Education reform at a standstill as Oklahoma Senate aims to change House bills
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — It's deadline week at the Capitol and bills have until the end of the day to make it through their chamber of origin.
While there's been dozens of education bills passing through the House and Senate, there's a chance they won't make it entirely across the rotunda.
House Speaker Charles McCall reaffirmed his stance that he does not want the House education plan amended.
But per the President Pro Tem of the Senate's latest response on the pair of bills, that could be an issue.
“We’re certainly going to consider what the Senate sends over. Our only expectation on what we sent the Senate is not to amend those bills," the Speaker said.
The House's two bill education plan, a tax credit for private and homeschool education, and a $500M investment in public education.
Neither bill has been heard on the Senate floor.
While the Speaker wants the bills to remain untouched, the Senate is looking into some changes.
“So we’re talking about amending the bills they sent us, but that’s not in lieu of what we already passed, the 44," Pro Tem Greg Treat said. "We hope those get a fair hearing as well. There’s a lot of good reform a lot of good ideas.”
The President Pro Tem is aware of the House's cards are on the table, but he's willing to call the bluff.
“The Speaker said if we amended the package education bills from the Senate would die," Pro Tem Treat said. “I hope that they weren’t serious about killing good reforms that have been worked on all year. ”
Many are concerned that politics could get in the way of education reform.
“There’s always a possibility that nothing gets done. There’s certainly not what we want in the House of Representatives," the Speaker said. "However, if the Senate does play politics with education bills of the House, which is a really comprehensive package that helps every student, every parent, every teacher and every school district in the state of Oklahoma, yes."
With deadline week wrapped up, the bills will now be assigned to committees in their opposite chamber to be considered.
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