Michelle in the News

One lawmaker Michelle McCane is working to expand the state’s higher access learning program. The new bill would expand “Oklahoma’s Promise” which offers tuition scholarships to qualifying students to include the children of certain public school employees.

According to HB1016, creators would be required to keep records of the amount of content that generated compensation, the number of minutes compensation was received, the total minutes a minor was featured, and the amount deposited into the trust.

Oklahoma House Democratic Representative Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, is the first woman to serve House District 72. McCane is a longtime educator with 14 years of service to the Tulsa community.

Newly-elected Democrats include Michelle McCane, House District 72; Ron Stewart, House District 73; and Ellen Pogemiller, House District 88.

Michelle said she enjoys being able to work with students and families in the city and school district she, her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents all grew up in.

“I feel frustrated, angry, disappointed, and sad. These legislators have the power to improve the lives of millions of Oklahomans. Instead, they are leveraging hate and fear to bully a small population of marginalized and at-risk people and limit their rights.”

"These rules will change this [privacy] because the rule requires schools and districts to make private student and family information available to every district staff member from custodians and bus drivers to district administration in order for school staff to police student identities and contact families. "

“The state of Oklahoma has to do its part to address the structural issues that are at the root of the learning gap,” McCane said. “What good is tutoring going to do if kids don’t have a safe home environment?” 

“In many cases, those challenges are our students’ first introduction to a specific title. In many cases, if someone has a problem with a book, they’re going to want to read it, see why it’s a ‘problem’ and why they may be kept from some amazing literature.”

"We have to really take this seriously, and there’s a lot of complex things to consider and there are a lot of moving parts to a school. So, it’s not just as simple as, 'We’ll have the kids wash their hands and stay far apart and put masks on, and everybody will be safe," Stevenson [McCane] said.

Hip-hop, rap and videography might not fit the mold of traditional high school music and arts. But thanks to a librarian’s belief in an implausible dream, at Tulsa’s McLain High School for Science and Technology these courses dance alongside offerings like band and choir.

Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association surveyed its membership and other staff Thursday and found that the 900-plus teachers who participated were overwhelmingly in favor of the walkout