Excessive teacher professional development requirements addressed
OKLAHOMA CITY â Legislation to examine excessive teacher professional development training for Oklahomaâs public school teachers passed the House Common Education Committee Tuesday with a vote of 13-0.
House Bill 1593, authored by Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, modifies how often teachers are required to complete professional development hours by reducing the frequency of four educator trainings out of the 27 currently required by state statute.
HB1593 is now eligible to be heard on the House floor.
Provenzano’s office can be reached at 557-7330 or melissa.provenzano@okhouse.gov.
State chamber praises committee passage of open transfer bill
Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols speaks during House consideration of legislation to reinstate a virtual meetings provision of the Open Meeting Act.
The Oklahoma House finished on Monday fast-tracked passage of legislation reinstating virtual public meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House approved Senate Bill 1031 on 88–5 vote, and the Senate sent it to Gov. Kevin Stitt. It will take effect immediately if signed.
The virtual meetings provision of the state Open Meeting Act expired almost three months ago, and public bodies have needed an in-person quorum since. SB1031 will let them meet virtually until Feb. 15, 2022, or 30 days after Stitt’s emergency declaration ends, whichever comes first.
By: Emory Bryan
TULSA COUNTY, Okla. -
Republicans will pick Tulsa County’s next Treasurer, in a winner-take-all primary Tuesday, February 9 as Democrats and Independents are ineligible to vote.
There are other elections in Tulsa County next Tuesday, specific to cities or school districts, but the only County-wide race is the special election for treasurer, to complete the unexpired term of Dennis Semler. The only two candidates are Republicans after a Democrat filed and then withdrew before the filing period was over. That leaves the closed Republican primary as the election to decide the race, and also leaves Democrats and Independents without a choice in deciding the winner.
The service took place on the Oklahoma Capitol steps and was broadcast on Facebook Live.Â
After Rep. Andy Fugate (D-Oklahoma City) and the OU Trombone Choir performed the song âPeace Like a River,â Rep. Merleyn Bell (D-Norman) provided opening remarks, giving her condolences to the families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19.Â
âSo tonight, we come together to pray for those who have died and the families and loved ones they have left behind,â Bell said âWe do so, not as casual observers, but as fellow citizens who share in their grief and sorrow. We pray for those who have suffered loss without the comfort or consolation of a familiar ritual, grounded in religious or cultural tradition. We offer this memorial as an opportunity for shared healing, even as the pandemic rages on.â
By: Jonathan Cooper
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -
Governor Kevin Stitt made big changes to Oklahoma’s quarantine guidelines for students, with the goal of keeping more kids in the classroom, but other state leaders have voiced their concerns.
The changes come as the state surpasses 2,800 total deaths with the state reporting 29 new virus-related deaths Tuesday.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is critical of the governor s new guidelines, saying that while she agrees in-person school is critical, COVID-19 is still rampant in the state. The ramifications of the pandemic on education have been challenging and severe. While this option underscores the need for mask requirements in school, I cannot in good conscience support ignoring quarantine guidelines from the CDC and other infectious disease experts. There is no doubt we all want our students and teachers to be safely in the classroom, but COVID is raging in Oklahoma. In-person instruction is critical, and so is mitigating the