Public education in Oklahoma has been in decline since 2011 — the same year the state reached its highest national education ranking at No. 17. That was the year Mary Fallin took office as governor. What followed was a decade of budget cuts, teacher shortages and a growing legislative push to divert public funds toward private school vouchers under the banner of “parent choice.”
Few have championed that agenda more aggressively than Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville. Her support for defunding public education isn’t just visible in her legislation — it’s unmistakable in her own words, particularly in her defense of Senate Bill 105 , which removes the one-year public school requirement for students with disabilities seeking a Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship. In an email, Daniels said: “Taking it out hurts no public school but helps special needs students access the best school for them without wasting a year of their education.”
According to Sen. Daniels, a year in Oklahoma public schools for a student with a disability is a waste. That single sentence lays bare the dangerous foundation of SB 105, and the deeply flawed logic behind her attempt to dismantle a system that exists to protect our most vulnerable learners…