year test, we are not concentrating this into a high-stakes anxiety game that basically has teachers and students walking a tightrope,' said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican sponsoring the bill. 'I know there'll be more of this coming out of my House counterparts as we move this bill on.' The Senate amendments to the legislation absorbs much of the language from Senate Bill 1962, the Senate's own bill on testing and accountability. The House had started the session with much of that language but moved away from it after public testimony and closed-door meetings with school leaders. The House wants to grade Texas students by comparing their performance to their peers around the country in what is called a 'norm-referenced test.' Proponents of this kind of test say it allows students and their families to get results back faster. The Senate panel does not specify what grading would look like, which would allow the state to continue a rigid scale to track students' academic performance. The House also eliminated a mandatory standardized test on social studies, while the Senate chose to retain it. Students' STAAR performance is a key metric in the state's ratings of school districts and school campuses, which are graded on an A-F scale each year. School performance ratings were held up in court because of two consecutive years with lawsuits. The House's bill also left an avenue for districts to sue to challenge the Texas Education Agency in the future, but set up a fast-track court process so those lawsuits do not halt the release of the ratings. The Senate's bill, meanwhile, doubled down on discouraging schools from taking legal action again. It gives the TEA commissioner, for example, the option to appoint a conservator to districts that initiate a lawsuit. Bettencourt has repeatedly slammed districts who joined the lawsuits over the A-F ratings in the past, calling the action 'lawfare.' The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senate embraces mandate parents have to 'opt in' for children to take risk survey
A bill that would require parents to have to agree up front to allow their children to take the Youth Behavioral Risk Survey cleared its final hurdle in the state Senate Thursday. Senate passes bill to make parents gatekeepers of risk behavior survey State Sen. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester and standing, speaks to try and convince the State Senate to pass legislation so parents have to give permission in advance for their children to take a state risk behavior survey. Sen. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, led the effort to convince the Senate to overturn its Senate Education Committee, which had recommended killing the bill (HB 446) by a 3-2 margin. Instead, the Senate passed it on a party line 16-8 vote with all Republicans in support and all Democrats opposed to it. 'This isn't counselling. We are asking very intimate questions of students and there is no help for them if they are facing these issues,' Sullivan said. 'These surveys are not safe for children.' This is the only non-academic survey given in which children take it unless the parents affirmatively opt out. Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka said the change could lower the participation rate of the survey below 60%, which would make it no longer valid for use by state agencies and non-profit groups that use results in applications for federal and private grants. 'Thanks to the data these surveys provide, we have made great progress on substance misuse and mental health by identifying the problem and creating tailored solutions — all while still empowering parents with the ability to opt out, and their child with the ability to skip questions,' Perkins Kwoka said. 'The data is anonymous, accurate, and absolutely crucial to ensuring our kids have the best shot at a successful future. These problems don't magically go away if we don't ask about them — it's time we reinforce our prevention efforts, not abandon them.' Sullivan: 'It is not anonymous' Sullivan disagreed with that final point, noting the survey begins with a series of specific personal questions that make it easy for educators or others to identify who has taken it. 'It is not anonymous,' Sullivan said. Jenny O'Higgins, with the Department of Health and Human Services, said during a recent hearing the current rate of students who take the test '(hovers) between 62% and 65%.' O'Higgins said the state receives $60 million in grants to address concerns identified in the survey such as unprotected sex, alcohol or drug misuse, mental health behaviors along with thoughts about suicide. Critics also maintain the survey has become a source for fundraising by non-profit groups. 'This is akin to using students as focus groups in a forced environment,' said Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton. Currently, state law requires schools to make the surveys available to parents at least 10 days before being administered. The bill would add that parents receive a personal email along with changing to an opt-out process. Sen. Suzanne Prentiss, D-Lebanon, sponsored an amendment to require the email notice, but to retain the opt-in provision. The Senate rejected it by the same 16-8 vote. 'Unfortunately, my colleagues voted against our police, schools and providers who rely on this data to care for and protect our children,' Prentiss said. What's Next: This House-passed bill heads to the desk of Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Prospects: The governor has raised no public concerns about it and appears in keeping with her call to advance legislation that enhances parental rights in education. klandrigan@
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After months of turmoil, Senate committee approves Stitt's OSBE nominations: How we got here
