Joe Dorman Reminds Voters Education is On the Line this Election Day

Tuesday, November 4 is Election Day and there is a lot at stake with this election. For the last four years, Janet Barresi and Mary Fallin have held Oklahoma’s education system hostage. Together, they have cut $200 million in education funding, implemented disastrous grade school high stakes reading tests, have threatened our teachers and refused to listen to our parents.

Your voice is extremely important to the future of our state. Thanks to Fallin and Barresi, our children are suffering. I’ve listened to parents throughout this campaign about how the new testing standards have negatively impacted their child’s mental health. We simply cannot allow Fallin and Barresi to continue to bully children, our most vulnerable population, who are not old enough yet to have a voice on Election Day.

Let’s not forget the many flip-flops that Fallin has made over the last four years. The biggest one to date is her support of Common Core. After I worked to overturn the failed Common Core curriculum, Fallin decided to follow my lead and signed the legislation removing Common Core from Oklahoma’s curriculum standards. Her State Board of Education appointees then sued to protect Common Core but failed. Fallin then used the issue as a political pawn with her regents delaying the certification of standards as college and career ready. Do we really need a governor who is willing to bully and play games with our children and the future of our state? The simple answer is NO.

I’ve proposed real solutions to the issues facing Oklahoma’s public education system. Through my Classrooms First plan, I will eliminate grade school high stakes reading tests, end of instruction exams, and provide increased funding to our classrooms. Instead of one size fits all testing programs, we will implement evaluations that take in the needs of individual students. Additionally, my plan will pay the cost for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to take the ACT exam, which will increase college scholarship opportunities. As your governor I will work to support our teachers, parents and students to promote and improve Oklahoma’s public education system.

When you head to the polls on November 4, please remember Oklahoma’s voting laws. All registered voters are required to bring valid photo identification. If you face problems, you can vote using a provisional ballot.

Join me on November 4 to protect our state, our children, and the future of all Oklahomans.