19-02-2025
Oklahoma lawmakers consider funding student tutoring program
A fifth grader at Burroughs Elementary in Tulsa looks over a practice test sheet during a small-group tutoring session on April 8. The Senate Education Committee advanced a bill that would fund a high-dosage tutoring program for reading and math. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — As federal funding winds down for the Oklahoma State Department of Education's high-dosage tutoring program, lawmakers are considering dedicating state dollars to continue the initiative.
The Senate Education Committee approved the measure on Wednesday with a 9-2 vote, sending it on to the chamber's Appropriations Committee. The state Department of Education estimates it would cost $7.18 million to continue the program in the next fiscal year.
Senate Bill 245 would offer tutors, who are either school employees or contractors, $1,600 for each cohort of up to four students they meet with for at least three 30-minute tutoring sessions a week. The sessions would focus on reading or math.
The tutors could earn another $1,000 for each academic grade level increase that each student experiences in reading or math in one school year. Tutors whose students fail to improve by at least a one-half grade level over two years in their cohort would lose eligibility to continue as a tutor in the program.
The bill's author, Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, said the initiative would compensate teachers for the tutoring that many of them are already doing.
'I think this is a step in the right direction as we continue to strive towards having the most fairly compensated teachers in the country,' Deevers said during the committee meeting.
Frequent small-group tutoring has become more common nationwide as schools seek to accelerate student learning after losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state Department of Education implemented a high-dosage tutoring program focused on elementary reading in January 2024, offering teachers $50 per hour and growth incentives. The agency also funded a corps of math tutors from winter 2021 through summer 2024.
Both tutoring initiatives relied on federal funds for COVID-19 pandemic aid. Those funding packages expired in September.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters celebrated SB 245 as a way to maintain and expand a vital program.
'This legislation ensures that our students continue receiving the academic support they need to succeed,' Walters said in a statement Wednesday. 'This bill not only guarantees support for students in areas they are struggling academically, but also rewards teachers for catching students back up.'
Oklahoma City Democrats Sen. Carri Hicks and Sen. Mark Mann cast the only votes against SB 245. Hicks said the bill had too many unanswered questions, especially how tutors would be protected from losing eligibility if students fail to make progress because of absences.
The bill also doesn't specify whether the sessions would take place during or outside of school hours nor whether student participation must be optional or mandatory.
Deevers said the program's details could be clarified in administrative rules.
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