06-05-2025
Oklahoma lawmakers on the brink of making our struggling schools even worse
With less than a month to go in this year's legislative session, hope is running out that any concrete action will be taken to improve our state's public schools, which are among the worst in the nation.
In fact, just the opposite may be happening. Legislators are on the brink of making our education crisis even worse.
A bill backed by Senate Education Committee Chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, to give teachers another raise to help address our critical shortage is being shelved. More important to legislators, it seems, is making sure enough money is available for a small percentage cut in the state income-tax rate that won't be of much help to average Oklahomans.
Instead of better pay to fix the problem of not having enough experienced teachers to go around, the Legislature is proposing in House Bill 2125 to expand an existing program to allow untrained instructors in pre-K through third-grade classrooms. These non-certified teachers are called "adjuncts," but a better name might be "babysitters," since they are unlikely to make a dent in our dismal math and reading scores.
Superintendent Ryan Walters at the Oklahoma State Education Board meeting at the Oliver Hodge Building, Thursday, April 24, 2025.
Districts like Oklahoma City Public Schools have a "grow your own" program to get more qualified teachers in classrooms. Those programs create a pathway to eventual college certification and training. But let's be clear: Pre-K through third-grade "adjuncts" are not like the part-time college professors who may not have a post-graduate degree but bring years of experiential learning to a college classroom. Instead, they are academically untrained to meet the learning needs of students who come from a variety of backgrounds.
More: Youngest students in Oklahoma schools need qualified teachers — not beginners | Opinion
Maybe the Legislature thinks curriculum changes proposed by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters will help. Among other things, those changes require social studies teachers to emphasize more strongly how much of an influence the Bible was on those who established our nation in the 1700s. Teachers also will be required to give special attention to claims that the 2020 election was "stolen" from President Donald Trump. Both areas are purely subjective and require no formal training for instruction ― or some might argue, indoctrination.
Senators could have had a voice in modifying Walters' plans, but chose not to vote on a proposal to reject the standards, allowing them to take effect. Oklahoma already has thousands of alternatively certified teachers in classrooms. What's needed are qualified, certified teachers well versed in how to help kids reach their full potential by third grade.
Oklahoma's kids should always be our lawmakers' priority. They deserve a world-class education with highly certified teachers, not watered down instruction from inexperienced "adjuncts." Sadly, 2025 is turning out to be a year of inaction on the part of both Walters and the Legislature toward improving our schools. Oklahoma is still in a ditch labeled "49th in education." HB 2125 has not yet been heard in the Senate. We urge the Senate to reject the "adjunct" plan and seek a permanent, sustainable path that brings training and experience into classrooms so students can boast improved education outcomes.
This editorial was written by William C. Wertz, and represents the position of The Oklahoman editorial board, which includes deputy opinion editor Wertz, opinion editor Clytie Bunyan and executive editor Ray Rivera.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Legislature on track to make public schools worse | Editorial
