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A Recap Of Monday's Vote On Oklahoma Reading Retention Bill

State Rep. Katie Henke (R-Tulsa) speaking during a press conference after the May 12 House vote.
Nate Robson
/
Oklahoma Watch
State Rep. Katie Henke (R-Tulsa) speaking during a press conference after Monday's House vote.

Three days after it was announced that nearly 8,000 Oklahoma students are at risk of repeating the third grade for failing the state’s reading test, lawmakers voted to change the state’s retention requirements.

The bill, which passed the House by bi-partisan 89-6 vote, creates a panel of teachers, parents and reading specialists who will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a student who failed the test should move on to third grade, or if the student should be retained. The bill also exempts students who have already shown reading proficiency from taking the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Test.

Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. More Oklahoma Watch content can be found at www.oklahomawatch.org
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. More Oklahoma Watch content can be found at www.oklahomawatch.org

The bill still has to garner the signature of Gov. Mary Fallin, who has supported the current retention requirement that was added to the Reading Sufficiency Act in 2011.

Both Democrat and Republican supporters who voted in favor of the bill Monday pledged to override any veto.

Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, blasted the retention provision, which was implemented as the state slashed education funding.

“I am here to tell you the enemy is not the parents or administrators,” Shelton said. “The enemy in many situations is us … we did not properly fund it.”

Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, said he will urge Fallin to veto the bill, which he said does more harm than good.

“This is not about education,” Nelson said, who supported the bill in March. “If it’s about education, you will make sure the kids can read. This is about social promotion.”

Nelson attempted to add a voucher provision to the bill Monday that would have allowed parents to pull their children out of a public school and enroll them in a public school. The voucher would have used state money to cover a portion of the student’s tuition.

The provision quashed.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday how long it will take districts to assemble the teams of teachers and parents as the school year wraps up.

Districts like Oklahoma City and Tulsa public schools have already said they will continue forward with summer reading programs regardless of what happens with the bill.

Oklahoma Watch is a non-profit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. Oklahoma Watch is non-partisan and strives to be balanced, fair, accurate and comprehensive. The reporting project collaborates on occasion with other news outlets. Topics of particular interest include poverty, education, health care, the young and the old, and the disadvantaged.
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