State Rep. Sherrie Conley calls on SDE to protect four-day weeks for rural schools

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH)--Senate Bill 441 was passed by Legislature last year, which would require school districts to use school years with a minimum of 165 days and at least 1,080 hours, beginning next school year.

SB 441 would essentially prevent four-day school weeks unless a waiver is obtained, something that many rural school districts use.

State Rep. Sherrie Conley (R-Newcastle), is calling on the State Department of Education to cancel and resubmit these proposed rules.

“In the current state of the Oklahoma economy, it is more important than ever before that we fully consider the consequences of requiring our rural districts to add days to their calendars,” Conley said. “The rules the State Department of Education proposed make it far too difficult to obtain a waiver from these requirements, contrary to the clear desire of legislators who worked hard to include a fair waiver process in this bill. While many of us still have concerns with this law, the law is the law, and this law called for a fair waiver process that the State Department of Education’s rules fail to provide.”

Conley is a former teacher and school administrator, and says the State Department of Education should resume discussions with legislators and local stakeholders once the pandemic passes, as discussions that were underway have been affected by the virus.