Bills aim to tackle teacher shortage, added options for maternity leave for teachers
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Lawmakers at the Capitol are having conversations about how to address a growing problem across the state. Bills heard in Tuesday's Senate Education Committee addressed the teacher workforce shortage.
House Bill 1485 concerns emergency teacher certifications. The legislation would allow emergency-certified teachers to spend more time in the classroom while working to become certified.
'Currently, they can only provide a temporary contract for four semesters. This should allow them to extend that contract until that certified teacher obtains full certification,' said Sen. Aaron Reinhardt (R-Jenks). 'It allows a lot of flexibility.'
Bill could cut Oklahoma's mandatory grocery, gas tax
Reinhardt is co-sponsoring the measure on the Senate side.
Nearly 5,000 emergency certifications have been handed out each year for the past two years in Oklahoma. It has been a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
The bill gained full support from the Senate Education Committee and passed unanimously. The next step will be consideration on the full Senate floor.
House Bill 1601 aims to give pregnant teachers more options.
'Choosing between your career or your family is an unfair choice,' said Sen. Adam Pugh (R-Edmond).
The bill will allow teachers to use six weeks of built-up sick leave after their allotted six weeks of maternity leave. The state enacted a law in 2023 giving teachers six weeks of paid maternity leave.
Representative Emily Gise (R-Oklahoma City) authored the legislation after complaints of school districts denying requests to use sick leave on top of maternity leave.'A teacher can say, 'Hey this is my first child, and I think it's going to take me eight weeks. I have a ton of saved-up sick leave. I've waited for this moment my whole life, and I'm ready to take it,'' said Gise. 'That is my intention with this bill, to have upfront conversations, and I hope that will help our workforce shortage with teachers.'
The committee gave it the green light and moved the bill forward with unanimous support. Its next step will be consideration on the Senate floor.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes budget giving Browns $600 million, tax cut to wealthy, more public school money
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) The Ohio Senate has passed a $60 billion state biennial operating budget, which includes a tax cut for the wealthy, some increased public education funding, and $600 million in funding to the Cleveland Browns for their new stadium. The total budget is expected to be around $200 billion once federal dollars come in. Ohio House Bill 96 was voted on mainly along party lines, 23-10. State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, joined the Democrats to vote no. The senators increased the amount of money going to public schools from the Ohio House's proposal. The Senate budget gives public schools about $100 million more than the House. Although they follow most of the Ohio House's proposed budget, which only gives schools about $226 million of an increase for school funding, the Senate changed the funding 'guarantee' amount. Right now, some districts have guarantees that a portion of their funding will not be reduced, even if their enrollment goes down This $100 million added back would only go to high-performing or 'improving' districts. However, to be fully funded based on statistics from the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) from 2021, schools would need an additional $666-800 million, compared to the $226 million given by the House. Still, the Senate's version is closer to the FSFP than the House's. 'We're following the funding scheme that was put together in the first place,' Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said. 'Our bill is the closest way to get there.' They also raised the House proposal's cap on districts' rainy day funds to 50%, instead of 30%. This would mean that the schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief. 'The priority is not, obviously, in fully funding education, investing in our children and our future,' Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said. The Senate's budget proposal still includes $600 million for a new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park. However, the funding structure differs from what the Browns proposed and what the House approved earlier this year. The House proposed borrowing $600 million by issuing bonds and repaying the debt, with interest, over 25 years, at a cost of about $1 billion. The Senate is proposing a $600 million grant for the stadium using unclaimed funds. That's other people's money that the state is holding, from things like forgotten bank accounts, rent, or utility deposits or uncashed insurance policies. The Ohio Department of Commerce's website states the state is sitting on $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. Asked about the possibility of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoing that provision, Cirino noted that DeWine said publicly he did not like the debt arrangement of the House for the $600 million. DeWine himself had proposed raising gambling taxes. 'I'm pretty confident and feel good that the governor and the House will look at our approach to it,' Cirino said. Ohio Democratic lawmakers remain staunchly opposed to the project. 'If they could find that money for the Browns and their stadium's move to Brook Park, why didn't they decide to use those funds for the schools?' Antonio asked. The budget also includes a 2.75% flat income tax. There are three income tax brackets in Ohio. Those making up to $26,000 do not need to pay state income tax. Ohioans earning between $26,000 and $100,000 pay a tax of 2.75%. Those making more than $100,000 have to pay 3.5%. State data reveals that this flat tax could result in a loss of about $1.1 billion in the General Revenue Fund. 'The dollars that we're foregoing in the flat tax are already incorporated into our overall spending,' Cirino said. Funding for schools, Medicaid, libraries, lead abatement, food banks, and child care face funding decreases from the current status or from the governor's budget. Asked about these cuts these cuts to social services for lower-income people while giving a tax cut to the state's highest earners, Cirino said Republicans think it's going to be good for the economy. 'It's going to be good for attracting people,' Cirino responded. Antonio disagreed. 