Oklahoma lawmakers love to grade schools. Here’s a taste of their own medicine: A report card.

Covering Oklahoma’s Legislature for over a decade, it’s difficult not to feel cynical about the end of session and all the work left undone because they focused on inconsequential or unnecessary priorities.

So back in February before this year’s legislative session, I suggested several common-sense ideas that our lawmakers could adopt. These would actually make our state a better place with increased accountability for taxpayer spending, banning school personnel from beating disabled children and preventing adults from preying on children.

As that final gavel fell on May 30, signaling the end of the first session of the 60th Legislature, I decided to assess how many of those goals they had actually accomplished. Since lawmakers are obsessed with school performance, I decided to grade them on how well they did addressing those ideas.

Raising the age of consent:  A+  At long last, lawmakers decided to raise the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18, making Oklahoma one of about a dozen states that has adopted policies aimed at protecting children from predators. Oddly enough though, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt didn’t endorse the law by penning his name to the measure. Instead, it automatically  became law because he took no action. The measure seems to adequately protect teenagers who are having sexual relations with each other while protecting them for 50-year-old creeps trying taking advantage of them.

Banning corporal punishment in school on disabled children: A+  The measure prohibiting schools from administering physical discipline on children with federally protected disabilities limped its way across the finish line following yet another incredibly embarrassing public discussion that attempted to use the Bible to justify the practice. Yet when it arrived on Stitt’s desk, he also inexplicably refused to sign this one, allowing it instead to take effect without his signature. The practice has technically been banned by the state Department of Education since 2020, but lawmakers indicated that some districts are still spanking, choking and beating disabled children. Supporters argued that the ban needed to be codified into law.

Private school voucher-like tax credits: F  It was an embarrassing session for Republicans’ controversial private school tax credit program as Oklahomans got their first peek at who is benefiting. Lawmakers pitched the program as helping poorer students who need to escape struggling districts. But in what amounted to a surprise to nobody — except apparently naive Republican legislators — we learned that 92% of participants already had children in private schools and those from families making over $250,000 a year made up 1 in 4 participants. Thankfully Republicans wised up a bit and rebuffed calls from Stitt to eliminate the program’s $250 million spending cap all together. However, they still raised spending on the program by $50 million to top out the program’s spending at $250 million. Republicans also did not institute an income cap on who can participate, so taxpayers continue to subsidize the richest Oklahomans who least need financial support even while cutting funding to CareerTech.

Accountability for private schools accepting those tax credits: F Legislators still refuse to require private schools that accept state money to undergo the same rigorous testing and report cards that we require of our public schools, so how do we know we’re getting good bang for buck? As if that isn’t enough, lawmakers went a step further this year to muddy the accountability waters by cheerfully voting to hide the names of people accepting as much as $7,500 in state subsidies. The state Tax Commission had barely published a list of those who had received hundreds of millions in our tax dollars before lawmakers freaked out, insisting “family privacy” trumps fiscal transparency in Oklahoma. They conveniently ignored the fact that nobody is being forced to apply for these funds, this secrecy flies in the face of how we treat other tax credit program recipients, and taxpayers deserve to know who is accepting government handouts. Stitt happily inked his name on that bill. Why are lawmakers so terrified to prove that this is money well spent?

Incentivizing good, experienced teachers to want to work in Oklahoma classrooms:  C  Much to the disappointment of early- and mid-career educators, lawmakers did not boost the salaries of all classroom teachers. They did extend the salary schedule to 35 years, meaning a teacher with 35 years experience can now make no less than $60,973 a year. Previously, the salary schedule capped out at 25 years or a minimum of $56,049. Lawmakers also opened Oklahoma’s Promise college scholarship program, which pays resident tuition at a public college, to classroom teachers with at least a decade of experience. Lawmakers again did nothing to boost support staff pay.

Early voting access: F We have the worst voter turnout rates in the country, and will continue to do so after lawmakers conveniently “forgot” the fact that their constituents waited for hours in line during the last election to vote. Going into session, there was bipartisan enthusiasm surrounding the idea of expanding the early voting window to increase access. But those went nowhere this year. Now a little more than a year out from the state’s major election cycle, in which we’ll elect a new governor and new legislative members, Republicans have shown they’re perfectly happy with low turnout.

If you’re keeping track, that brings the Oklahoma Legislature to about a C average grade for the session. Here’s hoping they can bring up their GPA and our state’s overall quality of life next year.

I’ll have my grading pen ready.