Oklahoma Democrats Move to Block New Social Studies Standards
Oklahoma House and Senate Democrats filed resolutions on Monday to reject a proposal for new social studies standards in public schools.
Oklahoma Voice reports the standards, developed by State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ administration, would require teaching about the Bible, Jesus and alleged discrepancies in the 2020 election.
Democrats criticized the process as politically influenced and called for a more thorough review.
Walters responded by accusing Democrats of undermining education with “anti-American agendas.”
The Oklahoma Legislature has until May 1 to approve, amend or reject the standards.
Oklahoma House Updates Budget Portal, Proposes $107M Spending Cut
The Oklahoma House of Representatives updated its online budget transparency portal over the weekend. It shows a proposed $107 million decrease compared to last year.
The House is looking to spend a total of $12.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2026. It’s about $100 million less than what the legislature appropriated last year.
The money is dished out to state agencies based on their requests and needs, and lawmakers’ legislative priorities.
And even with $4 billion in total savings, which isn’t accounted for in the appropriation total, the House’s ideal budget outlook is about $1 billion under what state agencies asked for this year.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert from Bristow said last week that his chamber is working with the Senate for ways to spend the extra cash on capital improvement projects that will “be good for the state.” Details are pending.
The Senate has yet to release its own budget proposal, though it had by this time last year.
Mostly, the House pulled some one-time investments made last year for improvements and maintenance at various agencies
Oklahoma Voters to Decide Local Races, School Bonds in Tuesday’s Election
Voters in 71 counties will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in this month’s elections.
Three of the state’s legislative districts will hold primaries for vacant seats. Also on the ballot is a third try at a bond package for Blanchard Public Schools, as well as a new animal welfare center in Stillwater.
And across the state, cities and towns are holding elections for city council and school board seats.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find your polling location, visit the Oklahoma State Election Board website.
Oklahoma House Passes Bill to Ease Court Fees for Former Inmates
A new bill to reform court fees has passed through the state House of Representatives. The measure means to alleviate the financial burden on individuals involved in the criminal justice system.
House Bill 1460 by Oklahoma City Republican Tammy West aims to eliminate low-yield fees for those in the criminal justice system.
West developed the bill after an interim study found former inmates were overwhelmed by the fees.
In a release, West says the fees are affecting those with limited financial means causing the collection rate to be as low as 25%, meaning the fees cost more for the state to collect than they bring in.
HB 1460 would eliminate the electronic monitoring fee, indigent defense application fee, DPS Impaired Driver Database fee, Bureau of Narcotics Revolving Fund Fee, and OSBI drug cleaning fee.
West says she is working with agency heads to identify which fees make the most sense to eliminate.
The House unanimously passed the bill last week and it is now headed to the Senate.
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