Governor Stitt quietly signs several Education bills
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – There are now a handful of bills still on the governor's desk this week, after he quietly signed several that brought funding to Oklahoma education.
The state has one of the highest teacher turnover rates in the nation. While many lawmakers argue that rhetoric at the top needs to get better, it's funding that needs to get better as well.
Tulsa World found earlier this year in their reporting that Oklahoma has one of the lowest per-pupil spending rates in the nation.
This last session saw some of the biggest funding for education the state has seen in a while, like expanding teacher pay opportunities or putting money into math proficiency screening for students.
'These bills are great and all, but what do we do now? I mean, you can still look regional, we are lagging in teacher pay overall? I mean, we're last. So, in the region, if you look at that, it's kind of an arms race that we're losing,' said Representative Jacob Rosecrants (D-OKC).
21 bills still waiting on decision by Gov. Stitt
Two major bills that many educators have had their eyes on include House Bill 1087, which would extend teacher pay raises by 10 years, and House Bill 1727, which expands Oklahoma's Promise, a program that gives scholarship opportunities to educators.
'We want young teachers to come into the system, but we don't want to have such a turnover rate like the one we have now,' said Representative Dick Lowe (R-Chickasha).
Rep. Lowe authored HB 1087 and said it came with a catch. As of right now, teachers' pay raises go until 25 years of service, but now that 1087 is signed, they will receive it until 35 years of service.
'The second part of this bill came from the Senate, and it was a compromise where we had one more day of class for every school in the state of Oklahoma of instructional time,' said Rep. Lowe.
HB 1727 was praised by many educators, and ones we spoke with were hoping the governor would sign it. Others had questions about it.
There is a website that answers most of them here.
'It's great for teacher retention, absolutely, but this doesn't include all teachers and not even all school employees,' said Rep. Rosecrants.
Other education bills that have been signed include SB 140, which ensures students in grades 2-5 are screened for math proficiency three times a year and identifies students in need of intervention.
Then there is House Bill 1287, which creates a high-dosage tutoring pilot program through the State Regents for Higher Education, aimed at boosting student learning with targeted interventions. The initiative is a research-backed program that uses strategic funding to help students close learning gaps to better prepare them for the future.
As of Thursday afternoon, there was a total of three bills left for action to be taken on.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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