PLAC In The News
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OKPLAC Vice President Erin Brewer says a state-funded religious charter school violates our Constitutional right to religious freedom.
KOKH
Misty Bradley, state chair of the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee — a public school advocacy group — asserted that the state needs to invest more in its people to land jobs.
Enid News & Eagle
Local area education advocates from different sides of the political aisle say they are opposed to the state’s private school funding bill that’s expected to make it to a full Senate vote Monday at the Capitol.
KWTV
Education is a big topic at this year’s legislative session, as there’s dozens of proposed bills that could make a difference in your child’s education. News 9's Augusta McDonnell has been covering education policy closely this session.
KTUL
"We need to make sure that the public school system remains viable, remains funded, and that we have teachers that want to work there — that matters, working conditions matter,” said JJ Burnam, a co-founder of the Tulsa PLAC.
KTUL
Parents of only 67 of 32,000 Tulsa Public Schools students have applied for an exemption for wearing a protective mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tulsa PLAC speaks with KTUL Channel 8 about balancing parent wishes with keeping schools open and kids in the classroom.
KFOR
In light of a new law prohibiting protective masks in schools, The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee (OKPLAC) is pushing for Gov. Kevin Stitt to declare a public health emergency to help keep schools open.
KFOR
The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee is telling state lawmakers to “stop harming public schools.” The grassroots advocates said new legislation is going to cause schools to compete for dollars and pit families against each other.
KWTV
Parent, school, and student advocacy organizations are demanding full funding for schools. “We want our elected leaders to understand a majority of us as parents are choosing public schools. What we are looking for is our leaders to partner with us.”
Oklahoma Watch
JJ Burnam, from the Tulsa PLAC, said the premise of the bill implies the public education system is the problem and parents should “shop” for a school. That design gives schools the power to pick students and could leave some students behind. “You would find a great weeding out of the least advantaged,” he said.
KFOR
Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee teamed up with other nonpartisan education and parent groups in opposition Gov. Kevin Stitt's controversial nominee to the Oklahoma State Board of Education.
The Ada News
Now that schools aren’t able to function normally, Oklahomans are seeing how important public schools are. “Parents want to get back to normal, and schools want to get back to normal, but everybody is trying to do the right thing from a public health perspective.”
Tulsa World Op-Ed by OKPLAC Chair Lisa Kramer
Oklahomans have spoken loud and clear that their top priority is a strong, adequately funded public school system.
Enid News & Eagle
“We wanted to advocate, not just for Enid but for rural communities, too. In some small communities, the public schools are what hold the community together,” said Roxanne Pollard, co-founder of the Enid PLAC.
The Shawnee News-Star
The Greater Shawnee, Tecumseh and Seminole Parent Legislative Action Committee (Greater STAS PLAC) officially launched, joining the efforts of thousands of local parents statewide in advocating for strong, equitable public schools for every child in Oklahoma.
TulsaKids Magazine
Tulsa PLAC invited area legislators to meet with constituents at the Wilson Teaching and Learning Academy. Parents, teachers and concerned citizens sat at round tables with their policy-maker(s) to have a conversation about public schools.
KOKH / AP
Parents are becoming more politically active, with new Parent Legislative Action Committee chapters popping up in school districts throughout the state.
KJRH
"Public schools in Oklahoma are still last in the region in per pupil funding. That does make a difference to teachers. So we're still trying to retain teachers and get more qualified teachers in the classroom. Teachers want to be successful," Lisa Kramer from the OKPLAC said.
The New Yorker
Oklahoma parents turned their anger into action. They formed PLAC, a Parent Legislative Action Committee. PLAC advocates in the state capitol for the parents of public-school children. For years, legislators in Oklahoma could take comfort in the fact that few residents knew their names; now, parents were watching.
KGOU
A group of Oklahoma parents concerned about new third grade reading requirements are urging Gov. Mary Fallin to sign a bill making it easier to promote students. The Parent Legislative Action Committee of Central Oklahoma delivered a petition to the governor on Monday with more than 2,000 signatures.