Three of Gov. Kevin Stitt's four recent nominees to the Oklahoma State Board of Education have passed a key milestone: confirmation by the Senate Education Committee. The nominations of Michael Tinney, of Norman; Ryan Deatherage, of Kingfisher; and Becky Carson, of Edmond are advancing to the full Senate for a final vote. Under state law, the Senate must be finished with its work by May 30. Acting on executive nominations typically is done in the final days of the annual legislative session. Tinney, Deatherage and Chris Van Denhende, of Tulsa, have served on the board, which oversees public education in Oklahoma, since February — clashing frequently with the board's chair, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters — while Carson's first board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21. Van Denhende had his nomination confirmed earlier in May by the Senate committee during a fiery meeting. 'This shouldn't be a controversial board,' Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton said, 'but unfortunately it has become that way.' When the Senate Education Committee met Tuesday, May 20, Tinney's nomination passed 10-2, with Deatherage's nomination advancing on a 9-2 vote. Carson sailed through with a 10-0 vote. The only senators voting against the nominations of Deatherage and Tinney were the committee's most far-right members, Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, and Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R-Blanchard. Stitt had named Tinney, Deatherage and Van Denhende to the board on Feb. 11 to replace three sitting members. He named a fourth new member, Carson, to fill an open seat on April 28. The governor said in February the board shakeup was due to 'ongoing controversy' at the Oklahoma State Department of Education and disappointing standardized test scores. During his first two years in office, Walters received no pushback from the board on multiple controversial decisions, such as issuing a statewide Bible-teaching mandate or seeking to create an administrative rule that would allow the state Education Department to not just ask for the immigration status of students, but also of their parents. That's changed since Stitt appointed Tinney, Deatherage and Van Denhende to the board. During two meetings, the three men have challenged Walters on multiple occasions. The circumstances regarding Tinney's nomination featured significant additional political drama. Senate tradition requires the nomination be carried by the senator for the district in which the nominee resides, or by the Senate president pro tempore. But Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, declined to carry the nomination of Tinney, who lives in her district. Standridge has cited her friendship with Kendra Wesson, one of the three board members ousted by Stitt in February, as her reason. The Senate president pro tempore, in such cases, can also carry a nomination, but initially, Paxton, R-Tuttle, declined to do so. But after discussions with Stitt and others, Paxton changed his mind. He said Tuesday that Standridge had asked him to carry Tinney's nomination. 'We've had some time to see him on the board and see how he performs on it, so he looks like the right person for the job and (we) wanted to make sure that that we were able to get that through,' Paxton said. Paxton said he discussed Tinney's nomination with Stitt. "The governor feels very confident that he made the right appointment and would love to see that appointment to stay on there,' Paxton said of their conversation. 'He said, 'We can find somebody else, but why go find somebody else when you have a qualified person that's willing to serve?'' Tinney said he was in far southwestern Oklahoma when he heard the news. 'You guys know the kind of hurdles my nomination overcame and I don't want to rehash all that, but I'm just thankful that things got worked out and thankful I got the opportunity to be heard,' Tinney said after his hearing. 'I'm just going to hope I'll be confirmed by the Senate and then I'll get over to doing my job.' During Tinney's 37-minute hearing, Deevers grilled him about whether it might be a conflict of interest for Tinney to serve on the state board, given that Tinney's wife, Ginger, serves as the executive director of Professional Oklahoma Educators, a union-like professional organization. He also asked about a vote Tinney took in a recent board meeting against suspending the license of the teacher accused of child neglect. Tinney said everyone deserves due process in such a setting. Deevers remained unconvinced, saying Tinney had 'too severe a conflict of interest' to serve on the board. In response to a question from Sacchieri about his loyalty to the governor, Tinney replied, 'I will not be a 'yes' man.' Deatherage's hearing lasted about 23 minutes. Deevers asked him about what Title 70 — a portion of state law that governs education and the board — says concerning the board's role. Deatherage likened board members to coaches, who tell the team captain — the superintendent — what plays to run. 'The board guides and checks and makes sure … schools are winning,' Deatherage said. Deevers also asked Deatherage about a recent controversy regarding how Walters pushed through new state social studies academic standards. Deatherage, Tinney and Van Denhende all have said they didn't have sufficient time to read the final version of the standards, and that they felt deceived when Walters said they had to vote during the February meeting to meet legislative deadlines, when the actual deadline wasn't until the end of April. Carson's hearing lasted only 13 minutes. Deevers asked her only one question and Sacchieri offered a couple of others. Carson said her mantra in education was the question, 'Is it good for kids?' She also said 'our children … are watching us. What message are we sending them?' The committee also approved, without opposition, the nomination of Tulsa venture capitalist Tracy Poole to the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, which governs Oklahoma State University, Langston University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and Connors State College. OSU President James Hess joined three other system presidents at the hearing to support Poole's nomination. Also approved was the re-nomination of current Regional University System of Oklahoma Regent Connie Reilly, of Okemah. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Stitt's OSBE nominations get Senate committee confirmation