'It's a gift to the wealthiest among us on the backs of the poorest and lowest-income and middle-class folks in the state of Ohio,' she said. Senate Republicans propose giving $20,000 to top high school students to encourage them to stay in the state for their higher education. The Governor's Merit Scholarship was passed in the House budget. Already existing, the House language would extend the proposal that gives the top 5% of each graduating high school class $5,000 a year to attend a public or private school in Ohio. But the Senate version reduces the scholarship to the top 2% of students. The money would also have strings attached. The scholarship recipients would be required to reside in Ohio for three years after graduation. There would be an 'expectation' that the money would be returned if they leave within the three years. Now, the Senate and House leaders will enter a conference committee, a closed-door negotiation period to create a final budget. Once a decision is made, both chambers must pass the combined bill. If it passes through both sides, it will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for review. In the past, he issued dozens of line-item vetoes on operating budgets. Line-item vetoing is the ability for the governor to pick and choose which policies within a larger piece of legislation get to stay or must go. The deadline for the budget to be passed is July 1. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Senate GOP blocks pair of resolutions on Qatari jet
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a Democratic push to combat the White House's potential acceptance of a luxury Qatari jet to become the next Air Force One aircraft. The votes on a pair of resolutions disapproving of Trump administration arms deals was triggered by Democrats in response to the news about the plane, which is valued at $400 million and would be handed over as gift. That has angered many Senate Democrats who have likened the transaction to blatant corruption. One resolution targeted an arms deal with Qatar worth $1.9 billion, while the second took aim at a $1.6 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates. Both resolutions failed 39-56. 'My case is that so long as the relationship is corrupted by the gifts to Trump, we can't move forward on these arms sales,' Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters earlier this week. 'There are legitimate underlying policy debates on the two sales, but my case here is you should look beyond the merits of the sale and really focus on the corruption.' Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Murphy in support of the resolution. The Qatari-owned Boeing jet would be gifted with the intention of using it as Air Force One throughout the remainder of Trump's term before it would be transferred to his presidential library. The Qatari arms sale includes eight MQ-9B armed drones and hundreds of tail kits, 500-pound bombs and Hellfire II missiles. Although Republicans have not joined in the Democratic chorus to intensely criticize the potential transaction, they are not warm to the idea either. A number of Republicans have indicated they are uneasy with the arrangement due to safety, espionage and practicality concerns. Some have wondered publicly why the plane is even necessary given the vast cost for it to be retrofitted for it to only fly for a short period of time. The issue cropped up again on Wednesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to tell senators multiple times about the cost of the jet during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. 'You will have that number, Senator. It just can't be talked about in the public,' Hegseth told Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who was visibly frustrated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
House GOP approves ‘technical changes' to Trump agenda bill
House Republicans on Wednesday greenlighted a series of 'technical changes' to the party's tax cut and spending package, removing language that would have thrown their effort off course in the Senate. The chamber approved the tweaks — which were tucked inside a procedural rule for a separate measure — in a 213-207 vote, weeks after Republicans passed the sprawling package full of President Trump's legislative priorities. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the lone GOP 'no' vote. The adopted rule also tees up a final vote on the White House's bill to claw back $9.4 billion in federal spending. House GOP leaders moved to make the changes after the Senate parliamentarian scrubbed through the legislation — a procedure known as the 'Byrd bath' — and identified provisions and language that do not comply with the strict rules for the budget reconciliation process, which the GOP trifecta is using to circumvent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and approve the bill by a simple majority. Leaving the legislation as it was risked the parliamentarian ruling that it was not compliant, which would have resulted in the threshold for passage in the Senate increasing from a simple majority to 60 votes — allowing Democratic opposition to block it. The changes to the Trump agenda bill — officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — pertain to defense funding, energy policy and changes to Medicaid. For defense, Republicans nixed $2 billion for the enhancement of military intelligence programs; $500 million for the development, procurement and integration of maritime mines; and $62 million to convert Ohio-class submarine tubes to accept additional missiles. On the energy front, meanwhile, the changes removed a provision that would have reinstated leases for a proposed copper and nickel mine that had been renewed under the first Trump administration but revoked under former President Biden. The mine would have been near an area known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a nature preserve that contains canoe routes and species including black bears, moose and foxes. While leaders moved to strike some portions of the bill, they still plan to fight for those provisions when the package hits the Senate floor. 'We disagree; ultimately we're going to try it again on the Senate floor,' House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday. ' We disagree with the parliamentarian. … But you can't take the risk on any of them. You cannot take the risk because if any one of them is ruled on the Senate floor to be fatal, it's a 60-vote bill. The whole bill is a 60-vote bill — you can't take that risk.' With the changes made, the House is now expected to formally send the package to the Senate, where Republicans are mapping out their own changes to the behemoth bill. Some GOP senators want to decrease the state and local tax deduction cap, others are pushing to increase the spending cuts in the bill, and a subset are pressing for a smaller rollback of the green energy tax credits that Democrats approved in 2022. Any changes to the House bill in the Senate, however, risks party leadership losing support in the lower chamber, which will have to approve the Senate's tweaks before the bill can head to Trump's desk for signature. Party leaders are still hoping to enact the package by July 4, but that timeline is coming into serious question as Republicans remain at odds over a series of high-stakes issues. Rachel Frazin contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
