The Oklahoma Senate's education policy and appropriations committees approved a nearly $630 million education plan Monday, which includes $248 million in teacher pay raises and a $100 million investment for school choice.
Teacher pay raises include $3,000 for 0-4 years, $4,000 for 5-9 years, $5,000 for 10-14 years and $6,000 for over 15 years of teaching. The plan also includes $30 million for local control, which will allow local school boards to give qualitative pay raises to teachers based on their own criteria.
“We have done exhaustive due diligence in putting this together,” Sen. Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) said. “We believe targeted and meaningful investments are the only way to put our education system on a better trajectory.”
The plan also outlines other education-related measures such as eight weeks of paid maternity leave for teachers and a program providing on-site childcare to specific districts or stipends for costs.
The Senate’s proposal also outlined $100 million to support school vouchers, which allow a portion of tax dollars designated for a child's education to be used for tuition at a private school, according to the State Department of Education. This includes a tax credit of $7,500 for private schools and $1,000 for homeschool families under an income cap of $250,000.
House Bill 1935, authored by Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Rep. Charles McCall (R-Atoka), was passed by the House on Feb. 22 and offers refundable tax credits to students not participating in public education. The tax credits are $5,000 per child for private school attendance and $2,500 for homeschool attendance.
McCall gave an ultimatum to the Senate earlier this month, threatening that if the House’s education plan is not heard as is, any Senate education bills will fail in the House. McCall also threatened the Senate from amending pieces of HB 1935 as well as House Bill 2775, which affects teacher pay raises, both authored by McCall.
The Senate met Monday to amend both pieces of legislation, resulting in a number of changes reducing the cost of the bill from $300 million to $98.7 million. These changes include the $250,000 income cap, an overall increase to the teacher pay raises and a pay structure based on merit.
In a press release Monday, Sen. Jo Anna Dossett (D-Tulsa) said school voucher programs, like the ones in the Senate’s education proposal and HB 1935, will decrease funding from public schools.
“This is not a win for working Oklahomans and their children,” Dosset said. “It’s the latest in a series of attempts to send public dollars into private hands with no accountability for their use.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt boasted his support for school vouchers in his State of the State address in February, saying school choice would allow children, regardless of economic status, to attend well-funded and A-rated schools. Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has been a large proponent of school choice, focusing on it during his campaign.
"Nobody knows better for a kid than their parents. No bureaucrats knows better, and nobody from the government knows better,” Walters said. “Parents know best for kids.”
Oklahoma will have the most expansive school choice in the nation #leadforkids pic.twitter.com/hbbJUQ3Gw3
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) January 19, 2023
The plan also contains dedicated funding for certifying teachers and a mentorship program that would give teachers $500 annually to provide guidance for new teachers.
The Senate will vote on the proposal Thursday. House Bills 1935 and 2775 will move to the Senate for consideration.
This story was edited by Karoline Leonard, Alexia Aston, Jazz Wolfe and Colton Sulley. Ansley Chambers copy edited this story.
This article was edited on March 29 at 8:51 a.m. to reflect that the Oklahoma Senate's education policy and appropriations committees approved the education plan.
