Latest news with #U.S.NaturalizationTest
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Collection of student immigration data in Oklahoma public schools blocked
A proposed rule collecting the immigration status of Oklahoma public school students was blocked after Gov. Kevin Stitt let an altered set of rules take effect. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — A controversial proposed rule from Oklahoma's chief education official to require schools to collect immigration status of students will not take effect. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt let the legislatively altered set of rules governing the State Department of Education take effect without his signature. The measure, which passed the House and Senate with unanimous, bipartisan support, removed two of the most controversial rules: a requirement that public schools collect proof of U.S. citizenship during enrollment and that teachers pass the U.S. Naturalization Test to earn or renew their certifications. Stitt had said he would reject the proposed immigration rule. He previously said even though it was a political issue that people would 'come after' him for, it was the 'right thing to do' and kids shouldn't be 'put on a list.' Lawmakers had argued the immigration rule didn't have any statutory authority and was unenforceable. The administrative rules are proposed by state agencies based on current law. They are subject to review and approval by the Legislature and the governor. When approved and enacted, the rules carry the force of law. 'I will never waver in my belief that Oklahoma taxpayers deserve the utmost transparency – especially if their hard-earned dollars are being used to fund illegal immigrant's education,' said state Superintendent Ryan Walters in a statement Thursday. He said Oklahomans should know who is in their schools. 'Conservatives have an obligation to uphold conservative principles, not just to win an election, but year round,' Walters said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Oklahoma schools will not be required to track immigrant students despite Walters' proposal
A controversial administrative rule proposal that would have required schools to collect the immigration status of students and their parents has been halted after a joint resolution blocking the policy went into effect without Gov. Kevin Stitt's signature. Senate Joint Resolution 22, which also rejects an Oklahoma State Department of Education proposal to require teachers to take the U.S. Naturalization Test to renew their teaching license, was deemed as law on Wednesday, May 28, a week after the Legislature sent it to the governor. Stitt did not sign the resolution, despite his persistent criticisms of Walters's immigration-check proposal. He had accused Walters of using children as political pawns. The resolution eventually passed without opposition in the House and Senate, but not before the resolution's supporters successfully fended off three attempts — one in the Senate, two in the House — to amend it to accept the immigration-check rule pushed by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters. On X on Tuesday, May 27, Walters posted an article from the publication EdWeek noting his immigration-check rule had failed to be approved by the Legislature and wrote, "Stay tuned." A spokesman for Walters didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. 'Collecting 6-, 7-, 8-year-old kids' addresses and immigration status in the state of Oklahoma, that's not a public safety issue,' Stitt said in February. 'Let's go after the bad guys, the people that are committing crimes, and let's not terrorize and make our kids not show up at school.' When asked why Stitt opted not to sign the resolution, his spokesperson Abegail Cave said he hadn't signed any other administrative rules resolutions this year, either. The governor instead decided to "let them all go into law" without signing them. "As with bills, he only signed things that were considered policy priorities," Cave said. The governor said earlier in May that he didn't view many of the bills passed this session as priorities, adding that he doesn't think they're going to move the needle. In Oklahoma, the governor has five days, not including Sundays, to take action on a bill while the Legislature is in session. Otherwise, the bill becomes law on its effective date. More than 200 measures have become law so far without Stitt's signature. "I just decided that I will sign the things that I think are good and are actually going to move the needle for Oklahoma, and obviously veto the ones that are not good for Oklahoma," Stitt said on May 21. The proposed rule was part of Walters' broader effort to quantify how much Oklahoma schools pay to educate undocumented migrants. Walters also sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in January, demanding the federal agency pay the state $474 million to "recoup illegal immigration impacts on Oklahoma schools." The dollar figure appears to be based on an estimate published by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group dedicated to limiting immigration. Many U.S.-born children are likely included in the estimate, according to the group's analysis. On Friday, May 23, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit. More: Homeland Security wants court to drop immigration policy lawsuit filed by Ryan Walters Attorneys representing Noem — who now is the primary defendant in the case — said while they sympathize with many of Walters' concerns, the lawsuit should be tossed for multiple reasons, one of which being Oklahoma has no standing to file such a lawsuit under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which deals with separation of powers within the federal government. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma schools will not be required to track immigrant students
