Sen. Rob Standridge’s Press Releases

OKLAHOMA CITY – The legislature approved much-needed pay raises for teachers and school support staff this session. Sen. Rob Standridge and other legislators are growing concerned after hearing plans by multiple districts that want to give their administrators pay raises meant for support staff. The legislators want to ensure the pay raises are dispersed correctly and want to encourage the public to hold local school boards and administrators accountable as these decisions are made in next few months. 

State Sen. Rob Standridge applauded the State Board of Education’s decision Thursday to approve a proposed French immersion charter school in Norman. The concept for the charter school came about after the French immersion program at Reagan Elementary in Norman was cut. Parents of students who were thriving in the program worked tirelessly to continue the school’s mission through a charter school, the Le Monde Internal School. Standridge was among those supporting the application.
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Sen. Rob Standridge has been chosen to chair the Senate Subcommittee on Health, as well as serving as vice chair of the Committee on Health and Human Services.  Standridge was named to those positions by incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Schulz. He was also recently chosen by Senate Republican Caucus to serve as Majority Whip.

Senate President Pro Tempore-Designate Mike Schulz on Tuesday announced his appointments of chairs and vice-chairs of Senate standing committees and appropriations subcommittees for the 56th Legislature.

This coming Friday evening Norman North and Tulsa Union will battle for the state 6A-1 championship, the largest football class in Oklahoma.  The two state senators who represent those schools have made a friendly wager on which team will take the championship.  Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, will be cheering for Norman North, while Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, is betting Tulsa Union comes out on top.  The senator whose school is defeated will donate $100 to the winning school’s education foundation.

Twenty-five newly-elected and returning members of the Oklahoma State Senate were officially sworn in during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon in the Senate chamber. The oath of office was administered by Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph M. Watt.

The 2004 Senate class includes 15 new members and 10 members who were re-elected. This marks one of the largest groups of new members in recent years, with 14 of those seats open during the election cycle due to the state’s constitutionally mandated term limits.
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Senate Republicans have elected Mike Schulz as President Pro Tempore-designate of the Oklahoma State Senate. The Altus Republican is the first Pro Tempore from western Oklahoma in more than 50 years. Schulz will lead a historic Republican Caucus that includes 42 members, the largest majority held by either party since 1965, when the Senate went from 44 seats to 48 to assure equal representation for citizens across the state.

Lawmakers heard testimony from members of the insurance industry, consumer advocacy organizations and citizens Tuesday as they examined an issue many Oklahomans may not be aware of—how insurance companies use credit scores and other financial information, including buying habits, to decide a policy holder’s car insurance rates.

Sen. Rob Standridge said a total of 13 schools in the Norman, Little Axe, Noble and Mid-Del school districts are

now participating in the Junior Senator Reading Challenge.  The program, which Standridge sponsors, is currently in its fourth year and is aimed at encouraging children to read while providing libraries with additional resources to help students participate.

The full Senate has approved legislation allowing Oklahoma voters to decide whether to repeal Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution, known as the “Blaine Amendment,” forbidding the use of public monies or property for sectarian or religious purposes. It was cited by the majority of the Oklahoma Supreme Courting in a 2015 ruling that forced the removal of a Ten Commandments Monument from the grounds of the Capitol.

Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, is the author of Senate Joint Resolution 72.
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