Senate Education Committee passes a package of education bills, including school safety grants, tutoring pilot and cell-phone policy

The Oklahoma Senate Education Committee on Feb. 25 approved a series of education bills addressing school safety, student assessment, tutoring, collegiate athletics and classroom rules, voting to advance each measure to the next stage.

The committee passed a school-safety grant framework called the School Access Emergency Response (SAFER) act that would establish a grant program to help districts pay for communications hardware, software, maintenance and training. "This does not appropriate any monies," said Senator Weaver, who explained the bill’s provisions and said the $5,000,000 figure referenced in debate reflects a model used in Colorado and would require separate appropriations.

Members also approved a proposal to require parental consent before placing students on the Oklahoma Alternate Assessment Program (OAAP) alternate diploma track (House Bill 1393), and a cleanup modifying state law to include school resource officers and security guards among employees prohibited from inappropriate relationships with students (House Bill 1995).

On education programming, the committee advanced a pilot that would direct the University of Oklahoma to formalize and expand a math tutoring program that places trained university students as in-school tutors (House Bill 12-87). The author and supporters described existing OU pilots that adjusted tutor-to-student ratios (from 1:1 to 1:3) and reported improved math outcomes in participating schools. The committee also approved a separate bill to create a commission to study reestablishing an intrastate NCAA Division II conference (House Bill 10-17); that measure drew sustained debate about whether the state should create or simply encourage such a commission and passed 9-2.

Lawmakers approved scholarship and workforce measures: the Oklahoma Rising Scholars Award Act (House Bill 12-82), which would rename and alter aspects of the current Oklahoma State Regents scholarship program and set a structure to try to retain high-scoring students in-state; and an expansion of the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OLAP) to include children of certified teachers after a 10-year service requirement (House Bill 17-27).

Other votes included measures to allow juvenile detention centers to use the Oklahoma Youth Academy Charter School as an educational provider (House Bill 19-40), an affidavit option to expedite submission of school board minutes to the State Department of Education in limited circumstances (House Bill 19-58), and a 10-year extension to the educator minimum salary schedule (House Bill 10-87).

A debated classroom policy (House Bill 12-76) would require each school board to adopt a policy restricting student cellphone use for the entire school day, effective July 1 with a local opt-out mechanism. Supporters said districts have been discussing phone restrictions for months and that implementation models exist; opponents and some members voiced concern about the short implementation window for parents and districts. The bill passed 7-4.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 13-93 (OAAP parental consent): Do pass; tally 10–0. (Passed) - House Bill 19-40 (OYACS for juvenile detention centers): Do pass; tally 10–0. (Passed) - House Bill 14-17 (SAFER act — grant program for school communications): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) — the bill does not appropriate the referenced $5,000,000. - House Bill 19-95 (extend Title 21 provisions to SROs/security guards): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 10-17 (commission to study an intrastate NCAA Division II conference): Do pass; tally 9–2. (Passed) - House Bill 12-82 (Oklahoma Rising Scholars Award Act / scholarship changes): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 19-58 (affidavit in lieu of immediate board minutes to SDE): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 10-87 (extend salary schedule by 10 years): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 12-87 (transformative tutoring initiative at University of Oklahoma): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 17-27 (expand OLAP eligibility to children of certified teachers after 10 years of service): Do pass; tally 11–0. (Passed) - House Bill 12-76 (require district cellphone policy, local opt-out allowed): Do pass; tally 7–4. (Passed)

Why it matters

Taken together, the measures cover classroom instruction, student supports, campus and building security, teacher recruitment/retention incentives and local classroom management policy. Several bills establish frameworks that will require later appropriations or administrative rules before funding or broad implementation occurs (the SAFER grant program, the Rising Scholars scholarship changes and the tutoring pilot, among others). The committee frequently noted that statutory language and funding details remain subject to future budget processes and administrative implementation.

What remained unsettled

- Funding: the SAFER act references a $5,000,000 Colorado-based model but contains no appropriation; authors said appropriations would be considered separately. - Implementation details: the OU tutoring pilot specifies target grades and reported tutor-to-student ratios used in OU pilots, but full scale-up and eligibility rules would depend on appropriations and university program design. - Local rollout timing: the cellphone policy is effective July 1 and requires districts to adopt policy before the new school year; some senators asked for more time for parent engagement and district planning.

The committee adjourned after the roll call on the last item. Further review, appropriation decisions and companion measures are expected as bills move toward floor consideration and the next stages of legislative review.