The State Board of Education signed off on Oklahoma’s new English Language Arts and Math standards during Thursday’s meeting. They now await the approval of state lawmakers.
The Board was tasked with creating new math and English standards after the Oklahoma legislature repealed the Common Core curriculum in 2014.
The new standards were created by a group of Oklahoma educators from school districts across the state, and higher education. They were revised four times, before approval.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said these standards are stronger than the old ones, but are less prescriptive.
“How you teach them is something that is left to the local districts, but the standards are set,” Hofmeister said.
If approved by the legislature, they will go in to effect this next school year.
On Thursday the Board also removed spending restrictions on nearly $30 million in state funding to school districts.
The money was earmarked for reading, remediation, alternative education and staff professional development. The board voted to allow districts to use the money elsewhere in their budget if they fully meet the requirements of the four programs and have funding remaining.
Hofmeister said the change gives local schools more flexibility in the midst of budget cuts. The state has ordered agencies to slash their budgets by three percent due to the billion-dollar shortfall, which is expected to cost education about $47 million.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
