Interim Studies to Watch

number of candidates in the teacher pipeline.

School Property Insurance (multiple)

Senate IS-2023-41, requested by Sen. Jech, R-Kingfisher, will review insurance for school property. Senate IS-2023-50, requested by Sen. Montgomery, R-Lawton, and House 23-072, requested by Rep. Baker, R-Yukon, will explore school property casualty insurance markets and use of interlocals. House 23-012, requested by Reps. Provenzano, D-Tulsa, and Bennett, D-OKC, will examine school district insurance premiums, which have doubled or even tripled for many districts over the last five years. House 23-089, requested by Rep. Tedford, R-Tulsa, will study the feasibility for the state to fund a risk-sharing pool, which could be used to insure government property or help public entities fund the high self-insured retentions they are facing in the private market.

House 23-043, requested by Rep. Johns, R-Ada, will study the annual Oklahoma School Report Cards and affect the school’s grades. House 23-100, requested

ESSA compliance and school evaluation to look for alternatives to devices such as our bell curve and our IS-2023-33, requested by Sen. Dossett, D-Tulsa, will review school evaluation systems.

Evidenced-Based Behavior Interventions for Students with Disabilities in Oklahoma Public Schools

House 23-021, requested by Rep. Talley, R-Stillwater, and Sen. Floyd, D-OKC, will seek information to help with understanding the categories of disabilities within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal law and the consequences of the use of physical punishment on students with disabilities, hear personal impact statements of the use of physical punishment in schools, and investigate evidenced-based behavioral interventions for students with disabilities. CCOSA General Counsel and ODSS Executive Director Andrea Kunkel will be participating in this study scheduled for October 5 from 1-4 p.m. in room 206 at the State Capitol.

CCOSA will send out an update with dates once other studies have been scheduled. Members of the public can livestream interim studies at this link: https://sg001harmony.sliq.net/00283/Harmony/en/View/UpcomingEvents/

CCOSA team members remain engaged with legislative issues, but we depend on our superintendents and principals to keep us informed of local conversations that may provide insight for the 2024 legislative session. Please let us know if your legislator approaches you about presenting at or providing input for an interim study. We want to make sure we credit CCOSA members who are called upon as experts for interim studies.

Building relationships with legislators gives all of us critical access to advocate for our districts and students. Each time you tell your school’s story, you add to the collective professionalism and expertise of Oklahoma educators. ■

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