OSDE rules go before Senate committee, lots of unanswered questions
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)– 20 Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) proposed rules went before a Senate Administrative Rules Committee on Monday afternoon, but some lawmakers were left uneasy as the department’s Government Affairs Liaison was unable to answer quite a few.
Senator Michael Brooks (D-OKC) asked that the Senate Administrative Rules Committee review several proposed rules from the OSDE.
The committee was only allotted two hours to review the rules with only one question and one follow-up per lawmaker.
Democrats renew Walters impeachment calls, Stitt praises OSDE staff exodus
Some of those proposed rules would prohibit educators from participating in sexually explicit behavior outside of the classroom, allow school led voluntary prayer and a minute of silence, disallowing students from changing their gender markers on records without the state’s permission, and striking funding from DEI programs.
OSDE rule, 210:10-1-24, was signed into emergency by Governor Kevin Stitt last year. That’s the rule on gender markers
“Does the legislature have to change the law for us to change the rules?,” asked OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison.
Sen. Brooks said there has to be some sort of explicit intention by the legislature for OSDE to pass and enforce rules.
“This process, the rule making process and the approval process is your chance to weigh in,” responded OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison.
Sen. Brooks and Senator Mary Boren (D-Norman) referenced Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s formal Opinion from 2023 more than a dozen times Monday morning. Both said that Opinion clearly states OSDE cannot promulgate rules without legislative direction.
“Oklahoma law does not give the State Board of Education (SBE) the ability to make administrative rules without proper direction from the state Legislature,” previously said AG Drummond.
OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison told Senators Monday, “All of our rules have additional authority attached to them.” She also pointed to Gov. Stitt and the agency having followed his direction in promulgating some rules such as striking DEI funding.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed an executive order in December taking aim at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in state agencies and higher education.
The order asks for a list of DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures, and programs to “eliminate and dismiss non-critical personnel.”
OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison was also asked about funding, current statute, and any previous legislative direction given to OSDE pertaining to the proposed rules on the docket.
Several times, OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison was unable to provide a clear answer.
“I did all the prep work I could do, but these discussions will need to be had further on,” she told Senators.
OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison did promise Senators a written document answering any and all questions she was unable to address Monday.
“I think it would be helpful, but I don’t know how it would be as helpful as being able to discuss those things and see if those questions elicit other questions from other members of the committee and whether or not those questions would be publicly answered before we vote,” stated Sen. Brooks.
The document OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison agreed to write will be provided to every member of the Senate Administrative Rules Committee.
Sen. Boren raised a concern of whether OSDE is having legal assistance in proposing the rules it has without full-time legal counsel on staff.
While OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison named Jason Reese as the agency’s “Interim General Counsel,” OSDE Director of Communications, Dan Isett told KFOR Reese is acting as “Interim Legal Counsel.”
News 4 reached out to Reese for further confirmation, but he redirected us to OSDE for all media inquiries.
Reese was in the news in 2017 when running for a House of Representatives seat.
In an interview with News 4 then, Reese said the treasurer working on his campaign was a hired CPA who accidentally copy/pasted a pornographic title and site into a campaign expense report.
“He fully admitted to it,” said Reese. “I give him credit for that. That takes some courage from his side.”
The treasurer emailed a confession to the candidate and then resigned.
“I wish that they could have been more prepared,” said Sen. Brooks. “What I was trying to do is point out the oversight, overreach from the State Board of Education. One of the things is that I think that the Board of Education today has cited statutes that were passed years ago, which doesn’t necessarily grant an additional opportunity to be able to make rules.”
Sen. Brooks said he has never seen a state agency propose as many rules as the OSDE has while State Superintendent Ryan Walters has been in office.
“This is definitely a Board of Education that are activists and that are trying to be able to push the limits and really step over the line as far as what constitutional responsibilities for each branch of government [are] and the fact that policy is made by the legislature and the Board of Education is an executive agency under the governor, and they’re not there to be able to make policy,” he explained.
OSDE’s Government Affairs Liaison pointed to the previous administration under former State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and how many rules it promulgated. She said 133 permanent rules were adopted and claimed 83 of those were without legislative direction.
“Without any questions from my [Republican] colleagues, I don’t know where they stand. I think that if we value our institution as a legislature, that it’s important we protect our rights and responsibilities. Those rules are in those responsibilities that are constitutionally given to us and not to be able to allow other agencies to be able to take those constitutional powers away from the legislature,” said Sen. Brooks.
Senate Administrative Rules Committee Chairman, Sen. Michael Bergstrom (R-Adair) said, “This is policy. Not politics.”
He confirmed there will be an “eventual vote” on the OSDE rules discussed Monday, but did not say when.
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