OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – A bill progressing through the Oklahoma Legislature waves Oklahoma’s Promise’s financial eligibility requirements for the children of teachers who have at least 10 years of teaching experience in Oklahoma.
House Bill 1727, written by House Speaker Pro Tempore Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, unanimously succeeded in the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ Appropriations & Budget Committee last week.
The bill states that students are exempt from the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship‘s financial eligibility requirements if they are the child of a full-time certified teacher who has taught for at least 10 years in Oklahoma public schools. The years do not have to be consecutive or in the same school.
HB 1727 incentivizes teachers to continue working in Oklahoma schools, according to Moore.
“This bill has so many positives,” Moore said to fellow committee members. “It would incentivize those teachers who are not yet fully certified to get certified. It would increase retention of longtime certified teachers in our public school classrooms where their dedication and expertise is so desperately needed.”
Oklahoma’s Promise is the commonly used name for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP).
The Oklahoma Legislature created OHLAP in 1992 to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. The scholarship is available to students who meet certain income, academic and conduct requirements. It can be used for college or technology school tuition. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education administers Oklahoma’s Promise.
Oklahoma’s Promise eligibility requirements are as follows:
- Must be an Oklahoma resident.
- Must enroll in the 8th, 9th, 10th or 11th grade.
- Must be a student whose parents’ federal adjusted gross income does not exceed:
- $60,000 with 1 or 2 dependent children OR
- $70,000 with 3 or 4 dependent children OR
- $80,000 with 5 or more dependent children.
Waiving eligibility requirements for the children of experienced teachers helps build Oklahoma’s future education workforce, according to Moore.
“We also know that students of educators teach at a higher rate than other students. This would keep them in Oklahoma for college, making it more likely they will stay here to live, work and raise a family,” Moore said.
Oklahoma, like the rest of the nation, has a teacher shortage that must be addressed, Moore said.
Moore said he hopes HB 1727 would reduce the state’s dependence on alternative emergency certified teachers.
The Oklahoma Alternative Placement Program gives teaching jobs to individuals who have non-teaching degrees to address the state’s teacher shortage.
“I’m grateful to all who are willing to step into teach in our schools, particularly in rural areas where its often hard to find enough traditionally certified teachers,” Moore said. “But study after study shows us that the No. 1 factor to a student’s success in the classroom is a qualified teacher – one who has been trained in classroom management and has specific subject-matter expertise.”
Officials with Oklahoma State School Boards Association said Oklahoma has had to heavily rely on alternative emergency certified teachers to fill gaps created by severe teacher shortages.
Oklahoma schools had 1,019 teaching vacancies at the start of the 2022-2023 school year and were on pace to hire record numbers of emergency certified teachers, according to the Oklahoma State School Board Association’s annual teacher staffing survey.
The House Appropriations & Budget Committee passed HB 1727 with a 31-0 vote. The bill is eligible for consideration on the House floor.
