OKLAHOMA CITY (February 23, 2026) — Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) President Jonathan Small today urged lawmakers to oppose Senate Bill 1391, which is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. The bill effectively forces private schools to adopt public-school curricula by mandating that private schools administer state tests based on public-school curricula.

“Academic outcomes in Oklahoma’s public schools are abysmal. Fortunately, families can send their children to better-performing private schools thanks to the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program,” Small said. “However, rather than improve public schools, some are now trying to drag private schools down.

“State testing is tied to the curriculum used in public schools, so any mandate for private schools to administer state tests is effectively a mandate for those private schools to adopt public-school curriculum—or stop serving parental choice tax credit recipients,” Small continued. “The best private schools in Oklahoma will not sacrifice their academic quality to meet pointless and counterproductive government regulations and will instead walk away from the program. And that’s the real goal of SB 1391: to reduce educational opportunities for Oklahoma’s working families and their children.

“Accredited private schools are already required to administer national norm-referenced tests each year that are far superior to state tests, and that data is readily shared with parents,” Small continued. “If one truly cared about accountability, one would not try to penalize private schools but would instead work even more to empower families and students with lifelines out of the truly horrific academic outcomes in too many of Oklahoma’s public schools. The fact that the far left who craft and push legislation like this do not shows that their talk of ‘accountability’ is a sham.

“The far left knows school choice is too popular to strip families of educational opportunity in a straightforward fashion, so they are resorting to backhand methods,” Small concluded. “SB 1391 is the latest example, and it should be rejected by an overwhelming margin.”