A measure to better equip educators to recognize and address the mental health needs of students has received Senate approval and will now be considered by the House. Senate Bill 446, by Sen. John Haste, would require the State Department of Education and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to develop educator training programs on student mental health.

November is World Diabetes Month, and the Oklahoma Legislative Diabetes Caucus is gearing up to continue their fight against the disease that affects 414 million or one in eleven people worldwide with at least half being undiagnosed. On Friday, co-chairs Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, and Sen.

The Senate Health and Human Services committee recently conducted a study to learn more about state services provided for children with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). The study was requested by Sen. Frank Simpson, who serves as Chair of both the Legislative Diabetes Caucus and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. Simpson’s granddaughter passed away from complications related to diabetes and glucose monitoring.

Senator Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement regarding nominations by Governor Stitt to the State Board of Education:

Gov. Kevin Stitt has given his approval to legislation ensuring citizens can get emergency refills on life-saving prescriptions. Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 1019. The House principal author is Rep. T.J. Marti, R-Broken Arrow.

Hicks said the legislation sets out the guidelines for pharmacists to prescribe emergency refills of specific kinds of medication if the patient’s doctor cannot be reached after a prescription has expired.

State Sen. Carri Hicks is among a group of educators who sought public office in 2018 to fight for Oklahoma public schools. But by law in Oklahoma, when these legislators complete their service at the Capitol, they cannot return to the classroom for two years unless a school can find alternative funding that does not include state dollars. Hicks wants to give Oklahomans the opportunity to change that law and has filed Senate Joint Resolution 8. She’s dubbed the legislation the “Right to Return.”

Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement on the death of former Sen. Roger Ballenger, D-Okmulgee.

“Senator Ballenger was liked and respected by members on both sides of the aisle—in fact he was appointed Vice Chair of the Senate General Government Committee in 2012, the only Democrat named to a committee leadership post. He also served as Assistant Minority Floor Leader.

Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement after Attorney General Mike Hunter announced Monday the state will receive a $2.4 million federal grant to help address Oklahoma’s rape kit backlog.

“This is an issue many of us at the Capitol and throughout the state have been working hard to address for the past several sessions. This grant means more Oklahoma women will have an opportunity to seek the justice they deserve. Just as importantly, by being able to identify and prosecute sexual predators, we can prevent future assaults.

The Senate gave unanimous final approval to legislation Tuesday which authorizes the use of one standardized sexual assault evidence kit by all law enforcement agencies statewide. Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said she authored Senate Bill 975 to address the state’s backlog of untested rape kits and to get victims justice faster.

In 2017, the Oklahoma Task Force on Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) conducted an audit and found that there were more than 7,200 untested rape kits throughout the state. Floyd was a member of the taskforce.