Category: Uncategorized

Tuesday November 14th: Many counties across the state will have an election next week on November 14th. These votes span a number of topics such as propositions, bonds, city council, mayoral elections and more. Check and see if your county has an election here. You can vote early on November 9th or 10th from 8 AM – 6 PM at your local county election board.

December 12th: This election includes the general election for State Senate District 32 and the primary election for State Representative District 39.

For State Senate District 32, OKHPR has endorsed Dusty Deevers who received an A rating on his OKHPR Candidate Survey. Senate District 32 covers Commanche county, including Elgin, Fletcher, Medicine Park, Cache, Indiahoma, and parts of Lawton and Fort Sill.

This election in particular is extremely important because it has the power to flip Senate leadership! A lot of RINO’s are willing to throw this seat to the democrat because Deever’s is such a liberty minded candidate.

Check out the interview with Dusty Deevers Democrat opponent, is this who you want representing Oklahomans at the State Capitol?

We are asking for everyone to donate $32 to Dusty Deevers for District 32! if $32 is out of your budget please donate $5-$10. Every dollar counts! You can donate to Dusty Deevers online here, or mail a check to 379 NE Miller Ave Elgin, OK 73538

State Representative District 39 will also be facing an election on December 12th. House District 39 covers Oklahoma county, including parts of Edmond. We will update more about this specific race next week!

If you saw this information from your schools newsletter would this capture your attention or would it properly inform you that this survey could reveal intimate details of your personal family life? (Source: Norman Public Schools had this information included at the bottom of their newsletter. Many parents did not see this notice and many are upset that they were not properly informed about opt out options).

We reported on this two years ago and now we are seeing the real world consequences! In 2021, Oklahoma Representatives Vancuren (Owasso), Davis (Broken Arrow) and Waldron (Tulsa) of the House and Haste (Broken Arrow) of the Senate worked to pass a law that mandates most public schools provide students with a survey regarding a variety of issues with a focus on alcohol, tobacco, other drug use, mental health, academic failure, and violence. This survey is being administered to public school children by the OK Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in the name of federal funding to our children. Even though students are allowed to opt-out, many students have felt pressured and parents are unaware that it is even going on. We need to fix this and need your help! 

Check out the surveys for yourself here. Would you feel comfortable with your 6th grader filling out this survey or your 8th, 10th, and 12th grader filling out this survey without your knowledge?

If this survey is concerning to you please contact your schools principal and ask about the opt out waiver.

Filing for the 2024 school board elections is in December 2023. Below is a list of seats up for election in the largest districts. This is not a complete list of school board openings! There are over 500 school districts in Oklahoma. If you google your local school district board, you should be able to tell which terms are expiring in 2024.

Local school board races are critical since school boards set many of the policies for local schools and select curriculum. If you have followed your local school board member’s votes and are concerned about the direction of policies, please consider running for school board. If your local school board member is doing a great job, please let him or her know. Being on the school board can be challenging as well as rewarding.

The 2024 school board candidate filing packet is available here.

TIMELINE for FILING
Resolution Due November 17, 2023
Statutory Filing December 4-6, 2023
Primary February 13, 2024
General April 2, 2024

TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

District 2, Diamond Marshall, registered Democrat. Appointed in March 2023.

District 5, John Croisant, registered Democrat. Won 6097 – 5530 in 2020.

District 6, Jerry Griffin, registered Republican. Won 3302 – 3272 in 2020. Griffin is not planning to run for re-election in 2024.

Board of Education – Independent School District No. 1 of Tulsa County, (tulsaschools.org)

Map of districts here.

OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

District 3, Cary Pirrong, registered Democrat. Appointed 2022.

District 4, Mark Mann, registered Democrat. Had no opponent in 2020. Mann is currently running for State Senate 46.

Board of Education / Board Members (okcps.org)

Map of districts here.

EDMOND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

District 4, Cynthia Benson, registered Republican. Won 216-160 in 2014. No opponent in 2019.

Board of Education | Edmond Public Schools (edmondschools.net)

Map of districts here.

MOORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

District 4, Staci Pruett, registered Republican. Won 52.9% in 2019 (471-183-156-81 four candidates).

Board of Education – Moore Public Schools (mooreschools.com)

Map of districts here.

BROKEN ARROW PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Zone 4, Brandy Roulet, registered Independent. Won 714-471 in 2019.