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma lawmakers, others work to curb Ryan Walters' political influence
An "emergency" news conference held earlier this month by Oklahoma's top education official turned out to have little to do with education. Instead, Republican state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters called for the state to eliminate both income and property taxes. He went on to repeat the same talking points in subsequent days, on social media and during an event at the state Capitol on Wednesday, May 21. Reaction from Oklahoma political leaders — all Republicans — to Walters' thoughts on taxes has been blunt. 'That is absurd … completely impractical,' Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton said. 'That's not a serious proposal,' House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said. "I don't think anybody takes this guy seriously," Gov. Kevin Stitt said. Walters predicted the backlash and seems to have embraced his status as a GOP iconoclast. But others in his party and outside the Capitol are quietly making moves to try to place guardrails on his power to control what happens in Oklahoma schools. The pushback comes as lawmakers wrap up this year's regular legislative session and Walters mulls his next political move. He widely is expected to run to replace Stitt in 2026. Although Walters has yet to formally announce his candidacy for that post or for any other, he's continuing to receive contributions to his 2022 campaign for state superintendent. His most recent report to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission showing $17,385 in the account after the first quarter of 2025. To be clear, Walters still has plenty of political influence. He convinced enough state senators to hold off on a vote to reject controversial new social studies academic standards he's championed, allowing them to go into effect, despite appeals from new Oklahoma State Board of Education members to send them back o the board for more consideration. He also used a last-minute lobbying campaign to derail Senate Bill 646, which would have remade the Board of Education, expanding it to 10 members, and allow its members to add items to meeting agendas. The House failed to hear the bill before a legislative deadline to do so, although a spokeswoman for Hilbert, R-Bristow, hinted the ideas might not be dead yet. But in the past two weeks, Walters also has lost on at least four other fronts. Walters pushed for months for the adoption of an administrative rule that would require schools to seek information about the immigration status of students and their parents during enrollment. He also wanted to require Oklahoma teachers to pass the U.S. Naturalization Test as a requirement to obtain or renew their licenses. But conservative lawmakers in the Senate and House committees that oversee proposed rules crafted a resolution that would reject those rules. The resolution worked its way through the Legislature, withstanding three attempts by far-right legislators to change it to approve the immigration-check rule. The resolution cleared the House on Wednesday, May 21, and now awaits approval from Stitt, who has criticized Walters for floating the rule proposal and accused him of using children as political pawns. Also May 21, the House approved House Bill 1277, which would limit the ability of the state Board of Education — of which Walters serves as the chair, due to his elected position — to revoke teaching licenses. That would effectively impede Walters, who has used his control over the licensing process as a political cudgel against educators with whom he's disagreed on issues. The fate of that bill now also rests with Stitt. The Senate Education Committee also recently advanced Stitt's four new appointments to the state Board of Education. Three have replaced members who never voting against Walters during his tenure as superintendent. Paxton, R-Tuttle, stepped in on Tuesday, May 20, to carry the nomination of one board member, Michael Tinney, of Norman, after his appointment appeared to be in question. Meanwhile, Walters' claims that the quality of Oklahoma education is improving took a hit. Walters has pointed to 2024 test scores that show more students are proficient in reading and math. But critics have said those scores gave a false impression that student achievement improved, when in reality, the standards had been lowered. The independent state board in charge of setting the standards, the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, held a special meeting Wednesday, May 21, and reset the standard needed for Oklahoma students to post proficient scores. It threw out what's known as the 'cut scores' from 2024 and reverted to its previous standard. While the commission approved the 2024 standards, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, led by Walters, had developed the now-discarded cut scores. Nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice has reported that instructions given by the agency to the committee that developed the 2024 cut scores suggested the setting of lower expectations for students taking the standardized tests. The goal of May 21's vote was to provide a more accurate representation of how Oklahoma students actually are faring, said state Education Secretary Nellie Tayloe Sanders, a Stitt appointee who leads the CEQA. 'We are committed to being a commission that is working very hard to provide truth and transparency that families can depend on to find out whether their children are ready for life after school,' Sanders said. Walters blamed the CEQA for any issues with the scores: 'I'm glad that they're taking action now. I mean, it took them forever to do it. It was pretty common sense. But look, they need to quit shifting the blame and actually do their job.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters' political influence in Oklahoma is facing pushback
