State Lawmakers Demand Evidence Of TPS Violating HB-1775

Two state lawmakers want to see any evidence that Tulsa Public Schools violated the state law that regulates how districts teach about race and gender.

The State Department of Education said the violation happened during training for teachers and staff, and did not involve classroom activity.

The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote next week on whether to lower the accreditation status of Tulsa Public Schools, to say the district has a "deficiency."

Days before that vote, lawmakers and other leaders are asking to see proof TPS broke the law.

State Representative Regina Goodwin said at a press conference Friday that for the past two weeks, she has been asking the state department of education, and Tulsa Public Schools, to provide any evidence of a violation of House Bill 1775.

"No one has taken the time to say, 'This is how 1775 was violated,” Rep. Goodwin said.

Goodwin said she was sent an 18-minute long slideshow Thursday, but does not know where the violation is in the presentation. She said she was asked not to make it public.

"Do not share, do not tell, do not, whatever. So I'm asking everybody - ask for the evidence,” she said. "They still did not provide for me what I asked. I said send me the segments, the slides, the audio, the video, that violates 1775. What they sent me was the entire 18-minute course."

State Senator George Young made the trip to Tulsa on Friday to show his support in the effort for more answers.

"I'm tired. I'm tired of all of the things that have come down the pipe that we just have to take and we can't do anything about it,” Young said.

Last month, OSDE attorney Brad Clark spoke to board members about the issue.

Related Story: State Board Of Education Says TPS Violated House Bill 1775

Now Goodwin is calling on State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister to rescind the recommendation Clark made. "The buck stops, quite frankly, with our state superintendent,” Goodwin said.

In a statement, the district said in part, "We are not able to provide a copy of the training materials as they are protected by federal law protecting proprietary information and copyrighted material. While the author has been gracious in allowing us to share them with the Oklahoma State Department of Education to fully respond to the complaint, they cannot be shared or otherwise disclosed."

News On 6 also reached out to the department of education, and to Hofmeister's campaign, and did not get a response on this issue.