Hofmeister says school district cannot require attendance at annual rally

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) took swift action today in response to a report that a single school district had incorrectly notified teachers they would receive professional development credit for attending an education rally at the State Capitol.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said OSDE officials contacted the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration, the Oklahoma State School Boards Association and the school district in question to make it clear that no teacher can be coerced to attend the March 30 rally.

As soon as we were alerted, we contacted all appropriate parties, including the school district in question, to state plainly that attendance at the rally in no way counts as professional development,” the superintendent said. “No entity should, or is lawfully able to, pressure attendance at the education rally. It is longstanding practice that attendance at such events are strictly voluntary.”

In a March 27 letter to Hofmeister, state Attorney General Scott Pruitt wrote that his office had received inquiries about a district inaccurately telling teachers that their participation in the rally was mandated professional development.