Tonight the Owasso school board took less than 2 minutes to reverse its decision from last October to not comply with Lindsey's law which provides scholarships to special education students to enable them to attend a private school of their choosing. The district will begin complying with the requirements of the new program that was created by HB 3393 earlier this year.
This is good news for parents who have already placed their children in private schools pursuant to the law in good faith months ago.
Just a few days ago a local Owasso attorney began a writ of ouster procedure against the Owasso school board members for failing to perform their duties according to the law.
During the superintendent's brief comments, he indicated his willingness to work with me and the Legislature to address concerns he has with the program.
I have repeatedly told concerned superintendents since last session that I am willing to sit down and work with them to identify and correct any infirmities with the new law. This summer I held two interim study meetings for this very purpose.
I am thankful that Owasso Public schools is finally willing to sit down and work out any disagreements in a rational and proper way.
Showing posts with label Owasso Public Schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Owasso Public Schools. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Owasso School Board will reconsider defiance of Lindsey's Law today
By Patrick B. McGuigan of www.CapitolBeatOk.com
Published: 15-Dec-2010
Writing for Neighbor Newspapers, including the Broken Arrow Ledger, Danielle Parker and Nour Habib report the Owasso Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday (December 16) at 5 p.m.
According to a story update: “The agenda calls the board to discuss and vote on whether to rescind the board's resolution on House Bill 3393. The meeting will be held at the Dale C. Johnson Education Service Center, 1501 North Ash, in Owasso. There is no time slotted for public comment on the agenda posted."
In a previous story, they reported that Owasso attorney Gordon Cummings is seeking a Writ of Ouster for members of the local board of education who have defied implementation of House Bill 3393, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships Program Act, also known as Lindsey’s Law.
In an October 26 letter to Attorney General Drew Edmondson, Cummings characterized as “willful misconduct” the decision to impede implementation of the law benefitting special needs children.
In that letter, Cummings said, “Removal from office and appointment of new board members is the best solution since it punishes lawbreakers, not innocent students.” Cumming continued, “They are setting themselves up as a mini-supreme court. When you feel a law is unconstitutional, you challenge it in court or go the legislature. But until the law is overturned, it should be followed."
Cummings argued, "The fair way to resolve this is between equal government forces in court, not the poor parents against a board with so many resources." According to the Ledger, Cummings said he has no financial interest in the case, but acted as a concerned citizen: "It has been nearly 60 days, and no one has done anything, because no one knows what to do. The law must be obeyed."
A writ can proceed from local petitioning or action by the attorney general, according to Cummings’ interpretation of a Supreme Court case from 1927. He said: “This is not a crime, but misconduct. No one wants to go to jail in this case, but by intentionally voting to disobey the law, they should be removed from their positions. An elected official has refused to do what his/her duty is, and that is, obey the law. It's pretty clear cut."
Published: 15-Dec-2010
Writing for Neighbor Newspapers, including the Broken Arrow Ledger, Danielle Parker and Nour Habib report the Owasso Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday (December 16) at 5 p.m.
According to a story update: “The agenda calls the board to discuss and vote on whether to rescind the board's resolution on House Bill 3393. The meeting will be held at the Dale C. Johnson Education Service Center, 1501 North Ash, in Owasso. There is no time slotted for public comment on the agenda posted."
In a previous story, they reported that Owasso attorney Gordon Cummings is seeking a Writ of Ouster for members of the local board of education who have defied implementation of House Bill 3393, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships Program Act, also known as Lindsey’s Law.
In an October 26 letter to Attorney General Drew Edmondson, Cummings characterized as “willful misconduct” the decision to impede implementation of the law benefitting special needs children.
In that letter, Cummings said, “Removal from office and appointment of new board members is the best solution since it punishes lawbreakers, not innocent students.” Cumming continued, “They are setting themselves up as a mini-supreme court. When you feel a law is unconstitutional, you challenge it in court or go the legislature. But until the law is overturned, it should be followed."
Cummings argued, "The fair way to resolve this is between equal government forces in court, not the poor parents against a board with so many resources." According to the Ledger, Cummings said he has no financial interest in the case, but acted as a concerned citizen: "It has been nearly 60 days, and no one has done anything, because no one knows what to do. The law must be obeyed."
A writ can proceed from local petitioning or action by the attorney general, according to Cummings’ interpretation of a Supreme Court case from 1927. He said: “This is not a crime, but misconduct. No one wants to go to jail in this case, but by intentionally voting to disobey the law, they should be removed from their positions. An elected official has refused to do what his/her duty is, and that is, obey the law. It's pretty clear cut."
Monday, November 15, 2010
Family speaks-out about Owasso Public School's failure to follow the law
Click headline to watch video
House Bill 3393 is a measure I authored with Senator Patrick Anderson during the 2010 legislative session. The bill was signed into law by Governor Henry in June. The new law provides publicly funded scholarships for special education students to attend a private school of their choice that meets their unique education needs.
Currently six Tulsa area school districts are openly defying this new law and denying the scholarships to eligible students. The districts failing to follow the law are Tulsa, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Union, Bixby and Owasso.
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