A bill awaiting state House consideration would give parents the right to keep twins, triplets and other multiple siblings in the same classroom.
Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, said many schools in the state have a policy of automatically placing twins or triplets in separate classroooms.
"For children who have been together since conception, separating them can make going to school a traumatic experience," Nichols said.
Ramona Paul, Oklahoma's assistant superintendent of public instruction, agreed with the senator.
Paul is the mother of identical twin boys and stepmother of fraternal twin girls.
She said there is no research to show that automatically separating twins helps them in anyway. She said separation can make learning more difficult, especially for young children.
"They don't understand why they're being separated," she said. "This is a new adjustment to be away from mom and dad. Why would you all the sudden decide that the children wouldn't be together? There's just not anything logical about it."
Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, is the father of triplets. He said Nichol's legislation is needed because it allows parents to be involved in the decision-making process on class placement of their children.
"From our experience, we know having multiples together in the same classroom is good for the kids," Mazzei said.
Under the legislation, parents could decide whether their children should be together or in separate classrooms, but would have to make a request within two weeks of the start of school.
Nichols said Minnesota, Texas and New Hampshire have passed similar bills.
Local news
NEW: Bill lets twins, triplets take same class
- Local news
-
-
Woman in critical condition
A hospital official said a Norman woman remains in critical condition after emergency responders reportedly extricated her from her vehicle....
-
Western Avenue to close for expansion to four-lane highway
On Monday, residents in northwest Norman will be a little closer to having a four-lane highway with paved shoulders as construction begins on 60th Avenue Northwest, also known as Western Avenue. When completed, the rural four-lane will ...
-
School districts ready to go mobile
In October, Norman Public Schools introduced an innovative communications tool with School Connect, a mobile app for Android and Apple phones, which enabled users to access virtually any school-related information with a tap on their touch ...
-
Eye for beauty
Beauty may be hard to measure, but it carries a price tag. For Norman City Council members, developers and the University North Park Architectural Review Board, balancing aesthetics with the cost of doing business has become an ongoing ...
-
Norman Youth Council accepting applications
The deadline to apply for Norman Youth Council is March 30. Interested high school students are encouraged to apply. Youth council is comprised of sophomore, junior and senior high school students who reside within Norman....
-
Dispatcher reports need for extraction after wreck
A Wednesday night car crash in northwest Norman placed one driver in the hospital....
-
Tiger followed his gut on making college decision
In the end, Donovan Roberts went with his gut. It was his gut that the Norman High senior relied on when he originally committed to Arkansas, and it’s what led him to sign with the Razorbacks on Wednesday, despite a late push from the ...
-
Man is still in critical condition
A 61-year-old Patriot Guard Rider from Norman remains in critical condition after being involved in a two-vehicle crash Friday morning. His wife, Cindy Ayers, is maintaining her bedside vigil....
-
Lexington manager remains on leave
Lexington City Manager Jason Orr remains on administrative leave with pay, though the city will have to take action in less than a week. Jason Orr’s first court appearance is set for Feb. 15....
-
Cushing residents closely watching pipeline’s fate
CUSHING — While the Keystone XL pipeline has been grabbing national headlines, Cushing residents and businesses have watched the fate of the line with personal interest....
- More Local news Headlines
-
Woman in critical condition
