House Unveils Education Budget Plan
The state House of Representatives filed new bill language that would tie $500 million in new education funding, including a teacher pay raise, to a tax credit for families who homeschool or send their children to private school. The four components have since been split into two bills both of which passed in committee on Thursday. Below are the details as the bills are currently written.
HB 2775:
Teacher Pay Raise
● $150 million for a $2,500 across-the-board teacher pay raise.
● The raise would be mandated for “active classroom teachers” working in an Oklahoma public school this year who remain at the same school next year.The raise would not increase the statewide minimum salary schedule, and teachers would receive the full raise even if their district pays above the state minimum.
● This money would flow through the school funding formula.
Redbud Fund
● An additional $50 million for Redbud school grants, which helps with building-related needs for public schools that receive little or no building fund revenue.
Oklahoma Student Fund
● $300 million distributed on a per-student basis with a $2 million per-district limit.
● The bill lists a variety of ways the additional funding could be spent; specifically prohibits spending on administrator salaries.
● This money would not go through the school funding formula so every district would benefit.
● The $2 million cap would mean the state’s largest school districts would receive less per student than smaller districts.
● The largest districts could receive as little as $61 per student and at least $100 million would be redistributed among smaller districts.
HB 1935:
Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Program
● Private school: Up to $5,000 tax credit per student attending an accredited private school.
● Home school: Up to $2,500 tax credit per home-school student for qualified expenses.
● Based on qualified expenses and refundable so the tax filer could receive a refund even if they don’t owe taxes.
● Tax filers with a student who receives a Lindsey Nicole Henry voucher to attend a private school would be eligible.
● Tax credits would be temporarily suspended if education appropriations fall below that for fiscal year 2024.
● Tax credits would be reduced proportionally in the event of a statewide revenue failure.
● State tax and education officials would be required to verify a student claimed by a taxpayer receiving a credit isn’t enrolled in an Oklahoma public school.
● Tax filers claiming either tax credit would need to maintain receipts documenting the qualified expenses.
BPS Notes on the Plan & Steps from Here
BPS Notes
Teacher Pay Raise
● Across the board pay raise of $2500 is a good thing, though we’d love to see a higher investment in this area
OK Student Fund
● 300M in discretionary funds going to directly to districts is a great investment
○ The 2M cap is concerning for BPS:
■ $300M to schools on a per-pupil basis, 700,000 students as the denominator = $428 per student
■ Bixby's current enrollment = (7,860*$428) = $3,364,080
■ As the language is currently written BPS would be capped at $2M = $254 per student
■ Working the math backwards, any district with more than 4,672 students would be capped
■ This would include all 6A school districts
○ Important Question: Is this $$ sustainable and recurring as this changes how we are able to spend?
○ No impact on class sizes if money is not recurring. Districts would also be limited in addressing pay scales or increasing compensation if it was one-time money.
Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Program - Potential Concerns
● No cap in place relative to the amount of money to be appropriated
● Expenses could exceed $250M based on current private school numbers
● At 250M, this is double what the Governor asked for even if only existing private school families take it, a 10-fold expansion over the 25M available via the Opportunity Scholarship Fund currently
Conclusion:
● 33% of this total budget package (new education funding) is serving only 10% of current OK students
● ⅔ (500M) to public schools + ⅓ (250M minimum) to private when the student ratio is 90/10
Steps from Here
● HB 1935: Tax Credit Program: Passed House Appropriations & Budget Committee; headed to House Floor
● HB 2775: Teacher Pay Raise & OK Student Fund: Passed House Appropriations & Budget Committee; headed to House Floor
HB , by Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, requires, if a student completes any required courses or sets of competencies in mathematics prior to ninth grade, for those to be counted toward the units necessary to fulfill mathematics courses required for graduation.
HB , by Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, requires the State Department of Education and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, in consultation with school district superintendents and school district boards of education, to develop and make available to school districts information, training, and resources to help school employees recognize and address the mental health needs of students, including information about de-escalation.
HB , by Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, directs the State Department of Education to establish an online transparency portal to allow parents to access, review, and comment upon curriculum, instructional materials, textbooks, and library materials in their child's school district. The portal would allow parents to access, review and comment on the materials, with real-time processing of the comments, reviews and feedback. The bill requires districts to participate in the portal and to upload all material information on the portal to make sure parents can review the materials.
HB , by Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, requires school districts provide a half unit or set of competencies of personal financial literacy to be taken in the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade.
