Lawmakers File Legislation Providing More Oversight For State Department Of Education

At the capitol state lawmakers are discussing a handful of bills to provide more oversight for the State Department of Education.

There have been bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate to pass legislation to make changes inside OSDE. “This is all about being good stewards with taxpayer dollars and making sure there is oversight and accountability and transparency at SDE,” said Rep. Mickey Dollens, (D) OKC.

Transparency is the heart of State Rep. Dollens' new legislation that was heard today. “House bill 3943 requires the State Department of Education to file quarterly expenditures and report them back to the state legislature,” said Rep. Dollens. 

Dollens says this was a recommendation from the State Auditor's Office after an investigation into millions of misspent COVID relief dollars. “Specifically I think State Auditor Byrd singled out OSDE because it is our largest appropriated agency and there's been fiscal mismanagement in the past,” said Rep. Dollens.

Dollens isn’t the only state lawmaker who is working to change procedures and oversight surrounding OSDE. “This bill is just one of several making their way through the state legislature to reign in the State Department of Education and the State Superintendent,” said Rep. Dollens.

Two bills are making their way through both the House and Senate that would add four members to the State Board of Education. One of those bills covering the first hurdle Tuesday is Senate Bill 1395 from Senate Education Chair Adam Pugh. The bill would allow the Senate Pro Tem and Speaker of the House to each appoint two new members to the state board.

Currently, the governor appoints all seven members.

A similar bill is expected to be heard on the house floor Wednesday, written by House Appropriations Chair, Rep. Mark McBride. “The governors’ still got his appointees, it just gives the house and the senate some insight into what's going on,” said Rep. McBride, ( R) Moore. “It's just a common sense approach.”

Under McBride's bill, the additional appointees would have to be a resident of a rural community and a former school superintendent from a district with an enrollment of less than 10,000.  “I just think the board should be more diverse,” said Rep. McBride. That house bill passed unanimously out of committee this week and is expected to be heard on the house floor tomorrow at 1:30 pm.