Disagreement Over Recent Veto Of Education, Bullying Bills

State education leaders say they disagree with Governor Mary Fallin's vetoes of two controversial education bills.

The Governor signed 137 bills so far and said no to just six.

Among them, new reading guidelines for Oklahoma schools.

The bill claimed to update state standards for reading levels and assessment in schools.  The bill was passed unanimously by the state's commission on educational quality.

In her veto for this bill, Fallin said she had significant concerns about what the updates would have done to Oklahoma's nationwide scores, saying, "This process will mask student performance from parents, school performance communities, and state policy leaders."

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister calls the veto alarming and deeply troubling.

Hofmeister went on to say "Governor Fallin has been wrong on education policy before, and her veto of this legislation is wrong as well."

The Governor also nixed a bill that would have expanded part of Oklahoma's definition of bullying to include electronics.  It would also lower the threshold for what's considered bullying.

Fallin says she vetoed that bill because it removed other definitions of bullying, like harassment or intimidation, and that it did not protect students enough.