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The Oklahoma Department of Education, under new Superintendent of Schools Lindel Fields, has been busy rolling back a number of initiatives started by his predecessor, Ryan Walters.

Fields notified educators last week that state testing will proceed as normal this year, quelling the confusion created by Walters’ Aug. 8 announcement that schools would switch to using benchmark assessments for grades 3-8 and allow alternative tests for high schoolers.

The agency last week asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two teachers who received a $50,000 bonus in error. Under the terms of the dismissal, the agency will end efforts to take back the money, and the teachers will drop their defamation claims against Walters, reports The Oklahoman.

And Fields said he intends to restart the process of reviewing the social studies standards — obtaining public input and presenting a draft to the Board of Education and the Legislature, according to Oklahoma Voice. The Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked the version adopted under Walters.

One action Fields said he can’t undo? The large unexplained payouts Walters doled out to preferred staff members in recent months. Those included a $15,000 bonus to his executive assistant, Lexie Flanagan and an extra $10,000 to press secretary Madison Cercy, who never once responded to News 4 or Oklahoma Watch during her time in the role. Walters gave his chief of staff, Matt Mohler, and chief policy advisor, Matt Langston, nearly $30,000 each in the final days before they all left the agency, reports News 4.

I’ll be sitting down for an interview with Fields this week. What should I ask him? Let me know via email.

— Jennifer Palmer

Recommended Reading

• While the U.S. Department of Education proposes mass layoffs in its special education office, an Oklahoma lawmaker said he intends to bolster state-level support for students with disabilities. [Oklahoma Voice]
• Many Head Start programs across the country could be forced to close at the end of this week if the federal government shutdown continues, jeopardizing free child care and other services for tens of thousands of families with young children. [The Washington Post]
• Thirty states now limit or ban cellphone use in classrooms, and teachers are noticing children paying attention to their lessons again. But it’s not clear whether this policy — unpopular with students and a headache for teachers to enforce — makes an academic difference. [The Hechinger Report]

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