TRANSCRIPT
Announcer: Capitol Insider sponsored by the Oklahoma State Medical Association. Keeping Oklahoma physicians informed about advances in medical technologies, treatments and aftercare. More on the vision and mission of OSMA at okmed.org.
Logan Layden: This is Capitol Insider, taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I'm Logan Layden, in for Dick Pryor for this edition, with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. Shawn, the legislature has moved from hearing bills in committees to considering them on the House and Senate floors. Were there any surprises during the first week of floor work?
Shawn Ashley: Yes, there was. The House met until 10 p.m. Wednesday night, and during its evening floor session, amended a bill that would have limited the number of public school instructional days that also could be used as professional development days.
The bill's new language adds seven instructional days to the public school calendar beginning in the 2027-28 school year. But only if the legislature increases its appropriation to the State Department of Education by at least $175 million. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert is the author of the amendment and said it reflected work with a number of stakeholders who endorse the language.
I asked Hilbert on Thursday if the bill's new language foreshadowed lawmakers' plans to fund education. He said, I hope we do continue to increase education's budget this year as well as next year. And later he added, lawmakers want the fiscal year 2027 budget that they're working on right now and the next fiscal year's budget to be even higher than it is this year. Now, Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton is a vocal advocate of adding more class instruction time and he has signed on as the Senate author of the measure. So it seems like the proposal has some legs as it moves through the next steps of the legislative process.
Logan Layden: The House passed a bill Tuesday that requires college and university students' grades to be based on academic merit alone. What's the purpose of that bill?
Shawn Ashley: Representative Chad Caldwell authored House Bill 3700. It prohibits grades in public institutions of higher education from being based on a student's opinion, beliefs, or conduct in matters related to academic situations. Caldwill said in December and reiterated Tuesday that the bill was not in response to the situation at the University of Oklahoma where an instructor was placed on leave after a student complained she received a failing grade on a paper she wrote that referenced the Bible.
Instead, Caldwell said the bill was recommended by the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee, which was created by the legislature within the state Regents for Higher Education to review colleges and universities' free speech policies. Caldwill told the House, the bill just states that each college or university has to adopt a policy. He said only one institution was found to have a clear official policy in place stating a student's grade would only be based on academic merit.
Logan Layden: The House and Senate each passed bills this last week that would restrict certain materials in public school libraries. What are lawmakers trying to do?
Shawn Ashley: Yeah, these two bills prohibit sexually explicit material in public school libraries. The House version, House Bill 2978, excludes depictions and descriptions of sexually explicit conduct from the definition of the term community standards as it applies to public school library materials. The Senate version, Senate Bill 1250, prohibits sexually explicit content, and implements a reporting and review process for public school library materials that is similar to one put in place by former superintendent of public instruction Ryan Walters.
Those rules were deemed invalid by the Oklahoma Supreme Court because they conflicted with the existing community standards language in statutes. Proponents of the two measures said the purpose of the bill is to keep sexually explicit material out of those school libraries. But opponents argued determining what is sexually explicit can be subjective rather than objective, and even suggested that some parts of the Bible might be considered inappropriate.
Both bills passed their chambers and now head to the other chamber for possible consideration. If they continue to move forward, the language in the bills will need to be reconciled, probably in a conference committee later in the session.
Logan Layden: What's coming up in the week ahead?
Shawn Ashley: Spring break. Lawmakers will meet just Monday and Tuesday and then take Wednesday and Thursday off so they can spend time with their families while most schools are out for spring break.
Logan Layden: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find video of Capital Insider segments on the KGOU YouTube channel. Audio and transcripts are at kgou.org and look for Capital Insiders where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Logan Layden.
Announcer: Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. Hey, take a break from the 24 hour news cycle with us and listen to long form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians and musicians, the people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
Listeners like you provide essential funding for KGOU’s news reports, including Capitol Insider, available in podcasts, online and on the air. Information on how to contribute is at KGOU.org.