Broken Arrow Public Schools – Board of Education (baschools.org)

Map of districts here.

NORMAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Office 4, Chad Vice, registered Republican. Won 2200 – 1937 in 2019.

Board of Education / Board of Education Members (normanpublicschools.org)

Map of districts here.

PUTNAM CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Office 4, Charity Avery, registered Republican. No opponent in 2019.

Meet Our Board of Education | Putnam City Schools

Map of districts here.

Other Districts:

Asher Public School I-112 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Bethel Public School I-3 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Dale Public School I-2 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Earlsboro Public School I-5 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Grove Public School C-27 Office #3 Three (3) Year Term

Macomb Public School I-4 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Maud Public School I-117 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

McLoud Public School I-1 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

North Rock Creek School I-10 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Pleasant Grove School C-29 Office #3 Three (3) Year Term

Shawnee Schools I-93 Office #2 & #4 Four (4) Year Term

South Rock Creek C-32 Office #3 Three (3) Year Term

Tecumseh School I-92 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Wanette School I-11 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Harrah School I-7 Office #4 Four (4) Year Term

Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Konawa School I-4 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Little Axe School I-70 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Office #2 Three (3) Year Term

Meeker School I-95 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Prague School I-103 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Strother School I-1 Office #4 Five (5) Year Term

Eastern OK TC-23 Office #5 Five (5) Year Term

Mid America TC-8 Office #5 Five (5) Year Term

Gordon Cooper TC-5 Office #1 Five (5) Year Term

Recently, OKHPR was made aware that the former link to find vaccine exemptions on the State Department of Health website was now gone. We made sure a copy was available on our website and then got to work to find out what was going on.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has made a number of changes to the vaccine exemption form. The biggest change is that now, instead of a parent turning in the exemption form into their school and then the school sending this form to the State Department of Health, parents are being told to send this form themselves to the State Department of Health who will then send it to the schools after it has been approved or denied.

Above is a copy of the 2nd page of the exemption form from 2016. To view page one full screen, please click here. to view page two full screen, please click here.

Above is a copy of the 2nd page of the newly updated 2023 exemption form. To view this form full screen, please click here.

Additionally, we recently found out that the Immunization Department had a backlog of exemptions and as a result one school in eastern Oklahoma did not get approval for two students so they DID NOT allow those students to attend and thus the students were suspended due to excessive absences. We are calling on Governor Stitt, who is head of this agency and the Oklahoma Legislature to take action on the exemption process which has been a part of state law since 1970.

Contact Governor Stitt and your State Legislators to ensure they are aware of these problems! Ask Governor Stitt and your State Legislator to go back to the more streamlined process of parents turning in the exemption to schools, and school submitting it to the Oklahoma Department of Health and allow students to attend school while awaiting “approval”.

OKHPR has already begun working on legislation ideas to streamline this process and make it nondiscriminatory. Make sure you are paying attention to future OKHPR newsletters and are signed up to receive OKHPR text alerts by texting #S(your district number) to 405-251-8915. For example, if you live in senate district 3 you would text #S3.

Earlier this week The Oklahoman published an article claiming that Oklahoma Kindergarteners are the least vaccinated in the region. We would like to take time to address some of the claims made in the article.

• In Oklahoma, a parent must file a vaccine exemption to exempt from even one dose of one of the required vaccines for daycare or school.
• There are currently 26 doses of 9 vaccines that are required in Oklahoma for daycare or school entry. Parents may choose to skip a single dose of a vaccine for a variety of reasons. For example, parents may file for a religious vaccine exemption to exempt out of vaccines that are created using aborted fetal cells. Some parents may choose to exempt their child from vaccination for certain diseases that are seen as common childhood illnesses, such as Varicella (aka Chickenpox) or diseases that children have a low risk of transmitting such as Hepatitis B which is primarily spread through IV drug use and unprotected sex.
• This detailed information about which vaccines and how many doses a parent is exempting from is not available to us when simply looking at exemption rates as a whole. It is absolutely incorrect to assume exemption rates are the same as vaccination rates.

We also wish the author, Mr. Monies, would have reached out to us as he has in the past.

KFOR decided to write a follow up report and they DID reach out to OKHPR.

“The devil is in the details. That doesn’t mean they’re unvaccinated. That just means that they filed an exemption and they have not taken one of the doses of the many,” said Liza Greve, executive director for Oklahomans for Health & Parental Rights.