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma lawmakers reject Ryan Walters' proposal to track immigrant students
A resolution rejecting state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters' proposal to track immigrant students and their families is on its way to the governor's desk. Senate Joint Resolution 22, which covers proposed education policies, passed without opposition on the House floor on Wednesday, May 21, but not before a long debate about whether to amend the resolution to green light Walters' immigration-check rule. The resolution now awaits the approval of Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has been a staunch critic of the proposal. 'Collecting 6-, 7-, 8-year-old kids' addresses and immigration status in the state of Oklahoma, that's not a public safety issue,' Stitt said in February. 'Let's go after the bad guys, the people that are committing crimes, and let's not terrorize and make our kids not show up at school.' The proposed rule from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, which is led by Walters, would have required schools to seek information about the immigration status of students and their parents during enrollment. Another proposed rule by that agency that's in line for rejection is one that would require Oklahoma teachers to take the U.S. Naturalization Test to renew their teaching license. Attempts to revive Walters' immigration rule were rejected multiple times by lawmakers in recent weeks. On Monday, Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, introduced an amendment to do so in the House Administrative Rules Committee, and it failed on a 10-3 vote. On Wednesday, Jenkins tried again, proposing a similar amendment on the House floor. It was ultimately tabled by a 75-12 vote. The House immediately then voted 90-0 to approve the resolution. Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, also tried to revive the rule on the Senate floor earlier in May, but his proposed amendments were tabled. More: Attempt to revive Ryan Walters' immigration-check rule in Oklahoma schools fails Walters, during a news conference at the Capitol on Friday, accused the Legislature and the governor of not being transparent about the issue. 'It's incredibly disappointing that we see the Senate not provide that type of transparency for taxpayers,' Walters said. 'Let's just be real clear. Our rule says that we are going to account for how many taxpayer dollars, how much goes towards illegal immigrants in our schools. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK lawmakers reject Ryan Walters' proposal to track immigrant students
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House resoundingly rebuffs Walters' plan to collect Oklahoma student immigration info
Oklahoma House lawmakers, pictured Jan. 7, unanimously rejected rules that would have required public schools to collect immigration data from students and force teachers to take a naturalization test for certification. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — With bipartisan support, House lawmakers on Wednesday sent a series of altered education rules to the governor that eliminate the requirements for public schools to collect proof of U.S. citizenship and for teachers to pass the U.S. Naturalization Test. Lawmakers unanimously approved Senate Joint Resolution 22, which now heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt. The Republican has repeatedly vowed to block efforts by the state Department of Education to require schools to collect the immigration status of children. With the same measure, lawmakers also rejected a rule requiring all public school teachers to pass a written version of the U.S. Naturalization Test to earn or renew their certifications. Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, attempted to amend the measure to reinstate the controversial immigration rule, but it failed 75-12. Under the rule backed by state Superintendent Ryan Walters, districts would have been required to report to the state the number of children unable to verify U.S. citizenship or legal residency. The Republican said it would help schools accurately provide the resources needed to serve those students, but also said he would turn over such information to federal immigration authorities if asked. Jenkins said the amendment would have collected 'aggregate' data, not any individual student names, and would help to better allocate funding throughout Oklahoma public schools. Opponents on both sides of the aisle said the rule was unenforceable. The numbers could still be traced to students and could create a strain on the public school system, they said. Schools already provide services to immigrant students without requiring proof of citizenship. Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, said the immigration rule does not have statutory authority. Kendrix, the measure's author, said the process is about ensuring the rules have statute backing them up, not about policy. State agencies are supposed to create rules that expand on existing law relating to the policy. The Legislature and the governor then review every agency's rules and can accept or reject them. If approved, the rules have the force of law. The same measure also passed the Senate unanimously. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
