Sherrie Conley is an American politician who has served as a Republican representing District 20 in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

since 2018.

Early life and career

Conley moved to Central Oklahoma in the 1970s and grew up in southwest Oklahoma City. She attended

Moore Public Schools The Moore Public School District, also known as Moore Public Schools, is a public school district in Moore, Oklahoma. The school district is the third largest in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools ...

and graduated from Moore High School in 1981. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, received her teaching certification in 1991, and earned a master's degree in education administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 2016. She worked as a teacher in the 1990s and 2000s and was an

Oklahoma City Public Schools The Oklahoma City Public Schools, abbreviated OKCPS, is a multicultural public school district serving most of the urban area of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the second largest primary and secondary education district in the state of Oklahoma ...

administrator before her election to the

Political career

In 2018, Conley ran to represent the 20th district in the

. She defeated incumbent

Bobby Cleveland Bobby Cleveland (born June 2, 1943) is a Choctaw American politician and businessman who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma ...

in the Republican primary runoff, and went on to win the general election against the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

candidate Steve Jarman. She faced a Republican primary challenge in 2020 and 2022, but won re-election both times. In 2023, she was an author of SB 126, "which would require districts be notified if a student is arrested for a serious offense."

HB 1775

In 2021, Conley helped author Oklahoma HB 1775, which prohibits teaching eight concepts about race and gender. The bill was advanced by proponents as preventing teaching

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

. The bill generated controversy in 2023 after it was criticized for effecting lessons on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Conley, reacting to the controversy and in reference to the Tulsa massacre, said: The remarks were compared to similar remarks by Ryan Walters made a week earlier by the Tulsa-based '' The Black Wall Street Times''. She released a press release the next day clarifying:

Leadership and committees

Conley serves as the Majority Caucus Secretary. She currently sits on the following committees: * A&B Education * Common Education * Health Services and Long-Term Care * Higher Education and Career Tech * State Powers * Transportation

Electoral history

References

Living people Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians University of Central Oklahoma alumni Southwestern Oklahoma State University alumni Women state legislators in Oklahoma 21st-century Oklahoma politicians {{Oklahoma-politician-stub