Just as legislators thought they were finished debating academic standards, they learned they may not be.
For the most part, everyone thought the deadline to approve the new academic standards was Wednesday. And when the legislature took no action, everyone assumed the standards had passed by default.
But late in the day, House Speaker Jeff Hickman released a statement saying the deadline has changed. The legislature had 30 days to take action on the standards, and Hickman says he calculates that to be on Monday.
"Superintendent Hofmeister shared with our caucus that HJR 1070 gives her and the State Board of Education an opportunity to make revisions which would eliminate any cloud hanging over the new standards upon implementation and we agreed. The deadline to pass HJR 1070 in the Senate is Monday and we believe it should be considered."
Essentially, Hickman wants to give the Senate another chance to hear his bill that would require the State Department of Education to revise the English and Math standards before they are passed.
The Senate chose not to hear the bill on Wednesday, because Senator John Ford says the Department of Education doesn't need a mandate to make these changes.
Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman says most senators preferred leaving the standards to the Department of Education and removing the Legislature from oversight altogether.
If the Senate does not take up the bill on Monday, the standards are officially passed by default.
Oklahoma had to develop new standards after lawmakers rejected Common Core two years ago.