Liza Greve with Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights said more parents are picking and choosing what vaccines their children receive.”

Read the full report from KFOR here.

The original article from The Oklahoman does mention recent court decisions that forced Mississippi to now offer a religious exemption stating, “Mississippi has had one of the South’s lowest vaccination-exemption rates, but a recent federal court injunction ordered state officials to offer a religious exemption.”

This is thanks to organizations such as ICAN. 

ICAN’s attorneys, led by Aaron Siri, secured a historic and critical win, where a federal court ruled that the First Amendment requires that, by July 15, 2023, the State of Mississippi afford its residents a religious exemption for their children to attend school without one or more state mandated vaccines! Before this ruling, Mississippi was one of only six states that did not have a religious exemption for students to attend school.

ICAN is now litigating the same in both West Virginia and New York. ICAN is also funding upcoming lawsuits to secure religious exemptions in the remaining holdout states (Maine, California, and Connecticut)! This will cover every U.S. state in an attempt to secure a religious exemption from vaccination for every K-12 student across our nation like they did in Mississippi.

We need your help!

OKHPR relies on donations in order to influence Oklahoma legislation. Donate to OKHPR to help ensure Oklahoma remains FREE!

The new Children’s Health Defense Vaxxed bus is coming to Oklahoma!

The tour features a brand new bus modeled after the beloved RV in the documentary, “Vaxxed II: The People’s Truth,” coinciding with the upcoming release of the “Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak” book in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brian Hooker, Ph.D., investigate over 100 peer-reviewed studies analyzing the differences in health outcomes in vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations.

The Vaxxed Team called us and we are honored to host the second stop on the tour! Last visit we used the State Capitol, but this time we have asked member Saundra Traywick if the bus could park on her property, The Oklahoma Donkey Dairy! This will be a lovely Oklahoma backdrop for your stories!

Oklahoma Donkey Dairy
13150 N Peebly Rd
Luther, OK 73054

August 23rd from 9 AM – 5 PM

The Vaxxed/ Unvaxxed bus team is committed to capturing EVERY account related to vaccine injuries, deaths, or the experiences of the unvaccinated in Oklahoma. Polly Tommey will be conducting video interviews on the bus in 15-minute increments. If you have a story to share, we want to hear from you!

Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights (okhpr.com) and Children’s Health Defense will also have a table set up with information, merchandise, and the opportunity to donate.

Additionally, the bus MAY BE available on August 22nd for families in southern Oklahoma. The bus will be traveling north on I-35 coming from Dallas. Email us at info@okhpr.com if you live along this path and want to share your story. 

Events like this rely on your financial donations. Support OKHPR and our mission to bring the new bus to Oklahoma with a donation to the OKHPR Foundation.

In the last edition of The Roar Release, we shared the names of many schools in Oklahoma that are violating state law, SB 658. After sharing that list we were able to remove a few schools that updated their website and social media due to your amazing advocacy! Unfortunately, we also received more reports of violations and have added several more schools to our list.

Is your school following the law? Click the button below to find out!

You can help us compile a more exact list by checking your local school district’s website. Click on the enrollment section and see if your school is including the required language when mentioning vaccination requirements. You can also check their social media. It is required by law that EVERY notice about vaccination requirements has the quoted language! This includes social media posts or email notices.

If your school is not following the law, please report that to us HERE so we can update our list!

We need your help to make sure that this important section of state law is followed. This week we want to focus our efforts on the Oklahoma State School Board. The State Department of Education is responsible for ensuring that this law is followed by all school districts, so we must make sure they are aware! We have included sample email and phone scripts as well as contact information to make this as easy as possible!

1. Copy and paste the following emails into the ‘bcc’ portion of your email. These are the emails for all of the members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. You can use the following sample email as well!

   sarah.lepak@ok.gov, suzanne.reynolds@ok.gov, katie.quebedea@ok.gov, donald.burdick@ok.gov, kendra.wesson@ok.gov

Sample email:

“To whom it may concern,
I am emailing because I am a resident of _______ school district. I noticed that the school is in violation of SB 658. This law went into effect on July 2021 and it states that Schools and universities must notify parents and students that they may opt-out of vaccination mandates using legally allowed exemptions on their website and in all notices regarding vaccine requirements. The law also states that it is the State Department of Education’s job to ensure that school districts are following SB 658.

