Education Oversight

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, on Wednesday passed a pair of higher education reforms in the House Education Oversight Committee. House Bill 3700 would require state colleges and universities to implement a policy requiring students' grades to be based only on academic performance, including attendance, and not on a student's opinions, beliefs or conduct unrelated to academic situations. Caldwell said the bill is the result of his work on the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee, which was created through legislation signed into law in 2022.  "The committee was asked to review the free speech policies of the state's 25 colleges and universities and found this policy in place at Rose State College," Caldwell said. "We began asking other colleges and universities whether they had a similar policy. While some said they considered this an unwritten policy, to date I've not come across another college that had this as a formal policy."  Caldwell said he's been asked whether HB3700 is a response to a complaint filed last year by a University of Oklahoma student who said she was discriminated against because of her religious beliefs expressed in a class essay. Caldwell said the idea for the legislation predates that occurrence. Had it been in place, however, it might have alleviated the need for the student's complaint and the university's consequent action against an adjunct professor.  "Having a clear policy on this matter would better serve all parties," he said. Caldwell also cited reports in which students say they feel the need to self-censor or worry about expressing their personal opinions or beliefs on campus because of a fear it would negatively affect their grades.  "This, to me, runs contrary to the purpose of higher education," he said. “When a student enrolls in a college, they don’t sign away their First Amendment rights. We don't want teachers to reward students who agree with them or negatively affect the grades of those who don't." HB3700 passed the Education Oversight Committee on a vote of 8-1. It is now eligible to be considered by a vote of the full membership of the House.  Also passed by the oversight committee was House Bill 3701 , which would require the State Regents of Higher Education to review college degree programs on a five-year cycle. Any program determined to be "low producing," as defined in the measure, would trigger an annual review by the Regents, who must then consider suspending or deleting the program. The program could continue if it meets certain exceptions, but it would be placed on probationary status for three years and must submit a plan for improvement. Caldwell said this bill simply codifies into statute the Regents’ existing procedures for consolidating low-producing programs. The State Regents recently voted to eliminate 41 low-producing degree programs and suspend 21 others.

Oklahoma House Education Committee Chair Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, reacted to the Monday announcement by State Superintendent Ryan Walters that he would require all school districts in the state to provide free lunches to all students at the cost of employee salaries. The Superintendent does not have the Constitutional or legal authority to direct how individual school districts allocate their budgets. "This attempt to overstep the authority of Walters' office is a threat to the independent decision-making power of Oklahoma's school districts. Regardless, it is nothing more than an empty threat," said Lowe, a former ag teacher. "Addressing student hunger and streamlining administrative costs are both worthwhile endeavors, but these changes must be implemented legislatively, not through an unfunded mandate. State law clearly outlines what districts are required to fund, including minimum teacher salaries and limits on administrative spending, but it does not require free meals universally. That decision rightly belongs to locally elected school boards, who know their communities best and are entrusted with setting district budgets according to local needs. Districts that choose to use discretionary funds to cover meal costs for all students do so voluntarily, not because of any mandate from the state. As such, there is no legal basis for the State Department of Education to retaliate through special sanctions over budget decisions that are entirely within districts' rights. If Walters has legislative goals, I encourage him to be communicative with lawmakers year-round, not after session has adjourned and it's too late for the Legislature to consider any of his proposals." The House has previously considered bills to expand availability of free school meals, including House Bill 1376 in 2023.  Walters' announcement also referred to a potential SDE emergency rule regarding child nutrition standards. Any emergency rule must be approved by the State Board of Education before it can be considered by the governor. If the agency wishes to continue the emergency rule, the rule must be submitted as a proposed permanent rule during the next legislative session. The next regular SBE meeting is scheduled for July 24.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed legislation aiming to increase transparency and oversight of federal funds received by state agencies. House Bill 1221 , also known as the State Accounts for Federal Expenditures (SAFE) Act, would create accounts to be used by agencies for federal funds received under competitive grant awards, direct monetary payments to the agency not associated with an established federal program the agency operates, and block grants. The bill would mandate that any state agency receiving federal funds through these mechanisms must place those funds into separate SAFE accounts, which would be subject to rigorous reporting to the legislative and executive branches. Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, authored the SAFE Act, which would subject expenditures from these federal accounts to legislative approval through a concurrent resolution. If the Legislature disapproves any proposed expenditure, the agency would be required to notify the federal government and withdraw its application for the corresponding funding. "The SAFE Act ensures federal funds are spent in alignment with Oklahoma's priorities through a transparent process," West said. "This gives elected lawmakers a stronger voice on how our state agencies are spending federal funds and ensures Oklahoma taxpayers can trust how their state government is spending these dollars. I appreciate the strong support for this bill in the House and hope to see it move quickly in the Senate." HB1221 outlines specific exemptions, including temporary funding increases in existing federal programs already managed by state agencies, federal unemployment dollars managed by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC), and certain competitive grants received by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the 8-year Construction Work Plan or grants from the Federal Railroad Administration. Additionally, agencies would be required to present their grant-seeking activities and federal funding reports during legislative hearings or budget performance reviews.  "We know the Trump administration has promised and is already delivering on sending more federal dollars down to the states where we can best determine how to use those funds to best benefit Oklahomans. This legislation ensures federal funds being redirected to the state have full legislative review and control to ensure state agencies are aligning expenditures with legislative intent," said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. "We are excited about the opportunities flexibility with these federal funds will bring to our state and this legislation will maintain accountability at the state level for those funds." Having passed the House 78-18, the SAFE Act now moves to the Senate for consideration, where it is authored by Sen. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee.