OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — A bill to eliminate the three-year period teachers must wait before returning to teaching made progress in the Oklahoma House of Representatives this week.
House Bill 2288, written by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, eliminates the 36 months retired teachers must wait before hey can return to teaching in Oklahoma public schools.
The House Banking, Financial Services and Pensions Committee passed the bill with a vote of 7-1.
The bill enables educators to teach past their retirement age while also drawing on their earned retirement benefits.
“We have thousands of quality career teachers who are still in their prime working years, but because of this needless restriction, are leaving the classroom prematurely, often to teach elsewhere in the private sector to the detriment of our public schools,” Hilbert said.
Under current state law, retired teachers can take a teaching job in the private sector or in a private school, but must wait 36 months before returning to public education.
The bill will move to the full House for further consideration.
Oklahoma has been experiencing a significant teacher shortage.
Oklahoma schools reported more than 1,000 teaching vacancies in the 2022-23 school year.
The state issued record numbers of emergency teacher certifications for people who hold a bachelor’s degree but haven’t met the state’s teaching qualifications, according to EducationWeek.
The new bill aims to help fill the gap by getting experienced teachers back in the classroom.
“We need to allow these teachers to draw down the retirement benefits they have earned while remaining in the classroom if they choose to do so,” Hilbert said.
