On Monday, Sen. Ron Sharp filed three bills in response to the multi-county grand jury’s findings in May concerning the State Department of Health’s financial deception in recent years. The grand jury’s six month investigation found that the agency had been withholding financial information, including a $30 million “slush” fund, from the legislature for several years. The Shawnee Republican said his bills would put into action some of the grand jury’s seven recommendations in order to improve financial transparency among state agencies.

Following public outcry about school funding and concern over high administrative salaries, Sen. Ron Sharp filed legislation Friday to make superintendent salaries a completely local decision. Senate Bill 60 would require superintendent salaries and fringe benefits to be paid with only district (ad valorem dollars) and dedicated local funds. The bill would stop any state appropriated dollars from being used for the salaries in order for them to be diverted to the classroom.

On Thursday, Sen. Ron Sharp filed legislation to modify several Virtual Charter School laws in Oklahoma. The 40-year retired educator said his bills are an effort to increase virtual charter school accountability and oversight.

On Thursday, the Senate gave unanimous approval to legislation modifying child abuse reporting requirements. House Bill 2259, by Rep. Dell Kerbs and Sen. Ron Sharp, requires individuals, especially educators, to report suspected child abuse or neglect of those 17 years or younger immediately to the DHS Child Abuse Hotline and those 18 years or older to law enforcement.

Sen. Ron Sharp carried the nomination last Thursday of long-time public safety officer Major Rusty Rhoades to serve as the Commissioner of Public Safety. The Senate Public Safety Committee approved the nomination unanimously.

“Major Rhoades has dedicated his life to serving the people of Oklahoma and improving public safety throughout the state,” said Sharp, R-Shawnee. “He will be a strong leader for the Department of Public Safety and we look forward to seeing his vision for how to strengthen and continue to improve public safety in our state.”

Oklahoma is considered one of the premiere states for STEM education and Sen. Ron Sharp wants to expand it further. He has filed Senate Bill 880 to further advance STEM education by moving oversight of the STEM Region/Community application subcommittee from the Coalition for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education in Oklahoma (CASMEO) to the Department of Career and Technology Education.

Gov. Mary Fallin called nine special elections last year following legislators leaving office mid-term. In an effort to protect taxpayer dollars, Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation to use the remaining campaign funds of departing members to pay for their districts’ special elections.

In an effort to stop inappropriate relationships between school employees and students, Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation to require professional development training on the issue. Under Senate Bill 899, the training would begin with the 2018-2019 school year and would need to be completed at least once per semester.

In 2015, the legislature approved Senate Bill 782 amending the 1999 Oklahoma Charter School Act to allow charter schools into rural school districts instead of just those in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Legislators were told that, under the legislation, local boards of education would be in control of whether charter schools could expand in their school districts but Sen. Ron Sharp says the bill actually took away local control and he has filed legislation to return control back to local school districts.

Shawnee State Senator Ron Sharp held an interim study this week at the State Capitol to discuss potentially adding instruction about tribal sovereignty and tribal histories to the Oklahoma public school curriculum.

Thursday’s interim study concentrated on building a partnership between the state of Oklahoma and tribal governments to bring American Indian histories and cultures into classrooms across the state. Several state and educational leaders were in attendance and offered testimony in their area of expertise.