State Sen. Mary Easley says research shows that children learn better when they are physically active. For this reason, she has authored Senate Bill 1186, which passed the Senate Education Committee Monday, to encourage schools to integrate an additional hour of physical activity each week in addition to the hour of physical education already mandated by law.

One state legislator is working to ensure that Oklahoma has more accurate and reliable graduation and dropout statistics so that officials can help more students stay in the classroom. State Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson has authored Senate Bill 1634 requiring the state to use the high school graduation formula approved and accepted by the National Governor’s Association (NGA) and the governors of all 50 states. The same measure received approval from the Senate last year, but not the House.

In an effort to stop the brain drain of aerospace engineers from the state, Sen. Mike Mazzei has proposed a $5,000, five-year tax credit for new engineering graduates who take jobs in Oklahoma. Senate Bill 1171 was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Mazzei said Oklahoma companies are having a hard time filling those jobs, and it is only getting worse.

Parents of children in failing public schools could soon have more education alternatives for their children.

Monday the Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 1669, which would allow Native American tribes to establish charter schools in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. Current law allows the state’s largest public school districts and public universities to establish charter schools.

Claremore Senator Calls Graduation Coaches an Innovative Idea

State Senator Sean Burrage (D-Claremore) said today Senate Bill 1694, which will pair at-risk Oklahoma students with community mentors, passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee. The bill creates a graduation coach program within the Oklahoma State Department of Education that will assist in giving Oklahoma students valuable life tools and helping them stay on track to graduate.

The Senate Education Committee passed legislation Monday that would encourage school districts to include a special emphasis on autism as part of any professional development program on special education that may be provided to teachers in the district.

Senate Bill 1686 is authored by State Senator Mary Easley, D-Tulsa, and will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

Senator Easley said she is particularly passionate about this piece of legislation because autism personally touches her life every day through interaction with a special family member.

A bill that could save taxpayers thousands of dollars annually passed out of the Senate’s General Government Committee Monday.

Senate Bill 1507 by Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, would require the hundreds of reports submitted by state agencies to legislative leaders be transmitted electronically. In addition, the measure would require agency budget requests and the governor’s annual budget to be transmitted electronically rather than through hard copies in the mail.

Oklahoma must decide whether to hire additional driver license examiners or consolidate current testing sites. State Sen. Kenneth Corn said more and more Oklahomans are becoming frustrated by a shortage of examiners. Corn said Oklahomans who’ve taken time off from work or school to take their driving exam often find themselves waiting hours to be tested, or find no examiner is available to test them at all.

A bipartisan bill that requires Oklahoma public fund managers to eliminate indirect financial investments in terrorist states can help close the spigot of U.S. cash that unwittingly supports terrorism, the bill’s Senate sponsor, Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice (D-OKC), said today.

The bill is sponsored in the Oklahoma House of Representatives by Representative Terry Ingmire (R-Stillwater).

The Oklahoma State Senate unanimously passed a concurrent resolution Tuesday denouncing the state’s racial segregationist past and called for the Senate to begin Oklahoma’s second century free from all racial bias or prejudice and declared its intention to remain so during all future operations.