State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister today made the following remarks after the Oklahoma House Common Education Committee passed House Bill 2905 by a vote of 16 to 0. The bill, authored by Rep. Sheila Dills, provides reforms and transparency to statewide virtual charter schools.
“Today’s vote is a strong step in the right direction for transparency and accountability among our virtual charter schools,” said Hofmeister. “These schools meet a legitimate educational need for many students, but we know policy has struggled to keep pace with the virtual model.
We are grateful to Rep. Dills for authoring an omnibus reform bill to strengthen requirements for virtual charter schools while protecting student and parent choice. Specifically, the bill addresses issues regarding transfers, communication between districts, student attendance policies, truancy and requiring a student orientation for each new pupil.
Now that the House of Representatives has passed the bill out of committee, I urge the full House and Senate to support it as well. Oklahomans are ready for commonsense measures that hold all schools accountable.”
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