Please let me know what is being done to bring the school district into compliance with the law.
Name
Address”

2. Second, please contact State Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters at 405-521-3301. You may use the following phone script.

“Hi I am calling because I am a resident of _______ school district. I noticed that they are in violation of SB 658 because they are not informing parents about vaccine exemptions on their website or in a notice sent out on (date). I wanted to contact your office to ensure that this is addressed.”

Lastly, share this blog and the image at the top of this page with your friends and family to spread the word that ‘No Shots, No School, Not True!”

Resources related to vaccine law can be found on the resources page of our website. Here you will find the Oklahoma vaccine exemption form (which is used for school or daycare entry), read vaccine law, and read our vaccine exemption FAQ which includes information on what facilities are required to accept a vaccine exemption, how to fill out the form, what to do if your exemption is denied, and how to report a school that is violating the law.

Oklahoma allows vaccine exemptions for school children based on personal, religious, and medical reasons. In addition to exemption law, there is a more recent section of law that requires school districts to inform parents of exemption options.

Per SB 658, which went into effect July 1st 2021, 

“The State Department of Education shall provide and ensure that each school district in this state provides, on the school district website and in any notice or publication provided to parents regarding immunization requests, the following information regarding immunization requirements for school attendance:
“For school enrollment, a parent or guardian shall provide one of the following:
1. Current, up-to-date immunization records; or
2. A completed and signed exemption form.” 

Is your school following the law?

As the 2023-24 school year approaches, we have received an unprecedented number of reports that schools are STILL violating this section of state law. Is your school on our list? Check our list below of SB 658 violations to find out!

You can help us compile a more exact list by checking your local school district’s website. Click on the enrollment section and see if your school is including the required language when mentioning vaccination requirements. You can also check their social media. It is required by law that EVERY notice about vaccination requirements has the quoted language! This includes social media posts or email notices.

If your school is not following the law, please report that to us HERE so we can update our list!

We need your help to make sure that this important section of state law is followed. We have included sample email and phone scripts as well as contact information to make this as easy as possible!

If your school district is not in compliance with SB 658, please contact the following:

1. Modify and print this letter, then mail or email it to your local school district’s Superintendent, School Board, Principal, and/or school nurse. You should be able to find their contact information by searching your school district’s website. If you need assistance with this, reach out to your OKHPR Senate District Captain. (If you do not know who your OKHPR Senate District Captain is, email us at captains@okhpr.com)
2. Because the State Department of Education is responsible for ensuring that this law is followed by all school districts, please contact State Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters at 405-521-3301. Also call Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office at (405) 521-3921. You can use the following phone script for both.

“Hi I am calling because I am a resident of _______ school district. I noticed that they are in violation of SB 658 because they are not informing parents about vaccine exemptions on their website or in a notice sent out on (date). I wanted to contact your office to ensure that this is addressed.”

Lastly, share this blog and the image at the top of this page with your friends and family to spread the word that ‘No Shots, No School, Not True!”

Resources related to vaccine law can be found on the resources page of our website. Here you will find the Oklahoma vaccine exemption form (which is used for school or daycare entry), read vaccine law, and read our vaccine exemption FAQ which includes information on what facilities are required to accept a vaccine exemption, how to fill out the form, what to do if your exemption is denied, and how to report a school that is violating the law.

In an “Agenda47” video for his presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump pledged to tackle the significant increase in chronic illnesses and health issues, specifically among children.

The former President highlighted what he called a “stunning rise in autism, auto-immune disorders, obesity, infertility, serious allergies, and respiratory challenges.”

“Is it the food that they eat? The environment that we live in?” The over-prescription of certain medications? Is it the toxins and chemicals that are present in our homes?” he asked.

Trump promised to establish a special presidential commission of “independent minds who are not bought and paid for by Big Pharma.”

“I will charge them with investigating what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic illnesses,” Trump said.

Trump then stated he would ask them to publish recommendations for “how every American child can have a safe and healthy childhood.”

Trump accused the public health establishment of being “too close to Big Pharma.”

“If the nation’s pharmaceutical industry is defrauding Americans and taxpayers or putting profits over people, they must be investigated and held accountable,” he said.

Trump ended the announcement stating that Americans need “a President who can do something about this problem and I will do that.”

Action Alert! Share this video with your State Legislators and ask them what we can do to help Oklahoman children lead healthier lives.