HB , by Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore and Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, requires the State Board of Education to provide a bonus in the amount of $ , annually over a five-year period, to be paid not later than January each year, to teachers with National Board Certification. The bill modifies the requirements for the bonus. It reduces the duration of the bonus to five years from years. It removes salaries for those with National Board Certification from the Minimum Salary Schedule.
HB , by Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore and Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, modifies the membership of the State Board of Education. It increases the total membership from to . It changes the appointing authorities for board members. It requires the Governor appoint six member and requires the House Speaker and the Senate President Pro Tempore each appoint two members. It sets qualifications for the appointees.
HB , by Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, creates until Nov. , , a task force to study and make recommendations to modernize the high school graduation requirements in Oklahoma.
HB , by Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, requires the State Board of Education to award grants, subject to the availability of funds, to public school districts for the purpose of employing school nurses, school counselors, and mental health professionals to provide services and support to students.
BILLS OF NOTE PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE THISWEEK
HOUSE
SB , by Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, appropriates $ million for them FY General Revenue Fund to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management to be deposited in the Oklahoma School Security Revolving Fund to administer the Oklahoma School Security Grant Program.
SB , by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, removes the requirement for previous public school attendance to be eligible to receive a scholarship through the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program. It exempts children who were adopted while in the permanent custody of an international child-placing agency, a child-placing agency in this state, or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
SB , by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, entitles a full-time employee of a public school district who has been employed by the school district for at least one year and has worked at least , hours during the preceding -month period to weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of the employee's child. The bill requires the legislature appropriate each fiscal year adequate funding to the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing paid maternity leave. It requires the State Board of Education to allocate an amount to fully fund paid maternity leave from the funds appropriated to it for the support of public school activities if the Legislature does not appropriate adequate funding specifically for the purpose of providing paid maternity leave to school district employees.
SB , by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond and Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, moves starting teacher pay to $ , with a $ , raise at entry through four years,a $ , raise for years five-through-nine, a $ , for - years of experience, and a $ , raise for teachers with + years of experience.
SB , by Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada and Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, defines and prohibits unfunded mandates from the Legislature or any other government entity on another political subdivision.
SB , by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, requires a mentor teacher to provide guidance, support, coaching, and assistance to a teacher in his or her first year of teaching at an employing school district, regardless of the length of time the teacher has been certified.
SB , by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, requires a certified teacher who, at the request of the employing school district, takes and passes a subject area competency examination to earn certification and teach an additional subject in the school district to be reimbursed by the school district.
SB , by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, creates the Oklahoma Teacher Corps Program to be administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in order to help students who graduate from an approved teacher preparation degree program and agrees to teach at a school meeting certain criteria for four years. The bill sets the amount of assistance at the amount of tuition and mandatory fees for the courses in which the person enrolls for completion of a bachelor's degree. The bill prohibits those taking part in the program from receiving an Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program award. The bill requires repayments from those who do not complete the program.
SENATE BILLS OF NOTE PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE THISWEEK
BIXBY PUBLIC SCHOOLS & BIXBY PLAC 2023 Legislative Goals
Funding & Revenue Streams:
● Protect existing revenue
● Increase per-pupil funding to be regionally competitive
● Formulate a sustainable, long-term plan schools can count on
Graduation Requirements:
● Remove “shackles” (such as foreign language requirement) to open up pathways for kids
Vibrant Teaching & Learning
Culture of Innovation
● Allow greater autonomy at the local district level relative to graduation pathways
Instructional Investment:
● Protect instructional time by not supporting ANY increased testing
● Limit any and all additional requirements/mandates and FUND them if passed
Vouchers, ESA’s, & Tax Credit Scholarships:
● JUST SAY NO
● Public $$ = Public Schools
● Do not decrease the “pot” from which all state agencies are funded
● Accountability, transparency, and reporting for OSF
Teacher Pipeline & Retention:
● 50k starting pay for ALL teachers
● Approximate cost at BPS: $3.4M
Exemplary Teachers & Staff
Investment into the State Formula allowing the district to:
● Increase salary scales for support staff
● Lower class sizes across all grade levels (where capacity allows)
● Added programming for students
Safe &Welcoming Schools
Family & Community Engagement
Mental Health, Trauma Support, Community Education Programs:
● Increased funding for added counselors and/or on site social workers
● Local control with increased funding allowing districts to meet individual student needs
● Expand opportunities for Community Education and Family Engagement
● We know our students, we recognize their needs, provide us the resources to serve them
Scan here for the complete 2021-2025 BPS Strategic Plan:
