Duncan Middle School journalism teacher Derrick Miller spoke to other educators about what’s happening at the Oklahoma State Capitol and various bills relating to public education.
Miller, who serves as the chair of the Duncan Legislative Team, worked with other members of the Association of Duncan Educators, to plan and execute Friday’s Legislative Breakfast. Miller and other educators who go to the State Capitol throughout session, talked about their experiences and bills they are watching.
One bill Miller is watching relates to a possible teacher pay raise.
Even though a flat budget for education may be considered a win for this legislative session, especially since the fear of budget cuts to core services is possible, he said he would encourage state legislators to vote for a teacher pay raise. He said a pay raise is necessary to keep teachers in the profession.
Another bill discussed was by Sen. Jessica Garvin and addressed the number of days schools have to be in session. The change would maintain the 1,080 hours but would change the current 180 days required to 150 days instead.
Miller said many school districts, including Duncan, base their school years on hours instead of days to allow the year to be more flexible. His example was on days when school dismisses early because of inclement weather.
One of the biggest topics Miller and other teachers discussed was student absenteeism. Some of the discussion include the impact that frequent absences have on state testing and the A-F Report Card.
Miller said absences are out of the hands of schools. He said there needs to be a way to encourage parents to bring their kids to school more than once every 10 days.
Recently, State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Board of Education passed a rule to tie accreditation to attendance.
Other bills Miller and other members of the Duncan Legislative Team discussed include:
- Miller briefly covered the A-F report card, which is a way to grade schools. House Bill 3177 talks about overhauling the A-F report card. The new report card would include Student longitudinal academic growth, Student academic achievement, and student growth and standards.
Derrick Miller sorts through notes toward the beginning of Friday’s Legislative Breakfast. (Davis Wheeler)
According to the bill, “The State Department of Education will annually determine the level of attainment of each public high school, public school district, and the state as a whole on the postsecondary and workforce readiness performance indicator.”
- Miller talked about a bill focused on pilot programs for cell phone-free schools.
- He also talked about a bill that would require parents to be included in emails between teachers and students about their grades.
- Miller talked about House Bill 3461, which would make lunch and breakfast free for all students starting next school year. He says he thinks it is a great idea to be able to make sure all kids are fed.
