The Oklahoma State Board of Education opted not to act on the accreditation status of 14 school districts during a meeting today owing to concerns that other districts’ details “may have been altered” and “tainted” under former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ administration.
Board members questioned the validity of how OSDE handled the accreditation process under Walters, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields said he understood the concerns. The board voted unanimously to “disapprove the issuance of accreditation warnings,” which will keep the 14 districts at their current accreditation levels and give them another year to work on identified deficiencies.
“Because of information that we are aware of, I cannot in good conscience vote for an approval for these warnings because of information that these items may have been altered at some point,” board member Becky Carson said. “This has nothing to do with individuals within this department. Has nothing to do with individuals, hardworking individuals that are there now, or that have left. It just has to do with the leadership that was there and possibly tainted that issue.”
After the meeting, Carson pointed to reporting from Fox 25’s Wendy Suares about how certain schools were removed from the state’s “failing” list. During the meeting, board member Chris VanDenhende echoed Carson’s concerns and said he wanted a “reset” of OSDE’s annual accreditation review process, which examines how school districts function and identifies deficiencies or areas needing improvement.
“I have no data to support this, but I think this could cut both ways. Some people did not receive warnings that maybe should have. Some were removed. And so, I almost want to push the reset button on this process, and I do not know how to do that, and I do not know that we can do that today,” VanDenhende said. “I think as part of your efforts to look across the spectrum, I would like for us to get a better understanding of this, because if a school has deficiencies, that is serious. And if they are released from that and they have not fixed it, that is serious as well. So I think we need to return some credibility to this process.”
Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, one of several legislators in attendance, said the board’s decision pleased him.
“When you weaponize accreditation, that is one of the worst things you can do, because it is supposed to be there for reasons,” said Rosecrants (D-Norman). “When you are going to add reasons to it, like — oh my gosh, like what Walters did with attaching accreditation to state test scores — that is not what accreditation is for.”
Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) and Rep. Danny Sterling (R-Tecumseh), who serve respectively as chairman and vice chairman of the House Committee on Common Education, were also in attendance, along with Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-OKC).
The board addressed another item that was once a point of consternation with Walters, unanimously approving a motion to review the 2025 social studies standards for a period of 60 days. Board members VanDenhende and Ryan Deatherage had attempted to delay a vote on the standards in February, saying the review process lacked transparency about changes, but the standards were ultimately approved at that meeting.
The new standards contained controversial revisions, including mentions of the Bible and directions to “identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results.” Several lawsuits followed, including one from former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and another from a group of parents and faith leaders. The latter resulted in the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling the state must revert to 2019 social studies standards until the case is fully adjudicated.
During a press conference after Thursday’s meeting, Fields called the issue “a little complicated” and said he thinks there ultimately will be changes to the new standards.
“Currently, the Supreme Court has put a stay on these standards that were passed,” Fields said. “We are going to ask for the stay to be continued so we can restart the process to allow for input from the community, the board and ultimately the Legislature.”
Asked if he took issue with any particular portions of the 2025 social studies standards, Fields said board members “need to look at all of the things that were added to see if they were germane to what kids need to learn.”
Board flies through budget request, other business
Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lindel Fields to lead OSDE and the State Board of Education on Oct. 2 following the resignation of Walters, who took a job with a new nonprofit aimed at dismantling teachers unions nationwide. Fields has said he will not be among the half-dozen or more candidates seeking the open state superintendent seat in 2026, but he will work with the Legislature in the spring when lawmakers set the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
Approved Thursday by the board, OSDE’s formal — yet non-binding — FY 2027 budget request to the Oklahoma Legislature is generally the same as the Legislature’s FY 2026 allocation, with nearly $24 million more requested to address the annual “projected increase in staff counts and corresponding premiums.”
Rosecrants, a member of the House Committee on Common Education, said he was “a little concerned” that the budget request does not include increases for teacher pay or other resources, but he chalked it up to Stitt’s ongoing desire for flat budgets across state agencies.
The board unanimously approved the budget request, but during discussion VanDenhende suggested creating a finance committee within the board to better understand the flow of funds through OSDE.
“We are looking at a $4 billion budget, and you throw in another billion from the federal government, and I do not think we spend enough time looking (at) and understanding this,” VanDenhende said.
During his post-meeting press conference, Fields appeared open to the idea.
“I think I can safely say we will have some kind of training for all of us. Whether we form a committee or not, we will have to think about that,” Fields said.
In more general business, the board approved Wyandotte Public Schools’ application for a four-day school week. Board member Brian Bobek said the school district did not have to come to the board for approval, as their calendar changes maintain the required number of instructional days and hours.
“What is happening is in their application, they are stating they are going to make sure they do have their required hours, required minimum hours, required number of days (of) instruction, as set out by state statute, that they are simply adjusting the local district calendar,” Bobek said. “I applaud that they brought that to our attention.”
In the district’s waiver application, Superintendent Bradley Wade said the change is to remain competitive with neighboring districts in Missouri and Kansas, to strengthen teacher recruitment and retention and to provide staff with a healthier work-life balance. The four-day schedule will make most Mondays non-attendance days for students from August through February, but “when spring arrives, however, the schedule shifts back to a traditional five-day week,” according to the district’s waiver application. The district conducted a survey of 434 parents with students in the district about the change and reported 66 percent were in favor, according to the application.
The board also quickly approved 182 emergency teacher certifications.
After a two-hour executive session, the board accepted the voluntary surrender of Tabitha Brooks’ teaching certificate. Brooks was a Wapanucka Public Schools teacher who is charged with first-degree rape.
The board approved the dismissal of applications to revoke teacher certifications and issue formal reprimands against former Sperry High School principal Richard Akin and former Sperry High School coaches John King and Robert Park. The trio’s certificates were suspended in January amid an investigation into the rape of a student. Akin will receive a formal reprimand and reinstatement of his certificate, subject to 24 months of probationary status. King and Park also received formal reprimands, but only 12 months of probation.
