Contact: State Rep. Jabar Shumate
Capitol: (405) 557-7406

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 8, 2009) – Oklahoma’s tribal governments could soon sponsor charter schools, providing much-needed help to lower-income children.

Senate Bill 586, by state Sen. John Ford and state Rep. Jabar Shumate, would allow any of Oklahoma’s 39 federally recognized Native American tribes to sponsor a charter school located in a district with more than 5,000 students in a major metropolitan area.

"I believe the civil rights issue of the 21st century is how we ensure a quality education for all children, regardless of their background," said Shumate, D-Tulsa. "It is exciting that our tribal governments want to take an active role in this effort and I am proud to carry this legislation."

Shumate said the Cherokee Nation, in particular, has expressed interest in sponsoring a charter school.

Charter schools operate free of most (often unfunded) state mandates, providing increased local control. Those schools have been largely successful in increasing the educational outcomes of low-income students.

One charter school serving many of Shumate’s constituents – the Deborah Brown Community School – ranks among the top elementary schools in Oklahoma. In 2006, the school achieved a perfect Academic Performance Index score of 1,500. (The API measures performance and progress in schools, with schools and districts given an API score from 0 to 1,500.)

Students at Deborah Brown consistently score high on both API and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports according to the State Department of Education and the district has been honored with the states' Academic Achievement Award (AAA).

In Oklahoma City, the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Programs) Reach College Preparatory school is another success story. In 2006, that charter school scored a 2006 Academic Performance Index of 1,393 – well above the state average of 1,180 and the Oklahoma City school average of 1,006. In recent years, up to 100 percent of African-American male students at KIPP have passed the state tests in reading, writing and math.

"One of the things I have tried to work on in the Legislature is to open up opportunities for families," said Shumate, who serves on the board of Tulsa’s Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) College Preparatory Academy and has volunteered as a mentor at Hawthorne Elementary. "We have had a lot of challenges in my district in terms of schools that are low-performing and our charter schools in Tulsa have modeled best practices that other traditional schools are now duplicating. The better our charter schools do, the better our other public schools can do as well."

Senate Bill 586 passed out of the House Common Education Committee today. It now proceeds to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

NOTE: To view accompanying video, go to http://www.okhouse.tv/ViewVideo.aspx?VideoID=111