Talking Education in Oklahoma: Three Bills Senate Passed

Oklahoma State Senate

Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Senate District 1

March 18, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Senator Micheal Bergstrom
State Capitol: (405) 521-5561

Email: bergstrom@oksenate.gov          

Capitol Considerations by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Talking Education

Since education is a top priority of mine and the Senate Republican caucus, I thought I would review some of the bills recently passed off the Senate floor.

Senate Bill (SB) 148 deals with the ability of students to enroll and dis-enroll from virtual (online) charter schools. This has been a serious problem for brick and mortar schools with students coming and going throughout the year. The bill limits enrollment in virtual schools to June 1 to September 1 and January 1 to January 30 with some common sense exceptions like illness or if the student is in need of drop-out recovery.

Classroom time is critical to student success. Currently, students in public school classrooms across the nation average 185 days a year. Some 4-day districts in Oklahoma are in class for as few as 135 days. This is hurting us as we try to recruit business to Oklahoma.

SB 441 strives to fix this while allowing local input on specific district needs by giving school officials the choice in what school calendar option they wish to use. There are three options:

* 180 days of classroom time

* 1,080 hours with a minimum of 165 days of classroom time

* 1,080 hours with no minimum of days of classroom time if districts are able to meet the minimum guidelines for school performance and cost savings. In other words, the students must be succeeding and the district actually saving money or they must choose one of the first two options. Oklahoma State Department of Education will promulgate rules for exemptions and the legislature must approve those rules.

Some computer classes across our state have been criticized for not teaching much-needed skills for the present and future workforce. SB 593 requires the development of a system for computer science programs in elementary, middle and high schools to serve as a guide to schools for implementing quality computer science programs. It also calls for $1 million in funding to provide training for teachers in this area.

Providing Oklahoma children a quality education, putting students first, is a top priority of mine. I think these bills help move us in the right direction.

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Mending Medical Marijuana in Oklahoma: Here Come the Bills

Oklahoma State Senate

Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Senate District 1

February 27, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Senator Micheal Bergstrom
State Capitol: (405) 521-5561

Email: bergstrom@oksenate.gov          

Capitol Considerations by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Mending Medical Marijuana

When State Question 788 was passed by the voters this past November, Oklahoma found itself in an interesting situation.

As written, it was a terrible piece of legislation.

The language that voters passed was about seven pages long, but all that most ever saw was the 150-word summary on the ballot.

What mattered to many was helping those with medical conditions get relief from their pain or illness. 

Let’s just say the state question, which was viewed by most voters as a way to do that, created a host of problems.

Now we have to fix it.

We, in the Republican caucus, view it this way.  We are going to create a way forward so that the will of the people is respected, while at the same time ensuring that Oklahoma’s citizens can be sure the medical marijuana products they purchase are safe and meet their needs, and making sure that our workplaces are safe and employers know how they should be dealing with those who have medical marijuana cards.

There will soon be a large bill, a unity bill, which will expand upon State Question 788 to deal with issues like labeling (to be sure that consumers know what they are buying), testing (to guarantee the product is safe) and, of course, workplace safety.

On its heels, there will likely be dozens of other bills attempting to fix issues.

Arkansas passed their medical marijuana laws two years ago. We are currently much further along in implementing our program, though there are issues to be resolved.

For example, the Oklahoma Department of Health is currently receiving approximately 1,000 patient license requests daily. Needless to say, it is a difficult task since it only has 14 days to respond.

The main thing is, as we move forward in this legislative session, that I intend to respect the will of the people by supporting legislation that solves the problems while clinging to the intent of the state question.

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Optimism at Oklahoma Capitol: Making Oklahoma a Top Ten State

Oklahoma State Senate
Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Senate District 1

February 20, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Senator Micheal Bergstrom
State Capitol: (405) 521-5561

Email: bergstrom@oksenate.gov          

Capitol Considerations by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Optimism at Capitol

There is a sense of optimism in the Oklahoma legislature this year.

Governor Stitt has laid out his goals, demanding accountability, transparency and results. These line up very well with what those of us in the Republican Senate Caucus have been calling for.

The Governor’s focus on education, criminal justice reform and financial common sense in budgeting are just what we have been working toward.

We recently released our Senate Republican agenda which has four major points:

Budget Transparency by creating a legislative budget office so we can get the answers we need to properly evaluate and manage agency budgets.

Government Accountability by giving the governor authority to hire and/or fire agency heads.

Education Investment & Reform by protecting teacher pay raises and building on the momentum from our education successes of last session, and by restoring 5-day school weeks through legislation that provides reasonable exemptions to school districts that can show that student performance is not harmed by its operating on a different schedule.

Criminal Justice Reform Advancement by providing funding and access for diversion programs to those who don’t need to be in prison. We want to make sure that those who need to be incarcerated are put in prison, but those who can be productive in society are offered the opportunity to prove themselves.

My personal goals remain the same as in past sessions. Economic development and bringing business to Oklahoma and nurturing business in our state is a top priority. We need good paying jobs in my district and throughout Oklahoma. Closely linked to that is public education, which must be supported and improved to prepare our citizens for success in the workforce of the future.

And, of course, tourism, which is vitally important to our region of Oklahoma, is an area on which I am also focusing.

Then there are my constituents. When someone in my district has an issue that I might be able to help with, I want to know about it. Just call my office at 405.521.5561 or email bergstrom@oksenate.gov.

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