Oklahoma
State Senate
President Pro Tempore
Senator Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa
State Capitol Room 422
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
(405) 521-5565
For Immediate Release: February 21, 2011
Senate Approves Board of Education Reform Measure
Senate bill will return the board to an original constitutional
membership
The Senate has given its approval to legislation that will restructure
membership of the State Board of Education and enhance checks and
balances between the board and the superintendent. Senate Bill 435,
by President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman and Sen. John Ford, Chair
of the Senate Education Committee, passed Monday with the emergency
clause on a party-line vote of 32 to 15.
Bingman said that swift action was needed in the legislature to
ensure the State Superintendent could do the job voters elected
her to do.
“This is an important day for education in Oklahoma,”
said Bingman, R-Sapulpa. “The vote for a new Superintendent
was a vote for education reform. Now those reforms can move forward.”
During debate, Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, said that the current
State Board of Education is not accountable to the will of the people.
Ford said that SB 435 will address that concern.
“Senate Bill 435 returns the board to the original constitutional
structure and strengthens checks and balances by defining the proper
role of the superintendent and the board,” Ford said. “The
bottom line is creating a structure that will ensure the best interest
of Oklahoma’s children will be met.”
Under SB 435, the current board members would be replaced with
the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and the Superintendent
of Public Instruction.
Senate Bill 435 will now head to the House for further consideration.
For more information contact:
Sen. Bingman: (405) 521-5605
Sen. Ford: (405) 521-5634

|