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Midwest City Beacon
Education studies underway
Last week, the Senate
Education Committee
held interim studies
on bullying, finding
innovative ways to improve
learning and addressing
issues with OSSAA
member classification.
Speakers for the
bullying study included
public school and charter
students, parents and
administrators as well
as other anti-bullying
advocates and experts.
During this heart-
wrenching meeting, we
heard from the parent of
an 11-year-old child who
committed suicide because
of bullying. Sadly, he
chose to take his life after
defending himself from
his attacker and his school
suspended him.
Other victims told how
they were forced to move
to other schools including
virtual schools to escape
their bullies. Some
were bullied because of
disabilities like autism.
There are multiple
definitions of bullying.
While some parts of the
definition have been
codified into Oklahoma
law, the legal definition
needs to be updated. This
would help ensure schools
are unified in how they
define and address the act.
There’s a discrepancy
in what students are
experiencing and what
Ron Sharp
State Senator
schools are reporting.
Rates of reported bullying
have dropped but the
percentage of students
claiming they’ve been
bullied in surveys on school
grounds has increased.
School should be a safe
haven for children. Work
will continue on this
important issue.
The next meeting studied
innovation in education.
Members heard from the
Bartlesville and Millwood
School superintendents
and the Epic Charter
Schools superintendent,
Norman Public Schools
executive director of
communications, the
executive director of Le
Monde International
School, the lead founder
of Collegiate Hall, the
founder and director of
Paths to Independence, the
Opportunity Scholarship
Fund executive director,
Proprietàdi OPS News Tracker e membri di Oklahoma Press Association.
and the State Department
of Education’s executive
director of curriculum
and instruction.
The main focus was what
lawmakers can do to help
Oklahoma schools and
educational institutions
besides increasing
funding. Bartlesville’s
superintendent mentioned
helping schools stop
four-day weeks and how
his school has utilized
private funding to
pay for a K-12 STEM
program. Millwood’s
superintendent said
they’ve used parts of the
state’s charter school law to
keep emergency certified
teachers with community
relationships. She pointed
out that Oklahoma City
schools receive more
funding per-pupil than her
school - a problem that
needs to be addressed.
The committee also
heard from three public
charter schools. They
discussed their language
immersion programs,
STEM-focused curriculum
and increased professional
development for teachers.
One problem is how
traditional and charter
schools are funded. The
charter employees said
their students don’t
receive as much funding
as traditional public
school students but their
counterparts disagreed.
Another private school
said they use private
donations to help autistic
children but also get a large
portion of their funding
from the Lindsey Nicole
Henry Scholarship Fund,
a state-funded scholarship
originally intended only
for public schools. The
funding discrepancy needs
to be figured out to protect
our public schools. I’ve
requested an interim study
on the school funding
formula to look at this
issue.
The third interim study
was one I requested to look
into OSSAA classifications
and the potential division
they create between private
and public schools. I don’t
believe there’s a level
playing field when it comes
to extracurricular activities.
Private schools have more
financial resources so they
can provide better facilities
and training for students.
As a former public school
tennis coach, my students
practiced an hour a day
while our private school
competitors had indoor
practice facilities and
their players were given
private tennis lessons
outside of school practice
– something my students
couldn’t always afford.
Speakers included
the Bl a n c h a rd
and Holdenville’s
superintendents, Bethany’s
former superintendent,
Sulphur’s high school
football coach, the
president of the Oklahoma
Girls Basketball Coaches
Association who is also the
Washington high school
girls’ basketball coach,
Duncan’s tennis coach, the
OSSAA associate director
and parents.
Many public school
coaches and parents are
concerned with the
OSSAA classification
system. Every year, you
see certain schools winning
championships repeatedly.
Those who play against
these repetitive winners
say the misclassification
leads to low athlete morale
and loss of potential
scholarships.
The OSSAA says
they’re constantly
working to improve the
system. They’re currently
considering providing
separate playoff structures
for public and private
schools when 25% of a
classification in a given
activity consists of private
schools.
To contact me at the
Capitol, please write
to Senator Ron Sharp,
State Capitol, 2300
N. Lincoln Blvd. Room
429, Oklahoma City, OK,
73105, email me at sharp@
oksenate.gov, or call (405)
521-5539.